Nobody ever says "men artists." Females in the creative arts, however, are often described as women painters, women cartoonists, or women illustrators. Why not just call them artists, illustrators, or cartoonists? 

That question came up at a panel discussion yesterday at the Library of Congress honoring the publication of Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists by Martha H. Kennedy (University Press of Mississippi, 2018). The book complements and expands on an exhibition of the same name currently on view at the library and curated by Kennedy, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the library's prints and photographs division. 

"When we say 'women illustrators,' we create a separate category that's problematic," said panelist Whitney Sherman, illustrator and director of the MFA in illustration practice program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. 

The "Drawn to Purpose" exhibition and companion book can be seen as part of a larger push to make the work of female cartoonists and illustrators more visible. In the commercial publishing sector, identity has become more and more marketable--which gives some artists pause.

"It's a burgeoning industry of recognizing women," Sherman said. "I don't want to be a trend. I want to be part of the whole."

Barbara Brandon-Croft, creator of the strip "Where I'm Coming From," talked about her experience as a black female cartoonist. "Where I'm Coming From," a groundbreaking strip that featured a group of African-American female friends talking about their lives, made its first appearance in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press and ran until 2005 in national syndication. When Universal Press Syndicate was trying to sell the strip, Brandon-Croft recalled editors would say "But we already have 'Cathy,'" as though there was room for only one cartoon about women and their lives--even though it was fine for the same papers to run both "Heathcliff" and "Garfield." 

Being black and being female, Brandon-Croft said, makes a historically uneven playing field even harder to get traction on. "If you want your point of view heard, you have to make yourself heard, and nobody likes a loud woman, it seems," she said. 

Jillian Tamaki, illustrator, comic artist, and co-creator of "This One Summer," graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2003. Working in the largely female field of YA and 'kidlit' illustration, she said, she still sees gender bias play out in who gets book deals, money, awards, and the kind of attention that builds high-profile careers. "It's a matriarchy in some ways, but inequalities persist, especially when power comes into it," she said. 

Tamaki said, "There's a reason the canon is the way it is and looks the way it does. I think you need to aggressively reshape it." Publishing, she said, needs "to be more intentional and more aware" of existing power structures that promote some artists at the expense of others. "There's a lot of questioning of those structures" now, she said, especially by up and coming artists and readers who want to see their own experiences valued and reflected by the industry.

Social media has accelerated that process, and boosted careers, by building communities and putting illustrators and cartoonists directly in touch with people who appreciate their work. The Internet has its dangerous corners--stories of online abuse directed at women abound in almost every field--and raises some complicated arts-versus-marketing questions for artists of any gender, who can feel pressure to brand themselves as part of their work. 

"It can be really scary," Tamaki said. "But I can't imagine my career without it."

Many cartoonists and illustrators use Instagram and Tumblr as platforms for sharing their work now, the panelists said. That's where a lot of the action is--and it's one of the biggest challenges for curators thinking about how to present and preserve the contemporary work being created by cartoonists and illustrators of all genders.

-Jennifer Howard is a writer based in Washington, D.C. She wrote a feature story on the "Drawn to Purpose" exhibition for FB&C's spring 2018 issue. Follow her on Twitter: @JenHoward. 

Image: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Pausing only to put our snowshoes and extra warm jumpers away, Marcia and I went to the airport to go to the SELAC fair (Salon européen du livre ancien et de la gravure de Colmar). 

Colmar is a very nice little town in Alsace, just inside France. The border is so close that in the airport you choose whether to walk through customs into France, Germany, or Switzerland. 

Once there, we had a lovely time with 40 dealers from France and Germany. Having met up with Kurt from Catawiki, we set off around the fair. Two things particularly stood out for me here. One was the sheer number of excellent limited, illustrated editions by French authors (often in very limited numbers indeed), and the number of exhibitors who displayed beautiful visual pieces. Indeed, for me, this was almost a varied and fascinating art exhibition. 

One of the first stands to catch my eye was Antiquariat Barbian, from Saarbrucken with some marvellous Chagall colour lithographs printed by Mourlot of Paris, such as this editions of Le Monstres de Notre Dame (above).

Another stand with striking images was a local exhibitor librairie le Cadratin of Colmar. They had some wonderful images of the Alps, including this dramatic ascent of Chamonix by Adolphe Braun. 

My final image was from a series of caricatures. Pierre Chatillon was a Swiss national, who had been imprisoned during the first world war for a less than flattering image of Kaiser Willhelm. Whilst incarcerated, he produced a fabulous series of original works, all caricatures of his gaolers and other German officers. This delightful image was my favourite (above). These were offered, along with some original Gustave Dore illustrations (below) by librairie Pierre Calvet.

Naturally I couldn't let the opportunity pass and brought far too many books. In fact so many that we had book extra baggage on the plane home and dragged Kurt along on a trip to Strasbourg in order to purchase a suitcase. Marcia was most displeased! My favourite purchase kept up with the theme of artistic items -- I picked up a lovely photograph album showing the carnival floats at Nice in 1897.

Money and energy depleted, we set of home once again, to briefly rest before packing up our stock, and preparing for the Maastricht MAPF and TEFAF next weekend. 

--Marc Harrison and his wife Marcia run Harrison-Hiett Rare Books in The Netherlands. Images courtesy of the author. 

Our Bright Young Librarians series continues today with Isabel Planton, Public Services Librarian at the Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington:

What is your role at your institution?

I am the Public Services Librarian at the Lilly Library. My role in the library has been described as a "Jill of All Trades." I rather like that phrase because I think it captures the eclectic nature of my job. My primary responsibilities are reference and instruction. The Public Services Department stays very busy, hosting approximately 250-300 class and tours per year. Every day here is different. I never know what the "tone" of the day will be until the Reading Room opens, but it's always lively. Sometimes I'm preparing for or giving a class presentation. Sometimes I'm helping my colleagues set up for multi-room sessions or an after-hours event. Other times, I'm strategizing with colleagues about how to answer a reference email or answering patrons' questions in the Reading Room.

I just recently turned over supervision of the front desk and Reading Room attendants to my wonderful colleague Sarah McElroy Mitchell after seven years of having this as a job duty. I'm having a little trouble relinquishing control of the schedule! As much as I complained about making the student desk schedule each semester, I really enjoyed working closely with graduate students as their supervisor in that position. Luckily, I will continue to help with the supervision of the graduate students who work as Reference Assistants in the Public Services Department.

How did you get started in rare books?

When I started college at Ohio University, I had not even decided on a major. I was really quite adrift. Once I decided to get an English degree, I had to figure out what I would ultimately do for work. I went to one of those sessions for English majors titled something like "What do I do with this English degree?" and one of the options presented was librarianship. Until that moment, I had never considered librarianship as a career. Something clicked that day and it seemed like the right path for me. I talked to my advisor who put me in touch with two librarians at the Ohio University library. I met with both of them and decided to do an internship with Judy Connick who worked in Public Services at the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections at OU. She was my first mentor and I credit her for launching me on this career path. After my internship, I stayed on as a student employee working with Judy for another year. During that time, I processed collections, worked through the backlog, and paged materials in a book vault that would plunge into darkness every fifteen minutes if I didn't remember to flick the light switch. I couldn't believe a place so strange and wonderful really existed and that I could one day work somewhere similar. Judy was passionate about working with rare books and special collections and it was infectious. She encouraged me to get my MLS and got me interested in the idea of eventually attending Rare Book School.

I came to Indiana University so that I could take classes at the Lilly Library. Some of my best classes during that time were the ones I took with Joel Silver and Erika Dowell learning about rare book librarianship and book history. However, I was still floundering around a bit about my future, trying to decide if I would be a special collections librarian or a public librarian. I took classes toward both paths. After I graduated, at the height of the recession, I quickly took a job in the Interlibrary Loan Department at the Wells Library (the main library) at IU. A few years later, a job in Public Services at the Lilly Library opened and I jumped at the opportunity. I started at the Lilly Library as a Reference Associate in 2011. I had a job upgrade within the department in 2016 and then was hired as the Public Services Librarian in 2017.

Favorite rare book / ephemera that you've handled?

This is very difficult. My enthusiasms tend to change depending on what I'm working on at the moment. Right now, I'm spending a lot of time with maps and atlases in preparation for some upcoming classes. I love the 1482 Cosmographia which is the first Ptolemaic atlas printed in Germany. It's one of my favorite books to show in class. I'm also currently a fan of the courtship and dating manuals in our collection. I recently put together a small exhibition of these materials and I had a lot of fun reading the advice, especially advice for women.

What do you personally collect?

I've never really had the collecting impulse when it comes to books. I grew up on library books and it never occurred to me to buy books to own until a few years ago. I love books but for some reason I don't have a personal desire to collect them.

What I do collect is vintage polyester shirts. I started collecting them in the late 1990s when I spent a lot of time shopping at Goodwill stores. Some have come and gone from my collection over the years, but I now have a small, well-curated collection after years of trial and error. I'm also an accidental collector of cat figurines. I have never sought out a single cat figurine in my life. People just keep giving them to me.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy biking, yoga, dancing, live music, reading, British TV shows, and skeeball. I was the state skeeball champion in 2017 (but the Bloomington league is the only one in Indiana).

What excites you about rare book librarianship?

I'm excited by the fact that the Lilly Library seems to become more relevant on campus every year. I've worked at the Lilly Library for seven years and I've seen a marked increase in class visits and use of our collections during that time. I know I must sound like a broken record at this point, but in my experience, the increase in use of special collections can't be over-emphasized. It's our greatest daily challenge and the best thing about the job.

There's never a dull moment when working with rare books. I love my job because it requires both mental and physical fitness, no two days are the same, there's always something new to learn or a new (or old) book to see, and I get to help a wide variety of people. I really believe there are more characters in the world of rare books and special collections. I enjoy being around the quirky, unique, intelligent people who are attracted to this work.

Thoughts on the future of special collections / rare book librarianship?

I get to meet a lot of future Bright Young Librarians through the Department of Information and Library Science here at IU. Many students take classes at the Lilly Library towards the Rare Books and Manuscripts Specialization and work here in various student positions. I have really enjoyed supervising many of these students as desk attendants as they have come through the MLS program. Based on my experience working with the next generation of Rare Book and Special Collections librarians, I believe the future of the profession will be bright if we are able to continue mentoring new, enthusiastic students. We also need to share with them the institutional knowledge of our libraries. I worry that massive shifts in staffing might mean generational and institutional knowledge are lost with the retirements of key figures. There are smart, capable, driven students entering the field right now but I don't think we should discount the work of our predecessors. I hope to see a balance between institutional knowledge gained through years of experience working with collections and the fresh ideas of new and diverse colleagues in the field.

Any unusual or interesting collection at your library you'd like to draw our attention to?

I did an exhibition a few years ago on our Cycling manuscript collection. It's a small but fascinating collection of trade catalogues, photos, posters, and correspondence about bicycles. I learned a lot about the incredible popularity of bicycles at the turn of the last century. Many American towns (including my hometown) had their own bicycle manufacturing plants! I was also fascinated by the early adoption of cycling among women and the ways women's fashion changed to allow for safer cycling.

The finding aid for the collection is available here.

Any upcoming exhibitions at your library?

I'm very excited about an exhibition I worked on with my colleagues Maureen Maryanski and Rebecca Baumann. It's a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the year 1968. We saw such great materials while preparing this exhibition and the end result is visually stunning. As I mentioned (above), I also put together a small exhibition of courtship and dating manuals for Valentine's Day. It's been quite well received, which makes me think that I should work on a larger project focused on these manuals in the future. I'm very much looking forward to our upcoming main gallery exhibition on the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein, curated by Rebecca Baumann and opening April 2nd.

[Image courtesy of Isabel Planton; photo credit Maureen Maryanski]

It's not an easy job, but someone has to do it: I spent Friday and Saturday in New York City browsing the antiquarian book fairs. This was my ninth year at the fairs, and they have never failed to amaze.

It's simple enough to name my personal favorite from Friday at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair: the impossible-to-miss Jules Galet's El Cuerpo del Hombre...1843-1846, illustrated with 193 striking lithographs, priced at $4,000 in the booth of Deborah Coltham Rare Books. There it was, face out, so to speak, and absolutely stunning.  

Another favorite was a pristine, signed first US edition of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, in Fred Marcellino's iconic dust jacket, brought by Caliban Book Shop. It was $500, and it looks like it was sold before fair's end.

Under the glass at David Brass Rare Books, the gorgeous blue morocco Tina Miura binding of Bernard C. Middleton's A Catalog of the Thirty-Three Miniature Designer Bindings of You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover (1998), with varicolored onlaid morocco "books," prompted me to stop and take a closer look. The asking price was $8,500.

Two more that tempted: a copy of famous book hunter and author Vincent Starrett's Brillig (1949) with a neat bookplate, seen in Jeff Bergman's booth, and the advance reading copy of the first British edition of Nicholson Baker's novel, A Box of Matches (2002), complete with a promotional book of matches, admired in Ken Lopez's booth.

On Saturday, the NYC Book and Ephemera Fair at its new Times Square location was hopping (pictured above). Great offerings all around, and dealers seemed happy with the new space. It was biblio-déjà vu for me and my collector husband, who turned up a publisher's dummy of John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra--one of his favorite books--at Colebrook Book Barn's booth. (At this fair two years ago, we unearthed another very cool dummy.) We also picked up a few treasures with Adrienne Horowitz Kitts at Austin Abbey Rare Books, one of which is a relatively inexpensive, little illustrated book titled Gutenberg and the Art of Printing (1871), in a beautiful decorated publishers' binding. The author is one Emily C. Pearson, perhaps a research topic for another day. Prints Charming Soho, Inc. took a novel approach, exhibiting piles of vintage paper suited for framing.

Images: (Top) courtesy of Rebecca Rego Barry; (Middle, upper) courtesy of Caliban Book Shop; (Middle, lower) courtesy of David Brass Rare Books; (Both at bottom) courtesy of Brett Barry.

A lighter week this time around, with just a trio of auctions to watch:

On Tuesday, March 13, Swann Galleries sells 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings, in 570 lots. Edward Hopper's 1919 etching "House by a River" leads the pre-sale estimates, at $100,000-150,000. A 1949 Picasso lithograph, "La Colombe," rates a  $50,000-80,000 estimate. A fair number of Dalí, Miró, and Chagall prints could also fare well.

The following day at Sotheby's London, the Political Cartoon Collection of Jeffrey Archer, in 225 lots. A 1798 anti-Jacobin cartoon by James Gillray, one of just four completed from a series titled "Consequences of a Successful French Invasion," is estimated at £20,000-30,000. A number of Max Beerbohm designs will go to the block, including the 1929 "Prime Ministers in My Day" (pictured below) and 1943 "Mr. Churchill" (both estimated at £6,000-8,000).

Heritage Auctions sells Western Americana and Texana on Saturday, March 17. One of just three documented copies of an 1835 broadside containing a message by Texas Governor Henry Smith has an opening bid of $15,000. Francis Moore, Jr.'s Map and Description of Texas (1840), which includes the first printed illustration of the ruins of the Alamo, opens at $10,000.

Image credit: Sotheby's

Those feeling a bit windswept by the weather these days may do well to head over to the NYABF at the Park Avenue Armory and peek into Abby Schoolman's exhibit at booth A32, where she's highlighting some exciting contemporary art books and bindings. In addition to her stable of works by the likes of Mark Cockram and Tim Ely, Schoolman is introducing her latest Instagram find, The Kraken, by thirty-year-old Spanish paper artist Carla Busquets.

This one-of-a-kind book includes eight original drawings rendered in black ink on four folios mounted on five wooden dowels.The piano hinge structure is based on innovations by book artist Hedi Kyle and the piece is signed by the artist on the back of the last leaf.

"I mostly work with paper," Busquet explains in Schoolman's catalogue. "I love the versatility of the material, how easy it is to manipulate and also the skill required to turn it into delicate work." She also looks to the natural world for inspiration, and in The Kraken, Busquet looked to the massive, fearsome sea creature of the deep that was believed to capsize seagoing vessels since the time of Odysseus. In this rendering, the kraken's massive tentacles churn the black waves, ominously approaching a doomed schooner.

Formerly a conservator in the UK, Canada, and Spain, Busquets opened her own studio, la Frivé, last year where she hosts workshops for paper artists of all ages in addition to practicing her craft.

Bonus: this kraken won't swamp your book-buying budget, nicely priced at $500.

If you've got time and energy to spare after rummaging through the NYABF's wares, head down to Pier 36 where the annual Art on Paper show focuses on contemporary art.          

Image courtesy of Abby Schoolman

French author Victor Hugo was, it seems, a militant supporter of American abolitionist John Brown. A rare first edition of a pamphlet written by Hugo and retaining its original photograph of Hugo's striking line drawing of the 1859 hanging of Brown, is one of the highlights at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, which opens tonight at 5 p.m.

Prior to Brown's execution, Hugo sent a letter to the London Evening News decrying the decision to hang Brown. He wrote:

"...When we reflect on what Brown, the liberator, the champion of Christ, has striven to effect, and when we remember that he is about to die, slaughtered by the American Republic, that crime assumes an importance co-extensive with that of the nation which commits it -- and when we say to ourselves that this nation is one of the glories of the human race; that, like France, like England, like Germany, she is one of the great agents of civilization; that she sometimes even leaves Europe in the rear by the sublime audacity of some of her progressive movements; that she is the Queen of an entire world, and that her brow is irradiated with a glorious halo of freedom, we declare our conviction that John Brown will not die; for we recoil horror-struck from the idea of so great a crime committed by so great a people...

For -- yes, let America know it, and ponder on it well -- there is something more terrible than Cain slaying Abel: It is Washington slaying Spartacus!"

These sentiments and others that followed were widely reprinted and then collected in this 1861 pamphlet, published in Paris. It will be offered at the book fair by Librairie Le Feu Follet for $3,000.

Images courtesy of the NYABF and Librairie Le Feu Follet

It's Rare Book Week 2018 in NYC. If you're visiting for the book fair this weekend, there are numerous fascinating exhibitions at a variety of institutions to check out while you're in town. For a guide to all that's on offer this week, be sure to bookmark our dedicated Rare Book Week site here.

Below are several exhibition highlights, split into a section for medievalists and a section for 20th century enthusiasts.

For medievalists:

1) The Codex and Crafts in Late Antiquity.

Location: Bard Graduate Center

Examines "the structural, technical, and decorative features of the major types of codices--the wooden tablet codex, the single-gathering codex, and the multigathering codex." On view through July 8.

2) Talking at the Court, on the Street, in the Bedroom: Vernacular Manuscripts of the Middle Ages

Location: Les Enluminures

Illuminated manuscript exhibition of 36 manuscripts that "provide viewers unique access to the authentic, spontaneous vision of people in medieval France, Italy, Germany, the Low Countries, and Britain." On view through March 16.

3) Now and Forever: The Art of Medieval Time

Illuminated manuscript exhibition that "explores how people told time in the Middle Ages and what they thought about it. The manuscripts range in date from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries and come from all the major countries of Europe."

Location: The Morgan Library. On view through April 29.

For 20th century enthusiasts:

1) Tennessee Williams: No Refuge but Writing

Location: The Morgan Library

Exhibition that "reveals the playwright's creative process through original drafts, private diaries, photographs, and production stills." On view through May 13.

2) Hotbed

Location: New York Historical Society

"An installation of artifacts and images of bohemian life in Greenwich Village." On view through March 25.

3) Power in Print

Location: New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

"Explores the art of the Black Power movement poster, showcasing a variety of aesthetics, styles, and messaging strategies." On view through March 31.

4) The New York World of Willa Cather

Location: New York Society Library

Exhibition highlights include 

• Charging cards listing the books checked out by Cather and her lifelong companion Edith Lewis during their twenty-year membership;
• an essay by Truman Capote describing his humorous meeting with Cather at the Library during a 1942 snowstorm

On view through: August 31

Well, it's officially Rare Book Week in New York! As we've done for the past few years now, we've put together a handy guide to the book fairs, auctions, exhibitions, and other eating/drinking/browsing opportunities available to those who make the annual biblio-pilgrimage. It's all here.

But that's not all. There are two more events worth putting on your literary itinerary.

On Thursday, March 8, at 2:30-3:30 pm, just prior to the NYABF's preview night, antiquarian bookseller Justin Croft will be delivering the 2018 Grolier Club Rare Book Week lecture: "Published without Publicity," a personal view of the privately produced manuscript book.

And on Sunday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m., the ABAA Women's Initiative will host Collections and Women: A Panel Discussion at the Park Avenue Armory. Panelists Elizabeth Denlinger (curator, NYPL), Sarah Gordon (postdoctoral fellow in women's history, New-York Historical Society), and Molly Schwartzburg (curator, UVA) will address some of the many facets of women and collecting, in a wide-ranging discussion moderated by antiquarian bookseller Nina Musinsky.

A very busy auction schedule this week, with eight sales of note to keep an eye on.

At Dominic Winter Auctioneers on Wednesday, March 7, Printed Books, Maps & Caricatures, in 575 lots. A first edition of Jane Austen's Emma could lead the bidding, with estimates at £5,000-8,000. A 1715 Oxford Bible once owned by poet Thomas Gray is estimated at £1,000-1,500.

Also on Wednesday, Heritage Auctions hosts a Rare Books Signature Auction in New York, in 639 lots. An inscribed first edition of The Great Gatsby has an opening bid of $50,000, while a Borges essay manuscript has a posted reserve of $20,000.

On Thursday, March 8, Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books at Swann Galleries, in 273 lots. The first illustrated edition of the Poeticon Astronomicon (Venice, 1482) rates a $15,000-20,000 estimate to lead the way, but several other incunable titles will be worth keeping an eye on. These include a copy of the earliest extant chess manual (c. 1496-7, pictured below).

Kestenbaum & Company will sell Fine Judaica on Thursday, in 356 lots. The sale will include paintings, posters, printed books, manuscripts, autographs, and ceremonial objects. Lots 291-307 have been deaccesioned from the Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn.

Rounding out Thursday's trio of sales is an auction of Fine Literature & Fine Books at PBA Galleries, in 360 lots. Notable lots include a first edition of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath ($3,000-5,000) and a copy of the 1882 author's signed edition of Whitman's Leaves of Grass ($2,500-3,500).

Friday, March 9, sees another pair of auctions: Dominic Winter Auctioneers hosts a sale titled Photography: The First 150 Years, in 491 lots, including the John Hannavy Collection of Victorian Photographs & Cased Images. Julia Margaret Cameron's portrait of Sir John Frederick William Herschel (one of several Cameron photographs availabel) is estimated at £30,000-50,000. Herbert Ponting, Roger Fenton, and many other key photographers are also well represented.

In New York on Friday, Bonhams sells Extraordinary Books and Manuscripts. There are just thirty-three lots in the sale, but the use of "extraordinary" in this title seems by no means misplaced: nearly all of the lots would be worth a full post in their own right. An unpublished Isaac Newton alchemical manuscript ($200,000-300,000), the Bible on which Ulysses S. Grant took the presidential oath of office ($80,000-120,000), a violin which belonged to Albert Einstein ($100,000-150,000), and a copy of the 1478 Rome Cosmographia ($600,000-800,000) are among the items on offer.

Finally, on March 10, Heritage Auctions sells the second part of the David and Janice Frent Collection of Political & Presidential Americana, in 509 lots. A good range of memorabilia here again, as in the first sale from this collection earlier.

Image credit: Swann Galleries