Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking and the NAHP Mail Art Exchange
The Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking is proud to be the repository for the North American Hand Papermakers Mail Art Exchange. The Paper Museum and North American Hand Papermakers have a long history of partnership starting with the formation of the Friends of Dard Hunter to support the care and preservation of the museum’s collections. As stewards of the collection, museum staff see the Mail Art Exchange as a wonderful way to continue Dard’s tradition of gathering contemporary paper samples. Each of these exchanges are a time capsule from which future generations may learn and a snapshot of NAHP’s participants. It has been a delight opening each tiny package as it arrives at the Paper Museum. You may share in the discovery and delight of the mail art exchange on Instagram @rcw_papermuseum.
In addition to caring for the Dard Hunter Collection and being the repository for the North American Hand Papermakers’ Mail Art Exchange, the Paper Museum continues to provide a schedule of changing exhibitions which rotate between highlighting contemporary works of art, historic context, and scientific paper-related topics.
As with many organizations this past year, the RCW Museums’ digital presence has grown. You will find hands-on tutorials, artist talks, and panels from their Fast Film Fest Events on the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking Youtube Channel. They will also be going live with a newly designed website, www.paper.gatech.edu, within the next two months. The staff at the Paper Museum hope NAHP members find our new digital resources helpful and we ask the researchers among you to be patient, knowing that we are working diligently to document and organize resources to help you navigate the book room and eventually the full collection. The museum continues to make progress on inventorying and organizing the book room. Organizing, repairing, and digitizing covers/table of contents for easier access for researchers is a slow but necessary process. Recent acquisitions to the collection include works by the late Ruth Laxson, archives from the Alexandra Soteriou collection, and select papers from Cathleen A. Baker.
The museum hopes that you will be inspired to participate in the mail art exchange and encouraged to deepen your connection with the Paper Museum through the various digital resources we offer. Thoughtful growth, meaningful programs and experiences, and a dedication to paper in all its forms are all essential to making the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking a useful and relevant resource for papermaking, paper artists, researchers, scientists, and historians.
Upcoming Events:
September 17 – December 3, 2021 - WildLIFE: Guild of Book Workers Triennial Exhibition
We hope you will join us virtual for a series of talks related to books:
Tuesday, Sept 14, 8pm (EST) – The Book: The Past (Nick Wilding)
Dr. Nick Wilding of Georgia State University will explore how books developed and were used over time. After Dr. Wilding's talk, program participants are invited to discuss how past use and production of books affected how we learn and document information. This is the first in a series of three events.
Tuesday, October 12, 8pm (EST) – The Book: The Present (Jesse Erickson)
Join Dr. Jesse Erickson, Coordinator of Special Collections, Assistant Professor of English, and Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware, to understand how a familiar object- the book- has become an integral part of our lives and how libraries and special collections are navigating the changing world of publishing. This is the second in a series of three events.
Tuesday, November 9, 8pm (EST) – The Book: The Future (Sarah Werner)
E-readers, digitization, and the internet are changing the way people access books and content. Dr. Sarah Werner, an independent historian, will share how technological advances are allowing historic books to be utilized in new ways. After the talk, participants are invited to discuss the ways in which we use books may be different in the future.
