Aug 23, 2017 | Blog, Calligraphy, Historical, Manuscripts, Painting
By Maryanne Grebenstein – Many of you know that bestiaries are medieval books about beasts. They contain beautiful paintings and elaborate descriptions of natural items – primarily animals, but they can also include fish, rocks, and fantastic beasts. Some of the...
Mar 30, 2017 | Blog, Bookbinding, Calligraphy, Historical, Manuscripts, Painting
By Maryanne Grebenstein – True confession: I’m a total traditionalist. Although I have a great appreciation for the fun and spontaneity of a wild, modern layout that runs off the page, in my own work I like to stick to the classics. I enjoy using historic examples as...
Nov 22, 2016 | Blog, Historical, Manuscripts
By Maryanne Grebenstein – Other than members of royalty, we know relatively few medieval women by name. And those that we do know, Joan of Arc for example, we know largely because of the circumstances under which they met their demise. Christine de Pizan (1364-1430)...
Nov 22, 2016 | Blog, Bookbinding
By James Reid-Cunningham – When Maryanne Grebenstein asked me to bind her manuscript by Christine de Pizan, I immediately thought that the binding should reflect the period of the author’s life. The challenge was that the manuscript is only a few leaves, while most...