When the Pacific Academy of Sciences was launched in Apia, Samoa on 23 October, an important part of the ceremony was the admission of the Academy’s 12 Foundation Fellows.
Each Fellow signed their name in a hand-crafted signature book—a gift from the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society Te Apārangi—to continue a long-held tradition among learned academies across the globe.
As with the Australian Academy of Science’s own charter book, which was a gift from the Royal Society in 1954 and today contains the signature of every Fellow elected to the Academy, the Pacific Academy of Sciences’ signature book will record the signatures of their elected Fellows and become a historical record.
All components of the gift were carefully selected to ensure quality and longevity in humid Pacific conditions, a process greatly guided by the expertise of bookbinder Phil Ridgeway of OrtBindery – Melbourne School of Bookbinding, and Australian Academy of Science Archivist Bethany Holland and Chief Executive Anna-Maria Arabia.
The book’s beautiful workmanship includes many hand-executed details, including the hand-polished blue goatskin leather to reflect the colour of the ocean, secured using a Bradel binding and French link stitch; the silk headbands at the top and tail of the book’s spine handsewn by Phil; and a diamond and circle pattern hand-tooled onto the cover to signify continuity in tradition and knowledge.
Inside the volume, the calligraphy on the dedication and title pages was by Zinnia Cheng of Zizi Calligraphy; the pattern decorating the endpapers was designed and handmade to mimic sunlight reflecting on the Pacific Ocean; and the shifting blue hues colouring the page edges were carefully tailored to match the colour of the cover.
Like the Australian charter book, the Pacific Academy gift also included a protective box which will help provide a stable and relatively airtight enclosure for the book.
The Pacific Academy of Sciences also received a presentation pen from the International Science Council to mark its establishment.
The Monteverde pen, made of mother of pearl, was used by the Founding Fellows to sign their names and will be used in coming years to fill the book’s pages with the names of other eminent scientists.
The pen’s matching blue leather case was also created by Phil.
All involved in the project feel privileged to have contributed to the production of such an important founding document for the Pacific Academy of Sciences and its Fellows.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
