For the Love of Paper: a paper-making demonstration The Threads of Memory Lecture Series

To record their lives and discoveries, Spanish explorers first needed something to write on. Palace Press Curator Tom Leech will discuss the finer points of historical papermaking at a lecture and demonstration on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 2-3:30 pm in the museum’s Learning Center and the exhibit space of The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States.

“Por el Amor de Papel: For the Love of Paper" is free with museum admission.

Each of the documents in The Threads of Memory, though created over a span of more that 300 years, has this in common: The papers underlying the words, drawings and maps were made by master craftsmen, each sheet lifted from a vat of water and pulp on a delicate screen, then carefully pressed and dried, one sheet at a time. Appreciating the subtle beauty of papers made by hand, and understanding how they were made, makes the experience of this rich exhibit all the richer.

Leech has more than 35 years experience in printing, papermaking and related book arts and has maintained a paper studio since 1978. He was a founding member of the Paper Road/Tibet project and has contributed papers and articles to many anthologies. He also demonstrated paper marbling at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

He is also director of the Press at the Palace of the Governors, which combines a museum exhibit displaying the tools of the 19th-century publishing trade with a working print shop that produces award-winning, limited-edition books.

The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States (El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos), features 138 rare documents, maps, illustrations and paintings, many of which have never been displayed outside of Spain.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Fundación Rafael del Pino and, along with the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies), is co-organized with the State Corporation for the Spanish Cultural Action Abroad (Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, or SEACEX), in collaboration with Spain’s Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Culture. The exhibition and lecture series are supported locally by the city of Santa Fe, BBVA Compass Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Heritage Hotels, Santa Fe University of Art and Design and the Palace Guard.

Upcoming in the Threads of Memory Lecture Series:

Sunday, Nov. 7, 2 pm: “An Afternoon with Pedro Menéndez,” performance by Chaz Mena, a New York-based actor, scholar and Chautauqua performer, on Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, first governor of Florida.

Friday, Nov. 12, 6 pm: “Scientists in New Spain: 18th-Century Expeditions,” lecture by California historian Iris Engstrand.

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2 pm: “Murder, Martyrdom, and the Struggle for La Florida: Rethinking Spanish Florida’s Mission History, 1565-1606,” lecture by Florida historian J. Michael Francis.

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2 pm: “Navio Quebrado: The Wreck of La Belle and the Failed French Colony in the Southwest,” lecture by maritime archaeologist Eric Ray.

Sunday, Jan. 2, 2 pm: “Kissin' Cousins: The Spanish Vihuela and the Modern Classical Guitar," performance by composer, guitarist and educator Greg Schneider.

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2 pm: “Tejiendo el Hilo: Weaving the Threads of History,” lecture by State Historian Rick Hendricks.