Rare Book Collection

The field trip to Olin Library was a great way to see everything we have talked about in class from a different perspective. Erin started by talking about a receipt made from clay from B.C.E. and moved all the way to contemporary works from our time. It was interesting to see that everything has stemmed from something else. I enjoyed being able to actually see that connection up close instead of through a book.

The Dover Bible in particular caught my eye. We had looked at a slide of the first page in class, but slides couldn't do it justice. The page was neat and designed in order to convey something. The Dover Press wanted the type to to be appreciated, so it was manipulated and designed in order to do so. Erin told our group that Washington University also has other versions of the first page and the different ways that the letters were manipulated. It makes me think that the designers were just like designers today. They had many versions and tried many things until they reached an end product that they were happy with.

The contemporary works in the gallery were diverse and unique. Each one had something special about it but they all had a cohesive feeling. I enjoyed seeing the different ways that the books were bound as well as the use of color in each one. The whole field trip was great because I got to see things from a different perspective and up close. Being able to touch the works and see them so closely was very exciting and makes it easier to learn about the history of graphic design.


LB