The International Association of Paper Historians (IPH) is pleased to open registration for its upcoming 35th Biennial Congress on June 7-11, 2021. The much-anticipated event, entitled “Investigating American Collections on Paper” will be co-hosted by the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art and the National Archives and Records Administration. The Washington DC organizers have transformed the original in-person Congress into an online colloquium that will enable greater participation by paper historians, scholars and students from around the world.

The Congress will open with a keynote address from the eminent paper historian John Bidwell, Astor Curator and Head of the Department of Printed Books and Bindings at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, and will feature talks given by 35 other outstanding international scholars. Presentations will cover a wide variety of topics, including the international paper trade from the 17th century to the present; technical studies of papers used by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns; early handmade papers imported, fabricated and used in North, Central and South America; historical papermakers’ equipment; papers used in incunabula, illustrated books and manuscripts, including those associated with the First US Federal Congress; papers used by the Inuit printmakers of Canada and the print publisher Currier & Ives.

Presenters will also discuss international watermark databases, new methodologies of paper studies, and toolkits for paper and watermark identification. In addition to the pre-recorded formal presentations with live question and answer sessions, workshops will allow participants to gain greater familiarity with watermark imaging tools and international watermark databases, guided by their creators. The IPH Congress 2021 offers an unprecedented assembly of experts available for interactive discussion.

Beginning in late May 2021, registered participants can view the pre-recorded presentations at their convenience on the conference website. The live Congress week, June 7-11, 2021, will be devoted to dialogue between registered participants and speakers in live question and answer sessions. The Congress week will also include live workshops on watermark databases and short videos from the host institutions. The IPH Business Meeting, for IPH members only, will be held on June 11, 2021.

Registration:
Please see the attached Registration Instructions for essential information about the Prekindle page and the Pay.gov payment form. Be prepared to enter the Event ID 14267, the Event Name 35th IPH Congress, and the Event Date 06/07/2021 on the Pay.gov form. Categories of registration are General Admission ($150) for IPH members and non-members, and Student ($50). The Payment Type is Event Registration. Make sure that the email you provide is correct as it will be used for all future conference communications. After April 1, 2021, registered participants will be contacted via email to reserve places in the workshops. For any questions, contact the 2021 IPH Congress Planning Committee at IPH35thcongress@gmail.com.

We hope you will join us on June 7-11!