Recently, I took a bookbinding class at James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg, for which I pre-registered with a $25 fee to cover supplies.
OUR FIRST BOOKBINDING PROJECT
Although my son created his own historical Lewis and Clark journal when we homeschooled, I was interested in how close we came to accuracy.
Alas, traffic on I-95 halted our journey from Northern Virginia, so I had to sneak in a bit late, missing part of the lecture.
HISTORICAL BOOKBINDING CLASS
After learning the history behind the technique from a curator, she demonstrated the process we’d use to create our own bound book.
Providing materials for us to craft our own, she compared the expense of truly accurate materials to moder, explaining that we would use affordable supplies.
With an array of materials from which to choose, we collected our favorites for our personalized book.
As we worked on our projects, the instructor mingled to check on our progress and answer questions.
My historical binding from without…
…and within!
I love this (inexpensively reproduced) 18th century paper for my cute pocket!
Not sure what to write on these blank pages and place into the pocket, but I feel it should be something historically accurate, perhaps in honor of James Monroe, who practiced law office at this site.
JAMES MONROE MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Although located on the site of James Monroe’s law office from 1786-1789, the original building no longer exists.
In 1927, Monroe’s descendants Rose de Chine Gouverneur Hoes (great granddaughter) and Lawrence Gouverneur Hoes (great great grandson) obtained this historic site, which was important to their family’s heritage.
Wanting to share their family’s collection of James Monroe artifacts, they established the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library.
In 1964, the Monroe Foundation gave the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia, which organized a Board of Regents, which includes members of the Monroe Foundation, to oversee the site, in partnewship with the University of Mary Washington which runs the day to day operations.
