News

Reviewer Michael Darnton hails The Conservation as "epic." He praises the General Issues volume for providing "insiders' views on issues that aren't normally discussed in magazine articles," concluding that "I don't think I've ever seen so many good articles in one place." Darnton is impressed that even as a highly experienced restorer, he "discovered a whole new bunch of ways to do familiar things … for new and different ways to perform familiar procedures … This is the book to read."

However, Darnton views our sections on documentation and condition reporting as mainly "useful for beginners" and "hardly earthshaking." We disagree. The publication includes the most detailed instrument and bow schemas yet developed and these are systematically integrated with exhaustive documentation forms and diagrams to provide the most rigorous, complete, and standardized system available for description and documentation. Find out more on our Technical Schemas and Diagrams page. This whole system is also provided on a Documentation CD-ROM for editable electronic record keeping.

Concern is also expressed with respect to the books' binding. We can assure you that there is no incompatibility between "flexibility" and durability. On the contrary, flexibility – the book's ability to open flat on any page, which is important for workbench consultation – is achieved by having sewn signatures, which also ensures the greatest strength for the overall text block. The binding of each book is maximally reinforced for heavy usage: the cambric backing which attaches the text block to the boards wraps around and is stitched into the first and last signatures of the text block. This ensures that the binding meets the USA National Information Standards Organization's highest technical standard for materials intended for library use (ANSI/NISO/LBI Z39.78-2000 ISSN: 1041-5653). The covering material, Brillianta 100% rayon cloth, is widely regarded as one of the highest quality and most durable bookcloths available.

For complete information on the materials used in the production of the books see the Colophon PDF below. See On Press for a photo essay of the books being produced and for additional information on the printer and paper. The same exacting standards in materials and craftsmanship that the books advocate for workshop practices went into producing the books themselves.

The Conservation, Restoration, and Repair of Stringed Instruments and Their Bows continues to garner design honours, taking Best in Show in Coupe Magazine's 2011 International Design + Image Competition.

From the judges:

"The Conservation, Restoration, and Repair of Stringed Instruments and Their Bows is an amazing achievement in design. Over the three volumes and more than 1600 pages it it is an incredible feat of consistency, restraint, classic form, and whimsy. Never gimmicky, it is also far from dry and textbookish. Each and every page has wonderful and subtle details that make it a page by page exercise in enjoyment."

Coupe's annual competition is in its 10th year and receives entries from across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

IPCI-Canada's book placed #1 out of 25 ranked entries across every graphic design category, including complete books, book covers, packaging, posters, corporate identity, annual reports, complete magazines, multimedia, promotional materials, brochures, invitations, and websites. The award results are published in the Coupe Magazine International Design + Image Annual (Issue #23), which showcases the book along with 140 other winning works.

The New York Times reports on The Conservation, Restoration, and Repair of Stringed Instruments and Their Bows and the publication's environmental mission.

The Earth Times, the world's foremost online environmental newspaper, reports on IPCI-Canada's publication and its joint cultural and environmental conservation initiative.

In addition to First Prize in the Reference Books category, the book was awarded an extraordinary additional citation for “Best in Show” – out of all the 37 winning titles across every category, chosen from 217 entries from 96 publishers!

From the citation:

"This superbly executed work represents an enormous effort masterfully realized ... Readable and beautiful; the index is good, the photography and illustrations crisp, the paper choice perfect, and the use of second colour terrific. The varnished paper jacket, laminated on the inside to give it the right weight, is a clever touch."

More to Come:

As a result of the Alcuin Award, the book will be entered in the Book Arts International design competition in Leipzig, Germany, in February 2012.

THE READ VIOLIN

How a Montreal violin-maker with no publishing experience to speak of orchestrated the production of an encyclopedic work about instrument repair and conservation.

Quill & Quire is the magazine of the Canadian book trade.

"I had been hearing about such a project
for years. and now the result is an amazing
collection of knowledge - a landmark three-
volume set of books that I expect to be a
worthwhile investment for a broad cross-section
of people, from amateur instrument enthusiasts
to those at the highest levels of our trade.

...

My final reaction after reading the books? This
is one of the greatest and most comprehensive
single sources of information for anyone who is
a fiddle aficionado.

I am left humbled by this reminder of the vast
knowledge and the creative minds in our trade."

– David Burgess

LIVRES

The Conservation, Restoration and Repair of Stringed Instruments and Their Bows, éd. par Tom Wilder, IPCI-Canada/Archetype Publications, 2011.

150 articles, 1600 pages et plus de 1300 illustrations pour une inestimable somme d'informations à l'usage des chercheurs, conservateurs, luthiers et archetiers. Cette "bible" pluridisciplinaire élaborée par un comité d'experts explore sous l'angle théorique et pratique les domaines de la conservation, de la documentation, des techniques de la lutherie et de l'archèterie, de la restauration et de la réparation des instruments et archets. Pour ces dernières, les procédés complexes sont divisés en étapes simples, tous les outils et matériaux nécessaires étant spécifiés chronologiquement, tandis qu'une standardisation de la terminologie et des systèmes de mesure assure clarté et précision tout au long de l'ouvrage. Tom Wilder, luthier, restaurateur et historien des instruments à cordes aborde également la question de l'environnement et de la sauvegarde du pernambouc brésilien, utilisé depuis plus de 250 ans pour la fabrication des archets.

A Treasure Trove of Wisdom

Not so long ago, information about violins and bows was jealously kept within the family or the confines of the workshop lest one give his competitor an advantage. As a result, knowledge was lost, instruments suffered bad repair work, and things stayed the same for about 500 years. If there was any doubt that times have changed, the mammoth three-volume compendium The Conservation, Restoration, and Repair of Stringed Instruments and Their Bows, edited by Tom Wilder, (IPCI-Canada and Archetype Publications, $1,395) should end it. The 150 articles were submitted by a cast of contributors in the vanguard of today's renaissance of violin and bow making. Volume 1 addresses general topics, especially conservation—of instruments, materials, and even the natural habitats that produce them. Volumes 2 and 3 are state-of-the-art repair manuals for violins and bows, respectively.