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Polly Lada-Mocarski

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Polly Lada-Morcarski
Born
Laura Mitchell Klots[1]

(1902-11-01)November 1, 1902[2]
Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedSeptember 5, 1997(1997-09-05) (aged 94)
Hamden, Connecticut, United States
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
Other namesLaura K. Lada-Morcarski, Laura Klots
EducationHochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
Spouse
Valerian Lada-Mocarski
​
​
(m. 1924; died 1971)​

Laura "Polly" Lada-Mocarski (born Laura Mitchell Klots; 1 November 1902 – 5 September 1997)[3] was an American craftsperson, rare book scholar, bookbinder, book preservationist, educator, and the inventor of the PolyCase, an exhibition display for old and rare books. She served as faculty in the Graphic Arts Department at Yale University.[3]

Early life and education

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Laura Mitchell Klots was born on November 1, 1902, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Bertha Louise (née Ives) and Walter James Klots.[4][5] Her family was upper middle class silk manufacturers, of the Klots Throwing Company of Lonaconing in Maryland (which later became part of Gentex Corporation).[2][5][6] She attended boarding schools in Washington, D.C., and Paris.[3]

In 1919, she met her future husband in Paris, Valerian "Valla" Lada-Mocarski, the son of a Czarist general, Ludwig Viktor Lada-Mocarsky (1854–1917), he had escaped before the Russian Revolution.[7][8] They were married in 1924.[3][7] Valla collected rare books, and around the time of their marriage he started his collection of Russian Alaska and early Russian Travel books published before 1868, and Polly started to learn how to do rare book bookbinding, repairs, and conservation.[3]

The couple moved to Berlin, where her husband Valla was working.[3] She received a formal education in bookbinding at the State Academy of Graphic Arts (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig) in Leipzig, studying under Ignatz Wiemeler.[3] The couple travelled through Europe, and Lada-Mocarski would study bookbinding at every opportunity.[3] Additionally she studied bookbinding and book restoration under Douglas Cockerell at his studio in Letchworth.[3]

Work

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They settled in New York City after World War 2.[9] In 1960, the couple settled down in New Haven, Connecticut near Yale University, where she lived for 30 years.[10][7] Lada-Mocarski taught bookbinding to students of graphic design by the Graphic Arts Department at Yale, and she was the first female faculty.[3] In the 1960s, Lada-Mocarski was involved with the American Crafts Council and the World Crafts Council, and served as a writer and bookbinding editor for Crafts Horizons magazine.[3]

In 1971, her husband Valla died.[1] After his death, Lada-Mocarski shifted her attention to the Book Conservation Studio at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, where she worked for many years.[3] She helped establish the bookbinding courses at Creative Arts Workshop, in New Haven.[3]

She was an active member of the Grolier Club, and she was a founding board member of the Center for Book Arts.[3][7]

Lada-Mocarski was having a problem in the exhibition of books, and as a result, in 1982 Polly designed, patented and manufactured the PolyCase, an elegant, lightweight, demountable Lucite exhibition case.[7] The patent for PolyCase was awarded in 1985, when Lada-Mocarski was in her 80s.[11][12]

She died at Arden House in Hamden, Connecticut on September 5, 1997, her memorial service was at St. John's Episcopal Church in New Haven.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lada‐Mocarski, 72, Ex-Officer of Bank". The New York Times. 1971-06-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  2. ^ a b "Lada-Mocarski, Laura K. (Laura Klots), 1902–1997". LC Name Authority File (LCNAF), The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dubansky, Mindell (December 1997). "GBW Newsletter 115 – Reports, Obituary: Laura K. "Polly" Lada-Mocarski, 1902–1997". Guild of Book Workers Newsletter. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  4. ^ "George Klots". Newspapers.com. Poughkeepsie Journal. 22 June 1989. p. Page 2C. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  5. ^ a b c Carlson, Lage (November 1997). "Polly Lada-Mocarski Dies at 94". Conservation OnLine document library, Abby Newsletter. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  6. ^ "Society for Industrial Architecture Newsletter" (PDF). Summer 2007, Volume 36, Number 3. Society for Industrial Architecture. 2010-06-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-09.
  7. ^ a b c d e Battista, Carolyn (1990-04-22). "Bookbinder's Invention Clearly Shows Her Art (Published 1990)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  8. ^ "Lada–Niocarski, 72, Ex-Officer of Bank". The New York Times. 1971-06-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  9. ^ "Collection: Laura K. and Valerian Lada-Mocarski papers". Archives at Yale. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  10. ^ "Out of Africa". Yale Alumni Magazine. Yale Alumni Publications, Inc. November 2009. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  11. ^ "Technology/Patents". Newspapers.com. Hartford Courant. 2 December 1985. p. 59. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  12. ^ "Retirement or Invention?". Newspapers.com. The Daily Spectrum. 21 November 1988. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
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