Handmade Papers of Vancouver’s Reg Lissel at SFU Library

An exhibit of handmade paper by Reg Lissel runs until the end of this year at SFU Special Collections, W.A.C. Bennett Library, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC.

Here's a brief bio of Reg from the Lissel Fonds at SFU:

Reg Lissel grew up in northern Alberta and was a bookseller in the early 1990s. He owned a bookstore in downtown Vancouver before he commenced his handmade paper business. He is interested in handmade Western and Japanese papermaking arts. His paper mill is his two-storey apartment located at Shanghai Alley in Vancouver’s Chinatown. He has published a paste paper sample book, TOPOS, in 2006.

More information about the show, from SFU Library:

The traditional art of making paper by hand has not been forgotten since its conception in China during the year of 105 A.D. Industrialization, expanding rates of literacy, and an increasing need for paper led publishers to prefer machine-made paper. Thus, handmade paper is now a niche market dependent on a select amount of papermakers who embed their work with expressions of individuality.  Reg Lissel of Heavenly Monkey is one of them.

Special Collections has a wealth of material on the work of Lissel, a Vancouver-based papermaker.  The Reg Lissel Collection contains introductory drafts and paper samples of Lissel’s publication Topos: A Collection of Paste Papers (2006) along with other handmade papers created between the years of 1994 and 2010.  Many different types of papers may be found within the collection, including cotton, flax, linen, kozo, gampi, and paste.

Lissel began making paper after leaving his position as a Vancouver bookseller during the early 1990s.  His papers, the majority made with Western Canadian plant fibers, are used by artists and Heavenly Monkey, a Vancouver press.  His handmade cotton papers, on display at Special Collections, have captured his personal expressions of individuality – that being artistry and ownership – in their fibers.

The current exhibition features items from the Reg Lissel Collection and materials concerning the history and creation of paper. Check out this exhibition from October to January.

Fierce Bidding at Yesterday's Auction

In the tradition of auction houses releasing record breaking results from their latest auction, here is a photo recap of our annual fundraising book auction of great Canadian designed books.

And the winning bid goes to...

The hottest item that went under the hammer was without a doubt the obscure and mysterious Komma: After Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got his Gun by Antonia Hirsch published by the Vancouver contemporary art publisher Fillip, a book with nothing but commas! I don't remember what the final hammer price was, but it received a raucous applause!

Auctioneer Ralph

There were lots of other great books to be had, enough for everyone to take home a bargain and a few well fought over treasures too. Our silent auction also offered a chance to bid on some rare and valuable limited editions that were donated to help support our awards program. Thanks to all those who participated!

Auctioneer John

If you missed out on our auction this year, do not forget to join us next year - you won't want to miss this fun book buying experience ever again!

Countdown to Our Annual Book Auction

Our annual book auction is just a few days away! We have extended the deadline for signing up for our annual luncheon and auction: there are still some seats available, if you're able to join us.

This event is always really fun; you have a chance to acquire books submitted to our competition, all lovely and interesting, and many hard to find - for yourself, or for gifts.  

A reminder; our auction contains the books that were entered in the competition from the publishing year 2011, but it ALSO contains the winning books from the publishing year 2010, and a good number in duplicate. These books are featured in depth in our awards catalog here, but I also thought I should showcase a few of those books here on the blog.

Horse that Leaps through Clouds
by Eric Enno Tamm. 
Douglas & McIntyre.

Polaroids
by Attila Richard Lukacs and Michael Morris.
Arsenal Pulp.

Armchair Book of Gardensby Jane Billinghurst.
Greystone.

Cigar Box Banjo
by Paul Quarrington.
Greystone.

Compagnie Marie Chouinard Company
par Marie Chouinard et CollectiF,
les éditions du passage.

Short History of Forgettingby Paul Tyler. 
Gaspereau.

Little Hummingbird
by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. 
Greystone

Inuit Modernby Gerald McMaster. 
Douglas & McIntyre and Art Gallery of Ontario.

Relations on Southeastern Hudson Bay:
an Illustrated History of Inuit, Cree, and Eurocanadian Interaction, 1740-1970by Toby Morantz. 
Avataq Cultural Institute.

Room in the City: photographs
by Gabor Gasztony;
foreword by Gabor Mate. 
Anvil Press.

Sea Legend
by Mark Callanan. 
Frog Hollow Press.

Sketches: From Here and There
by A.J. Diamond. 
Douglas & McIntyre.

In the Suicide's Library: a Book Lover's Journey
by Tim Bowling. 
Gaspereau.

Vij's at Homeby Meeru Dhalwala & Vikram Vij. 
Douglas & McIntyre.

Visions of British Columbia,
by Bruce Grenville & Scott Steadman. 
Douglas & McIntyre.

Wild Ride, The: a History of the North West Mounted Police, 1873-1904
by Charles Wilkins. 
Stanton Atkins & Dosil Publishers.

The event is this coming Saturday - November 10th. Come at 11 am to look at the books; lunch is at 12 noon; the auction begins at 1:00 pm. It's at the University Golf Club, close to transit, and with lots of free parking. The lunch is $18 per person (we currently have 10 spaces available for lunch); or you can just come to the auction. But do please let us know so that we can be sure there's a chair for you. 

Please contact us by email before Thursday November 8th if you're planning to attend.