Edith Diehl

Edith Diehl ((1876-05-21)May 21, 1876 – (1953-05-12)May 12, 1953) was an American bookbinder and author of Bookbinding, its Background and Technique (Rinehart and Co., 1946),[2][3] a classic text and manual on the history and craft of bookbinding in two volumes (republished in editions by Kennicat Press, 1965; Hacker Art Books, 1979; Dover, 1980).[1][4] In 1947, in recognition of her accomplishments, Diehl was made an Honorary Life Member of the Guild of Book Workers.

Edith Diehl
Edith Diehl, from a 1918 publication.
Born(1876-05-21)May 21, 1876
DiedMay 12, 1953(1953-05-12) (aged 76)
NationalityAmerican
Notable worksBookbinding, its Background and Technique,[1] 1946

Diehl is also known for her wartime works, having closed her studio in 1914 to become Director of Workrooms for the American Red Cross.[5] In 1917, she was asked by trustees of Wellesley College to become Director of the Woman's Land Army of America Training Camp and Experiment Station, which led to her appointment as National Director at the headquarters in Washington, D.C. where she wrote a handbook for use in the national camps.[6]

Biography

Diehl was born in Brewster, New York (within the Town of Southeast, in Putnam County), the daughter of Philip (a baker and ice-cream parlor owner) and Josephine Lee Diehl. (A Ralph Diehl, possibly a brother, is cited as Brewster Bakery owner and postmaster in 1923 in Br). She attended Drew Seminary in Carmel, New York. Philip was a German immigrant, and bilingual in German and English. She studied philosophy at the University of Jena, Germany, at the age of 22 after leaving Wellesley.

Edith was one of the founders of the Brewster Public Library.[7][8]

Bookbinding career

Training

About finding bookbinding as a career, it was reported that she "grew so fond of books at Wellesley (...) that she decided to be one of those who give first editions a new lease on life by putting them in comfortable and at the same time decorative surroundings."[9] In interview, she herself stated: "I loved books so much that I wanted to be able to put them in bindings myself. I took up bookbinding in 1902, and studied at the Evelyn Nordhoff Bindery in New York City. " [10] She began formal studies in New York City with Florence Foote at the (Evelyn) Nordhoff Bindery in 1902, and soon moved to England to study in the studios of Nordhoff's teacher Thomas J. Cobden-Sanderson, his student Douglas Cockerell, and the firm of Sangorski & Sutcliffe. After two years in England, she moved to Paris to work at the ateliers of Mercier, and Domont, then to the ateliers of DeBuhl (DeBuyl) and Jacobs in Brussels and then returned to England to study at Westminster Abbey.

Professional studios

Diehl stated, ″it was only after five years of intensive study and practical work that I hung out my shingle.″[11] Diehl had bookbinding studios in various sequential locations in New York City during the first half of the twentieth century, moving uptown by degrees from Gramercy to Sutton Place, with interruptions during both World Wars. For a time, she went to work as the house director of binding for William Edwin Rudge, supervising the binding production of books by Bruce Rogers.

Equipment, tools and marks

Jeffrey Peachey, a book conservator, tool maker and historian has published blog posts on one of Diehl's backing hammers.[12][13]

Bindings in public collections

An example of a signed Diehl binding, the Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti as described in The Sun article cited, is available at The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.[14] Examples of plaquettes and designs are available at the Morgan Library & Museum.

Archives

Edith Diehl's papers, including correspondence, notes and some photographs (photographer unknown) are held at the Archives of American Art, the Morgan Library & Museum and The Grolier Club.

References
  1. Diehl, Edith (1980). Bookbinding : its background and technique ([Nachdr. d. Ausg. New York] 1946. 2 vol. bound as 1. ed.). New York: Dover. ISBN 0486240207. OCLC 475175045.
  2. Diehl, Edith (1946). Bookbinding, its Background and Technique (Vol. I). New York: Rinehart and Co., Inc. hdl:2027/mdp.39015006561768.
  3. Diehl, Edith (1946). Bookbinding, its Background and Technique (Vol. II). New York: Rinehart and Co., Inc. hdl:2027/mdp.39015006561768.
  4. "Search results for Books, Edith Diehl - Library of Congress". The Library of Congress.
  5. Who was who in America, v.3. Chicago: Marquis-Who's Who. 1960. p. 228.
  6. Women's Land Army of America. Wellesley College Training Camp and Experimental Station; Edith Diehl (1919). Report : Wellesley College training camp and experiment station for the Woman's land army of America.
  7. Cyllich, L. Danielle. "A world of Book [sic]; Edith Diehl and the Brewster Public Library"fau. Lecture notes. September 26, 1996. Courtesy of the Southeast Museum.
  8. "Brewster Public Library: About Us". Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  9. "Woman Bookbinder Exhibits". The Sun. April 22, 1911. p. 10.
  10. (At that time, the only teaching hand-bindery in the United States.) New York World. March 9, 1930. p. 3Wo. I loved books so much that I wanted to be able to put them in bindings myself took up bookbinding in 1902, and studied at the Evelyn Nordhoff Bindery in New York City. (At that time, the only teaching hand-bindery in this country.) Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. "New York World". New York World. March 9, 1930. p. 3Wo. It was only after five years of intensive study and practical work that I hung out my shingle.
  12. "Good Diehl". Jeff Peachy blog.
  13. "C. Hammond Hammers". Jeff Peachy blog.
  14. "The sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti", New York Public Library.

Further reading
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