Book Arts

A comprehensive list of artists’ book collections within academic libraries, public libraries, museum libraries and archives, as well as other libraries. Includes links to organizations and research sources.

The Chicago Art Book Fair is an experiment in showcasing emerging directions and diverse legacies within small press arts publishing.

Held biennially in California, the CODEX Book Fair has grown from three days to four, with over 200 exhibitors and almost 3000 visitors. It is ranked as one of the top three book fairs in the world.

Founded in 1976, Printed Matter, Inc. is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination, understanding and appreciation of artists’ books and related publications and occupies a storefront in New York City. Printed Matter Art Book Fairs are among the leading international gatherings for the distribution of artists’ books, celebrating the full breadth of the art publishing community.

The SF Art Book Fair is an annual multi-day festival of artists' publications. The event is free and open to the public and features artists’ books, art catalogs, monographs, periodicals, zines, printed ephemera, and artists' multiples.

Tropic Bound is an international event highlighting the art of books and books that are art. It features an educational symposium, breakaway sessions, and a fair filled with exhibitors from around the globe.

After 10 years exhibiting book and paper art in our sweet little gallery in Portland, 23 Sandy is now an online gallery featuring unique and limited edition artist books by a talented roster of artists from around the world.

Abecedarian Gallery represents artists working in the book arts genre through curated exhibitions, sales to private and public collections, publication of artists’ book reviews, print and online catalogs and an online store front.

Booklyn’s mission is to promote artists’ books as art and research material and to assist artists and organizations in documenting, exhibiting, and distributing their artwork and archives.

Kelmscott Bookshop, based in Baltimore, carries a variety of artists' books, in addition to rare and used books.

Vamp & Tramp Booksellers carry a wide variety of artists' books. They travel to book fairs, as well as special collections across the country.

The American Printing History Association (APHA) is a membership organization that encourages the study of the history of printing and related arts and crafts, including calligraphy, typefounding, typography, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and publishing.

Created in 1979 by a small group of book enthusiasts, BAG is now the largest, longest lived, active book arts group in the Pacific Northwest.

The College Book Art Association is a non-profit organization fundamentally committed to the teaching of book arts at the college and university level, while supporting such education at all levels, concerned with both the practice and the analysis of the medium.

The Fine Press Book Association is an international society promoting the creation, study, and collection of contemporary book arts that aspire to the highest standards of craft and design.

The Guild of Book Workers promotes interest in and awareness of the tradition of the book and paper arts by maintaining high standards of workmanship, hosting educational opportunities, and sponsoring exhibits.

The Movable Book Society, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum for artists, book sellers, book producers, collectors, curators, and others to share enthusiasm and exchange information about pop-up and movable books.

North American Hand Papermakers (formerly Friends of Dard Hunter) is an organization that connects, encourages, and educates anyone interested in hand papermaking. It was founded in 1981 to preserve the collection of books, papers, equipment, and artifacts from all over the world that Dard Hunter had collected in his decades of research on hand papermaking. This collection is irreplaceable since he traveled before the devastation of World War II; it found a permanent home at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum in Atlanta, Ga. in 1992. Support for this collection is one of the primary goals of NAHP.