Exhibition

Brightly colored treasures – otherwise hidden on the library shelves – are brought to light for the exhibition. From 16th October 2023 to 27th January 2024, historical colored papers from the period up to 1800, which are highly sought-after as collectors' items, invite visitors into a world full of fantasy.

Various techniques were used, usually by the bookbinder, in order to transform raw paper into decorative paper by hand and then to process it further: Colored paper served as a decorative cover for pasteboard bindings, as an affordable yet handsome cover for plain brochures, as decorative endpapers for precious leather bindings, as paper decoration for valuable printed items from earlier centuries, as linings on the insides of drawers and boxes. The collection of colored paper in the Bamberg State Library contains numerous examples of these fragile works of art.

Knowledge of the production techniques, particularly for marbled paper, reached Europe via the Silk Road and maritime trade. From the 16th century onwards, plain papers coated in a single color can be found. A little later, the first instructions on how to create such papers appeared in print, and the craft of making colored paper, a rare skill today, came into being.

On brocade papers which were elaborately blocked with metal leaf, parrots and larks flutter between golden tendrils. Roses and carnations sprout from a background in orange, violet and emerald green. Grotesque figures and exotic chinoiseries complete the garden on paper. Paste paper, by contrast, captivates the viewer with its hand-crafted design: rhythmic patterns are created in the damp paste with combs and stamps or with bare fingers. Paper decorated with lush floral or reduced geometric ornaments by hand blocking is reminiscent of patterned textiles. Marbled paper created by using a dipping process enchants with its flowing décor.

Accompanying program

Several workshops in the seminar room of the Bamberg State Library will give visitors the opportunity to directly experience a craft that has become rare: participants will make their own paste paper, guided by curator Ulrike Grießmayr, herself a professional maker of decorated colored paper. For this free „hands-on workshop“, registration by telephone (+49 951 95503-101) is required.

Without registration, you can join our weekly guided tours, which start every Wednesday at 17:00 (except 1st November and 27th December 2023) in the entrance hall of the library. On request, we can arrange separate guided tour dates for private groups.

Julia Rinck (Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum Leipzig) and Matthias Hageböck (Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek Weimar), two specialists for historical colored paper, also offer online lectures via Zoom which are free of charge (meeting code: SBB#23).

Catalogue

The lavishly illustrated exhibition catalogue contains a thematic introduction by Julia Rinck (Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum Leipzig) and descriptions of all exhibits by curator Ulrike Grießmayr (Bamberg). The photos were taken by Gerald Raab. The publication is available in the library for € 10.00.

Grießmayr, Ulrike; Rinck, Julia: farbenfroh und glanzvoll. Buntpapiere aus den Beständen der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Bamberg, 2023. (Bamberger Buch-Geschichten, Nr. 3) (1. edition, 2. improved edition)

Information at a glance