As the girls in Class 3 have been learning the fine art of bookmaking this year, they were delighted by a visit from Myra Weiser, mother of Chapin alumnae Laura Weiser Zeckendorf ’76 and Lynn Weiser ’77 and owner of one of the largest collections of antique silver bookmarks in the world.
Mrs. Weiser began by speaking with the students about the practice of collecting and asking them about the things they collected. One girl spoke of her family’s tradition of collecting snow globes; another discussed her hobby of collecting sea glass and seashells when at the beach.
It was her great love of reading, Mrs. Weiser explained, that inspired her to begin her collection. In it are holiday-themed bookmarks, lucky bookmarks, pun-inspired bookmarks, commemorative bookmarks, and bookmarks adorned with flowers and animals. Mrs. Weiser also spoke of the various uses of a bookmark: “I have bookmarks that are in the form of daggers, knives and swords. Do you know why?” she asked. One student, raising her hand high, answered, “To cut the pages!” The way books were once printed, Mrs. Weiser explained, required that readers use a sharp edge to cut through pages that were stuck together. These bookmarks served a distinct purpose in addition to saving places.
The girls were anxious to see the bookmarks up close and excitedly gathered around a Lower School library table that displayed hundreds of bookmarks that Mrs. Weiser brought with her. One girl asked which was her favorite. Mrs. Weiser was quick to respond. “My most favorite bookmark – I couldn’t even believe it when I first saw it – has a miniature dictionary that fits inside an open square with a magnifying glass on the cover. The book is the size of my thumb!” The girls were fascinated and rushed to see it.
The bookmarks in her collection, Mrs. Weiser explained, were made in many different mediums and by many different craftsmen, including “sailors out at sea,” woodcarvers, and those commemorating special occasions, such as coronations.
As it neared 2:00 p.m., the Class 3 teachers had a difficult time getting the girls away from the bookmarks and back to their classrooms. “Are these all of your bookmarks?” a student asked as she walked out. “That’s it, for now,” Mrs. Weiser replied. “But a collector never stops collecting!”
Mrs. Weiser’s exceptional collection can be seen in the Ethel Grey Stringfellow Art Case in the Front Hall until the end of June.
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