{"id":3622,"date":"2019-07-16T05:30:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T13:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3622"},"modified":"2019-07-16T15:09:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T23:09:06","slug":"a-report-on-rare-book-school-from-our-21-year-attendee-vic-zoschak-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3622","title":{"rendered":"A Report on Rare Book School from Our 21 Year Attendee, Vic Zoschak Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"
by Vic Zoschak, Jr.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Number 21 is now in the books for yours truly, that is Rare Book School course number 21. \u00a0In this instance, G-65, i.e., Nick Wilding\u2019s\u00a0Forgeries, Facsimiles & Sophisticated Copies<\/i>. \u00a0Better known to the 13 of us in class as\u00a0Fakes & Forgeries<\/i>. \u00a0Nick Wilding, for those of you not familiar with the name, is the Professor of History at Georgia State University, though perhaps he is better known as the fellow who recently identified\u00a0Massimo De Caro’s\u00a0copy of Galileo\u2019s\u00a0Sidereus Nuncius<\/i>\u00a0as a forgery, which had, up until Nick got involved, fooled a goodly number of experts as being authentic.<\/p>\n

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Nick with the first folio facsimilie<\/p><\/div>\n

But I get ahead of myself, so back to the beginning of the week, which started out Saturday July 6th. \u00a0In brief, it wasn\u2019t so brief, in fact, it was a [expletive deleted]\u00a0long<\/i>\u00a0day: the flight out of SFO was delayed around 2 hours… the rental car place at Dulles did not [immediately] have a car available\u2026 all of which contributed to my late arrival, ~ 11:00 pm, in Charlottesville. \u00a0Given I had no dinner that day, thank God for Benny Deluca\u2019s! \u00a0This a hole-in-the-wall pizza place a block away from my hotel, which is open till 3am on Saturday nights. \u00a0And that slice I had that night around 11:30, delicious!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0474\"For those new to RBS, things kick off Sunday afternoon, 5ish. \u00a0There\u2019s a reception, a Michael Suarez welcome speech & restaurant night. \u00a0The latter an opportunity for ~ 10 students to share a meal at one of the local \u2018Corner\u2019 restaurants, in my case, Lemongrass Thai. \u00a0Wonderful food, wonderful company!<\/p>\n

The weekdays start at 8 am, with a gathering in the RBS spaces for coffee, bagels & fruit. \u00a0And, of course, conversation with fellow RBS students, staff & faculty. \u00a0Classes begin, as Michael reminds all, promptly at 8:30. \u00a0But only after washing one\u2019s hands! \u00a0RBS has one of the largest, if not THE largest, working collections extant. \u00a0Material is handled daily by LOTS of students, so \u2018hand washing\u2019 an understandable act of preservation.<\/p>\n

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The Vandercook<\/p><\/div>\n

Our week in G-65 covered, amongst other things, mechanics of printing [relief, intaglio & planographic], including actual printing from a Vandercook; paper attributes; divers means of repair & conservation; sophistications; pen facsimiles; the relevance of provenance, and [of course] visits to UVa\u2019s Albert & Shirley Small Special Collections to look at numerous examples of that we were studying.<\/p>\n

Of especial note during the week was the Wednesday night lecture, in this instance, given by my bookseller colleagues Heather O\u2019Donnell & Rebecca Romney of Honey & Wax Booksellers. \u00a0They talked about their belief the trade needs to reach out to the next generation of collectors, and in doing so, should consider a paradigm shift from well established paths. \u00a0Quite thought provoking. \u00a0After, a group of us, including Heather & Rebecca, went to a local restaurant for dinner & conversation. \u00a0That evening, I learned Rebecca, in concert with Brian Cassidy, will soon be opening her own shop,\u00a0Type Punch Matrix<\/i><\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0in the Washington DC area. \u00a0We wish her every success!<\/p>\n

RBS classes conclude on Friday, with the usual highlight of the day a class luncheon. \u00a0In our case, we trouped over to Michael\u2019s Bistro & Tap House, a RBS favorite watering hole in the Corners. \u00a0I\u2019m sure I speak for all my classmates when I say it was probably the most enjoyable lunch of the week. \u00a0The day concludes with a closing reception, where all friendships forged during the week are cemented.<\/p>\n

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Vic’s Friday class luncheon!<\/p><\/div>\n

And so another week at RBS had drawn to a close. \u00a0I can say with some surety this course was one of the best I have ever taken, and I\u2019ve taken a few! \u00a0That said, I already look forward to number 22 next summer, whatever it may be. \u00a0Perhaps see you there?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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