Rockefeller

This archival, hand-sewn journal/sketchbook is made from 80 gsm Mohawk Superfine archival paper stitched with Irish linen thread in the linked pattern that was developed by the ancient Copts. This stitch allows the book to lay open easily at any page.

 This book’s endbands are black and white cotton, and its bookmark is goatskin.  Its spine is covered in Saffiano goat skin, the grain preferred by the Italian house, Prada, and its boards are wrapped in paper that was hand silk-screened in Japan in a factory where kimono fabrics are decorated.

 Treasure binding began with monks in the 6^th Century who would encrust volumes with jewels. During the Renaissance, there was a resurgence in treasure binding. This is a contemporary revival of the treasure binding in which a lucky charm has been embedded in the cover of this book.  

 The talisman in this book is a souvenir from the 1939 New York World’s Fair.  World War II had begun in Europe four months prior to the opening of the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow, NY, yet more than 44 million people visited it.  When President Franklin D. Roosevelt was shown visiting the World’s Fair, it was the first ever televised appearance of a sitting president.  The obverse of this coin shows Rockefeller Center, which was completed just in time for the opening of the event.

This book is approximately 6 x 9” with a few more than 150 blank pages.