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I love anything that has to do with paper - I'm weird that way. I like to buy old books and fix them
up. Though I cannot say I RESTORE them, I do repair them.
Restoration isn't always recommended, anyway, since that can alter the book structure and the
historic value (if any) of the book.
If you have an old book that you believe is valuable, have a professional stabilize its condition, but
don't get the book restored! Restoration vs. repair boils down to the old debate: is an old book an
artifact or simply a book that should be used?
Family bibles are only valuable to their respective families, so restoration is recommended.
through the Dallas
Craft Guild in book
binding, too. It's a
great organization!
Gotteskraft" from 1903. The cover was (and
remains) in very bad condition, and the spine had
deteriorated. I had to resew the binding and reglue
the spine, using rice starch and Japanese paper to
bind everything together (always important to make
sure repairs are completely reversible!)
green, hand-made paper. The original spine was leather
tooled, but as the leather had deteriorated and I cannot
tool leather myself, I settled for an easily reversible spine
that still had enough strength to hold the book.
be glued between the flybacks and the book boards
to help strengthen the binding. I glued Japanese
paper on top of the binding to tighten it.
I LOVE vernacular furniture. I'm not a stickler for time periods, but I usually stay in the 1920s-1930s range, mainly
because that furniture is solid wood but still affordable.
I'm currently learning upholstery - my step father is an upholsterer with over 30 years' experience -because I want to
restore old furniture pieces and eventually sell them after I'm done loving on them.
I find bargains by going to the Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other charity stores. I've come out of the CCA Resale Shop in
Lewisville and The Colony with some fabulous pieces that make me smile every time I see them.
makers: the Webb Furniture Company, Galax, Virginia.
Up until recently, the Webb Furniture Company was
still making quality bedroom pieces, but it closed
down because the company couldn't compete with
cheaper (and cheaply made!) imports. Personally, I
HATE particle board furniture and would rather save
up my money for a quality piece then have flimsy crap
in my house.
gorgeous armoire made of oak (tiger
striped?) with cherry or mahogany inlays. I
think the front top curve (middle piece) has
been replaced. The armoire came with 8
wooden casters!
More than anything else in the world, I love to share history. I see history as a body of knowledge not unlike science, and
believe it needs to be revised, tested, and amended as needed. I get highly upset by people who refuse to treat history as an
intellectual pursuit and instead take it personally (this happens a lot in artifact interpretation, local history societies, and
genealogy!)
But I also like history that's fun. There's nothing more boring than a 300 page treatise on some obscure topic. Hence, I tend
to favor more inclusive history - such as J. Frank Dobie's folklore, T. Lindsay Baker's research, and Angie Debo's intense
writings on Native Americans in Oklahoma.
I think the best histories are written by journalists. I've had more fun reading "The Worst Hard Time" by Tim Egan, "Hard
Times" by Studs Terkel, and "Isaac's Storm" by Eric Larson! I also like to read the little histories in Texas Escapes.
My favorite history readings stem from the WPA's Federal Writer's Project. The Library of Congress has a wide collection of
first-person accounts by people who lived through important periods, such as emancipation and trail driving. I also love
looking at the library's extensive photo collection. See the American Folklife Collection for even more interesting things!
Right now, I'm writing travel guides that link history with road trips. I hope to have two completed and ready for sale by 2008.
I am still debating with myself if I should go on for the Ph.D. or not. If I did, I would prefer to go to either Texas Christian
University, the University of Texas at Arlington, or the University of Oklahoma. Right now, I work at a museum, but I'm not
sure if I should pursue a career in that because frankly, I know I'm not cut out for office work. I am just not sure if I'm cut out
for intensive research in only ONE subject, either. So I've got some more soul searching to do!