Alexandra (Allie) Alvis

Biography

Allie Alvis teaches the Library portion of the Connoisseurship courses for the Winterthur Program, and contributes to British Design History.

Allie is Curator of Special Collections of the Winterthur Library, where they are responsible for the stewardship and engagement of the collection. They are also the editor of the SHARP News Features Section, which publishes articles focused on the broader concept of the book as an object of study and popular cultural relevance. Allie taught an original course on Pop Bibliography at Australia & New Zealand Rare Book School in 2026 and at California Rare Book School in 2024, and was a two-time facilitator for Rare Book School's Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage. Allie has previously worked as an antiquarian bookseller at Type Punch Matrix (Washington, DC) and as the special collections reference librarian for the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

Allie's research is diverse and far-reaching, with interests in physical patterns of use in books, the history of ephemera, and Arts and Crafts bookbindings. Allie originated the concept of Pop Bibliography, studying the depiction and reception of rare books in pop culture and how it informs the broader understanding of book history. They have published on topics including the history of rebinding illuminated manuscripts, the reuse of type ornaments in 16th and 17th century England, the work of bookbinders Douglas Cockerell and Son, and the use of arsenical green pigments in bookbinding. Allie is particularly involved in the study and act of using social media for communicating book history, and maintains popular accounts across various platforms as Book Historia.