Curator-Led Tour of Center for Book Arts: "The Best Kept Secret: 200 Years of Blooks"
Explore a fascinating collection of handcrafted book-shaped objects that aren't what they appear to be!
Tour Highlights:
- See a Chef-an-ette, a recipe library in the form of a set of books, which the previous owner (Mrs. Schultz of Los Angeles) used to hide an anonymous letter from “A Christian” which cautions her about her inappropriate conduct
- Discover a hidden diamond-shaped mirror on a silk cushioned backing and a fourteen-piece vanity set inside what appears to be a copy of Milady’s Fancy, Vol. XVII by Enesco, 1920s
- View an unusual La Lumière Fut, a 19th-century portable book lantern used as a useful instrument for watchmen, policemen, soldiers, and sailors
Artifact Photos by Oswaldo García. All Photos Courtesy Center for Book Arts
About this Event:
Join Untapped New York Members for an exclusive curatorial walkthrough of The Best Kept Secret: 200 Years of Blooks at Center for Book Arts with curator Mindell Dubansky. This fascinating exhibition unveils the hidden world of "blooks"—handcrafted book-shaped objects that have captivated artists, collectors, and bibliophiles for two centuries.
Far beyond the traditional book, blooks have been used for subversion, concealment, and layered storytelling, challenging our perceptions of what a book can be. Through this immersive experience, Dubansky will reveal the artistry, mystery, and ingenuity behind these remarkable objects, inspiring today’s creatives to reimagine the book as both medium and message.
Center for Book Arts promotes active explorations of artistic practices related to the book as an art object. Founded in 1974, Center for Book Arts (CBA) is the oldest nonprofit dedicated to uplifting and furthering the book arts & book art through education, preservation, exhibition, art making, and community building. The book arts inherently democratize the powerful media of the book by empowering people to harness the format independent from the exclusive commercial publishing and gallery industries.
About Mindell Dubansky:
Mindell Dubansky is a book conservator, librarian, author, and artist. She is a Museum Librarian for Preservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library. Mindell studied art in college and eventually the craft of hand bookbinding. After an apprenticeship at Center for Book Arts in the 1970s, Mindell studied book conservation at the Camberwell School of Art and Craft; and Librarianship/Preservation Administration at Columbia. She has authored monographs on blooks, and book and paper arts including Pattern and Flow: A Golden Age of American Decorated Paper (2023), Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren’t (2016), and The Proper Decoration of Book Covers. The Life and Work of Alice C. Morse (2008). Her research on—and collection of—blooks have been featured in exhibitions at the Grolier Club, The San Francisco Center for the Book, and Bard College; in The New York Times; and on CBS Sunday Morning.
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