Pattison Paperworks is owned by Todd & Sharon Pattison.

Todd’s research interests:

About 15 years ago I narrowed my bookbinding research focus and have concentrated on 19th century publishers’ bindings. Historically, the importance of these objects has been little understood, especially from a structural viewpoint as opposed to a decorative one. In particular, I am interested in the change from smaller hand binderies to the larger binderies organized around individual binding tasks that sprang into existence in the late 1820’s and 1830’s. The bindery of Benjamin Bradley’s holds particular interest for me. While this is my main area of interest, I’m also trying to better understand the history of bookbinding leading up to this point and how my research fits in with other areas of bookbinding scholarship. No time period or group of items can be studied in a vacuum and this is particularly true with bookbinding.

Collecting:

To support my research I collect bindings in almost any condition. In addition to signed and attributed Bradley bindings, my collecting interests include materials to support the teaching of 19th century bookbinding, early cloth bindings, striped and printed pattern cloth bindings from the 1840’s and 1850’s and signed bindings by 19th century binders. Having primary materials, even in poor condition, allows for the study of construction and technique that can be invaluable for better understanding bookbinding during this time period.