The Craft of the Book

The Craft of the Book was an exhibition mounted in 1977 by The Friends of the Gallery Library, a group of NGV supporters who were interested in supporting the development and collection of the Gallery’s art reference library, now known as The Shaw Research Library. As well as gifting books from their own collections, the group’s members also helped to purchase important reference books for the library, such as the Biblioteca di Disegni, an important 28-volume scholarly collection documenting Italian drawing. The exhibition featured examples of the some of the finest book design and workmanship in the world, from the fourteenth to the twentieth century.