Come join us to see the 25 books that came back after a year of enthusiastic cooking and concurrent marginal commentary by the chefs. The exhibit will be on display in the K.K. Merker Gallery from January 23rd - February 4th. Hungry Bibliophiles: An Experiment in Utilitarian Bookmaking Thurs February 2nd 5:00 Exhibition Reception Merker Gallery B Floor, North Hall Remarks at 5:30 *The Hungry Bibliophiles project grew out of an extended conversation between Tim Barrett and Russell Maret about the use of gelatin sizing in papermaking and printing. The focus of the discussion was the fact that sizing has a negative impact on printing but a beneficial impact on the longevity of the book. Tim’s research into 15th and 16th century European papermaking processes has suggested that some, and perhaps many, post-15th century books were printed on waterleaf (unsized) paper to which the books’ printers, or someone else, added sizing prior to binding. This protocol is counterintuitive to contemporary artistic printing practices, but it was intriguing enough to make Russell want to test it in a real-world setting. All that was required was a book whose content would provoke its owners to use it more aggressively than they would an ordinary letterpress book. No book seemed to fit the bill better than a cookbook. Photos by Annie Schlechter