You may recall book conservator, Alice Austin, showing off this ca. 1850 handmade tunnel book depicting the Thames Tunnel thoroughfare, posted in September 2015. Since then, Alice has continued her research on tunnel books and will be presenting on the subject at The Living Book Symposium on Thursday, May 18, 2017! 

Catch Alice, Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, and Russell Maret, type designer and private press printer, as they share their unique perspectives on the book. For more info, visit the event page HERE. Hope to see you  there! 

[Handmade tunnel book showing an enclosed thoroughfare] [graphic].
Published  ca. 1850. Description  1 item:  watercolor and pencil;  folded to 9 x 9 cm (3.5 x 3.57 in.) (accordion format)

We are excited to present one of our favorite new acquisitions: A View of the Tunnel under the Thames, as it will Appear When Completed, a tunnel book published in London in 1828 by S.E. Gouyn. Read more about this recent acquisition in the latest Curator’s Favorite, written by Associate Curator of Prints and Photographs, Erika Piola.

A view of the tunnel under the Thames, as it will appear when completed … / Engineer M. Brunell. [graphic]. London : S. E. Goyn, 7 Fish St. ; February 1, 1828. 1 item :  hand-colored engraving and aquatint ;  folded to 12 x 15 cm (4.75 x 5.75 in.) (accordion format) + slip case (12 x 15 cm; 4.5 x 5.75 in.)

Learning about book structures helps our catalogers better understand the items in our collections.

Arielle Middleman, Associate Chief of Cataloging & Digital Outreach Librarian, shows off the tunnel book she made during a workshop last month led by Alice Austin, LCP Book Conservator. This tunnel book was made using eight hand-printed panels designed by Arielle. By cutting holes in various shapes and sizes, a view to the back panel was created. Two accordion-fold strips line the sides of the panels, enabling the tunnel book to open and close as a unit.