ABOUT  US  

Gallery    B O O K A R T S            ~    A b o u t   U s   ~

 

Gallery BOOK ARTS is the culmination of the collective efforts of gifted American and Florentine bookbinders, conservators, book artists, letterpress printers and leather craftsmen.

​

Inspired by the classic Florentine atelier, Book Arts coalesces a life-time of experience to make available timeless works with finest uncompromising  services, employing the arts of fine binding.

​

​

​

 

 

   
                              President and Founder

STEPHEN L. VANILIO was born into a family of art book binders with a legacy of more than 100 years. Mr. Vanilio was imbued--from an early age-- with a reverence for books, fine book design, and an appreciation for their power to be evocative. Mr. Vanilio has created fine bindings and other objects for Presidents Including G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden, personally, and as state gifts presented to foreign heads of state. His work is in numerous palaces, institutional libraries and private collections throughout the world.

​

Mr. Vanilio has developed a broad yet highly-specialized array of fine binding materials, which include partnering in the nuanced assortment of Vegetable-Tanned leathers,  hand painted decorative papers and bindery technical capacities, which enhance the fullest range of artful services offered in-house.  These features provide project control to permit extraordinary turn-around with the greatest artistic range.

​

Mr. Vanilio creates artful design solutions, daily, for individual clients with insight and care, to accomplish the  bespoke requirements for family treasures, or expanding ongoing years-spanning collections of prized first editions for the most discerning collectors.  New Special Editions are tailored to provide each client with the most cost-effective outcome, with the highest inherent value.

​

Other clients have included notables in the worlds of the arts, entertainment and industry, foreign governments, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, and the IMF/World Bank. In 2010, Mr. Vanilio was appointed to the Hermitage Museum Foundation Advisory Board. Mr. Vanilio received his A.B. from Kenyon College, Magna cum Laude with Distinction, and his M.A. from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, (SAIS) Bologna, Italy.

 

 

 

  
                   Art Director and Project Manager

​

JOHN  PAUL  GREENAWALT has personally served USDOS Chiefs of Protocol creating Head-of-State, Leader to Leader bespoke gifts for Presidents, G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden.  Employed the arts of fine archival binding, genuine gold hand tooling, and premium leather working skills, to source, design, build and deliver date-certain, museum quality works for King Charles, Queen Elizabeth II,  Popes Benedict XVI, and Francis, the Kings of Spain, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, The Emperors of Japan, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Emirs and Chancellors. 

 

He developed the teams to accomplish the sourcing and stocking of precious materials, such that larger production was possible for summits, Official and State Visits, and conferences. 

 

Maintained the confidence, and confidentiality of Presidents from both parties. Advised incoming administrations, and new hires within each administration's gift office on protocol, with recommendations on possible gifts for each occasion, and design solutions to accomplish the artful presentation, and suitable archiving of gift items requested directly by the  EOP, or the Chief of Protocol.

 

Collaborated with Sam Anthony, the Special Assistant to Archivist of the United States, to obtain delightful reference documents. Mr. Greenawalt finely printed and faithfully reproduced, scanning and archiving them, which he then leather-bound, and ceremoniously gold tooled and inscribed, to charm and deeply touch the world leaders, bridging the transfer from one President through to the next.

 

Created with Mr. Vanilio, Mr. Greenwalt supervised the production of the Official 250th Anniversary Commemorative edition of 250 pieces, as an elephant-sized folio, celebrating the founding of the Hermitage Museum and Gallery by Catherine the Great. Scanning and printing exact replicas of a suite of masterpiece drawings for this collection.

 

Mr. Greenawalt directed the restoration of the Patrick Henry Museum Library, the Collections of the American Historical Association, and personally scanned, adjusted and archived the  Dachau Album Project, restoring the original for the Library of Congress, and then creating the exact five replica albums, with archival materials,  for study and lecture.

 

His works have won, back-to-back years,  Best in Show for the concept, scanning, design layout, gold tooling, and project management for the extraordinary Apollo 11 Edition of 500 deluxe leather Books, and the historic-method inventive binding of the 14 CROSSROADS edition.            Mr. Greenawalt has a B.A. from the University of Maryland.

​

​

​

 

 

PAOLO BARBIERI

A master printer of Florence, Italy,

Mr. Barbieri is known for his faithful,

artistic rendering of works by the great masters of renaissance art and architecture.

 

Combining his historical sense, 

and the skills and methods of classical printing,

with modern technologies,

Paolo interprets the image upon the paper

with his unique vitality.

 

 

 

​

​

​

​
 

MAX LONGHINI

From his native Florence, his career spanned nearly thirty years in the international marketing of Luxury Italian Design, fine leather-working, and top fashion houses.  He was the support force behind the American introduction of Fiorucci in New York in the late 70's, and had long since continued to lead in the field of Italian style and high design through introduction initiatives in America, and England, Italy, and throughout the rest of Europe.

 

Mr. Longhini earned his distinguished reputation for professionalism on projects of great complexity and critical timing. He added his artistic eye and diplomat's sensitivity gleaned from a career with the leading Italian high design organizations, to the mission of Gallery BOOK ARTS, where he was key to developing specialized book arts materials, and coordinating artistic resources between Tuscany and Washington. --- Truly, a Renaissance man.