History of the Wells Book Arts Center

Coming soon!

02/28/2024 photoshoot with current Bookarts majoring/minoring students with Rebecca Gilbert and Mary Tasillo for article on the history of the book arts center

The Revival of the Book Arts Center

In 1993, Bruce Bennett was an English professor who taught literature and creative writing at Wells College for 20 years. He wrote and published his own poetry, so the aspect … Read more

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Robert Greenlee and the Gay Nineties Press

In 1985, I was given a font of script type that was the most horrible type ever conceived by man. I could find no trace of it in any of … Read more

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Jane Webster Pearce ’32 Bindery

The establishment of the Bindery as part of the Book Arts Center at Wells College was due entirely to the generosity of Jane Webster Pearce, Class of 1932. This took … Read more

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Robert Doherty and the founding of Wells Book Arts Center 1993

In the early 1960s I was introduced to Victor Hammer by Dr. Justus Bier, noted Medievalist, while on the faculty of the University of  Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. During the following … Read more

Susan Marion Garretson
from The Cardinal 1960
courtesy of the Long Library Archive

The Contributions of Susan Garretson Swartzburg ‘60

According to her own account, Susie Garretson (as her friends knew her then) dreamed of a Book Arts Center at Wells while she was a still a student. I don’t … Read more

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Victor Hammer (Wells Years 1939-1948)

Victor Hammer was an artist of remarkable talents and skills: although his primary métier was painting, usually in tempera on gesso panels, and chiefly portraiture, he was also a master … Read more

J.J. Lankes (Wells Years 1932–1939)

Of all the individuals who have left an impression on Wells College over the years, surely one of the most singular was Julius John Lankes, who taught in the Department … Read more