nce all books were made by hand. Scribes copied original manuscripts and the copies were bound in book form to preserve them for future scholars (few others could read). The advent of the printing press in the mid-15th century caused a print revolution, comparable in many respects to the computer revolution of the past 40 years.

Today, while books can be turned out overnight in editions of tens of thousands of copies, there are still handmade books. Craft artists, like Alice Simpson of New York City, are preserving an ancient art form and giving it new vitality.

For more than two decades, Simpson enjoyed a successful career as an award-winning graphics and packaging designer working for businesses such as Upjohn Pharmaceutical, Estee Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Revlon, Mattel and Macy’s.

Her illustrations appeared in such magazines as Self, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair and Vogue. Before establishing her design business in New York, Simpson also worked in Los Angeles as an art director with several major cosmetic companies.

Book arts discovered on vacation

“ I’ve always enjoyed using my hands to develop my ideas,” Simpson explains, “but as graphics design became more and more computerized, I felt less and less connected with the end product.”

By the early 1990s, Simpson was dissatisfied and looking for a new creative outlet. Thinking a summer vacation in Maine might be good therapy, she enrolled at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Without much consideration, Simpson signed up for a class in book making. “It was something I had never done,” she says. “I thought it would be interesting, but I never anticipated it would lead to a new career.” She made five books during her stay and sold three of them before she returned to New York.

Dance themes in many of her books

Since 1992, Simpson has produced 42 books, many with a dance theme. “I try to capture and interpret the rhythms, gestures, manners, and customs of contemporary dance,” she says.

(Top of the page) “Rumba,” a unique artists’ book, measuring 11.5x12.5x.75 inches.(Above) “Tango Argentine,” measuring 2x14.5x1.5 inches.

Simpson’s father, Hal Sherman, was a professional dancer who had performed for royalty and appeared at New York’s Palace Theater. While his stage career was nearing an end when she was a young child, Simpson still speaks of his influence in her life.

In the early 1990s, Simpson began dancing on a regular basis. “I’d spend several nights each week at ballrooms and dance clubs around the city,” she says, “and I got to know some of the people who frequent these venues. The men with their bad hairpieces and the women with their sequined dresses and heavy eye shadow began to look like characters in a story, so I decided to combine my interest in dance and book making.”

Book making grew from pastime

With a special awareness of drawing and color, her books are lively and colorfully romantic. Initially, Simpson made books for her own satisfaction, as a relief from pleasing clients, and as a hands-on experience while still operating her design business.

In 2001, she created her first limited edition, “Tango Bar.” Because limited editions are more affordable than unique or one-of-a-kind books, she sold nearly the entire edition of 23 books. “Once collectors develop an appreciation for the limited editions, they often became more interested in adding unique books to their collection,” Simpson says.

Dance has continued to be the inspiration for her craft. In creating “Rumba,” a one-of-a-kind book, Simpson considered the music, dance form, costumes, color and spirit. She sketched while watching videotapes of rumba performances, looking for gestures recognizable to rumba. From her thumbnail sketches, she developed larger, more specific drawings. Exaggerated figures gave them more energy and sensuality.

Working with paste paper figures, Simpson created wild, finger-paint-like backgrounds that capture the color and suggest the sensuous sound of the dancers and music.

The book’s cover recalls an old 1940s record album and its box has a coordinating color and design. “I have learned that collectors prefer boxed works,” she says.

A new limited edition book, “The Dancing Chancellor,” pays homage to Sir Christopher Hatton who was a dance instructor to England’s Queen Elizabeth I.

Simpson became interested when she learned that Hatton was considered the finest dancer in all of Europe at the time. Working with a friend at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, she researched the story and for the past year has been writing text and creating whimsical illustrations.

This elegant edition of 20 books, in a 12-page accordion format, features an antique English typeface and has been printed on letterpress in three colors on handmade paper.

To launch it, Simpson will create a hundred collectible prospectii, which will be presented to institutions and collectors. “Created from an actual page from the book with the same paper and inks, it will give collectors a sense of the book’s quality,” she says.
She also plans to have professionally photographed images made for promotional postcards and exhibition submissions.

Book business has grown

The inside of “Hip Hop,” which is a unique artists’ book.

In 2001, about a third of Simpson’s income was from book sales and teaching book arts. She sells her work largely through exhibitions, marketing to a list of collectors and other prospects, and through self-promotion. Some additional income comes from corporate design and illustration projects.

“ My years of operating my own graphic design business taught me the importance of good business practices,” she says. ”I learned to network, market my services and skills, acknowledge, follow-up, and keep in touch.”

Simpson also has participated in Business Strategy Seminars for small-business owners and recommends these workshops to all entrepreneurs over age 50.

Lifestyle includes art and literary pursuits

Simpson has worked to achieve a simpler lifestyle that enables her to spend more time making artist books, sculpting, and writing fiction. She lives in a Manhattan apartment and designs her books in a small office area in the corner of her living room.

She rents workspace at a sculpture studio, where she assembles the finished pieces. “I’ve developed many wonderful friendships from my book arts,” Simpson says.

She also participates in several groups of book artists. One group meets four times annually in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts and New York. Participants develop theme books, collaborate via U.S. mail, and share their own “works-in-progress” with one another.

Another national group exchanges artist books in a “give three, get three” program. Contributors in this group recently created 35 books, each from a single piece of paper.

Simpson’s books are included in the collections of a number of museums and libraries including those of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Yale University, Lincoln Center Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Collection, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Her works also have been shown in more than 30 exhibitions. “There is nothing I enjoy more than a juicy peach and I’ve also created a number of books based on that fruit as a metaphor,” Simpson says. “Several of my hand-painted peach books were on display in 2002 at The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., as part of an exhibit called ‘Temptations.’”

-James Weaver is a Pennsylvania-based free-lance writer.

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