Bookbinding by Ársæll Árnason in the bookbinders´ library

The bookbinders´ library that the Icelandic Bookmakers Association (Grafía) gave to the National Library of Iceland - University Library for conservation in 2012 includes many significant works,like Ársæll Árnason's Prize Book from the Icelandic Industrial Show in 1911. Ársæll Árnason (1886-1961) began his bookmaking studies at Guðmundur Gamalíelsson´s workshop in Reykjavík in 1895. Ársæll received a professional grant from a the Icelandic National Fund for postgraduate studies at Berliner Buchbinder-Fachschule. In Germany, Ársæll participated in a bookbinders´competition held by the main magazine of bookbinders in Germany, winning a fourth prize, while 72 books were considered. The book that he delivered was Isländische Dichter by Poestion. According to the jury's comments, the band was "well-worked and the skin was good." The tricky gilling he made with great effort also deserved compliments.The drawing was excellent and in good accordance with the contents of the book. Ársæll Árnason came home right before the 1911 Industrial Show and received the first prize for the book for this book. He worked at the National Library of Iceland for two years, 1913-14. After that, Ársæll opened his own workshop.

The bookbinders´ library was an initiative of the bookbinder Sigurþór Sigurðsson. The collection has been registered in the Gegnir library system, and is now one of the collections of the National Library, that is interested in acquiring works by most of the country's bookbinders. Thus, the library can provide a complete picture of the history of Iceland's bookbinding and will be used in research on it. The books in the collection are bound by various bookbinders, but many of them have more than one book in the collection.

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