Joanne Sonnichsen Collection
Finding aid created by American Bookbinders Museum staff using RecordEXPRESS
American Bookbinders Museum
2017
355 Clementina St.
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 824-9754
collections@bookbindersmuseum.org
http://www.bookbindersmuseum.org/
Title: Joanne Sonnichsen Collection
Dates: circa 1895-2003
Collection Number: ARCH0019
Creator/Collector:
Joanne Sonnichsen.
Extent: 2 regular and 1 oversize MSB, 1 binder, 1 bound folder, 1 irregular box: Approx. 2 LF.
Repository:
American Bookbinders Museum
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: The archival collection of Joanne Sonnichsen’s set of articles and ephemera on bookbinding and book history go hand in hand
with the rest of the collection’s journals and printed books.
Language of Material: Multiple languages
The materials are open for research use. All use of ABM materials must be requested 24 hours in advance and used onsite during
a scheduled appointment. For more information on use or to schedule an appointment, contact the ABM librarian at collections@bookbindersmuseum.org.
Repository: Library & Archives
The American Bookbinders Museum
355 Clementina Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Email: collections@bookbindersmuseum.org
Phone: (415) 824-9754
URL: http://library.bookbindersmuseum.org/
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
ABM Librarian, American Bookbinders Museum, San Francisco, California 94103. Consent is given on behalf of the American Bookbinders
Museum as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such
permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation: [Folder name], Joanne Sonnichsen Collection. American Bookbinders Museum Library and Archives.
Joanne Sonnichsen Collection. American Bookbinders Museum
Gift of Deke Sonnichsen.
Biography/Administrative History
Born in 1933, Joanne Sonnichsen died in 2003 of congestive heart failure. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree
in Art and Design in 1958 and eventually began studying the French styles of bookbinding in the 1970s, founding her own studio
in Menlo Park. One the creations of which she was most proud is the AIDS Name Project “Book of Remembrance,” which is on permanent
display at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Sonnichsen served as President of the Book Club of California, the Hand Bookbinders
of California, and the Colophon Club of San Francisco, as well as serving as an active member of the Roxburghe Club of San
Francisco, the Bancroft Library Associates, the Stanford Library Associates, and the Guild of Book Workers. In the 1990s,
she helped found AIR neuf, an international bookbinding organization in France, and in February of 2003, the Book Club of
California honored her with the Oscar Lewis Award for “outstanding contributions in the field of Book Arts.”
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection includes a variety of materials. There are three manuscript boxes of articles, photographs, correspondence,
ephemera, and information on local rare book collections. Three unboxed pieces include manuscripts and drafts of projects
done in conjunction with Sun Evrard and others. One is a translation of La Reliure by Sun Evrard and Annie Persuy, one is
a folder entitled La Livre de Jason, and one is a box of containing Papiers et Moulins and Des Origins a Nos Jours.
Books -- History -- Exhibitions.
Book collecting.
Marbled papers.
Joanne Sonnichsen.
Sün Evrard.
Don Glaister.
Guild of Book Workers.
Stanford University Libraries.
Photographs.
Articles.
Ephemera.
Exhibition materials.
Conference Materials.
Bookbinding.