JILL DEISS, BOOKBINDER, is the founder of Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding. She studied bookbinding and restoration first in Northampton, Massachusetts, then at Cornell University's Department of Library Conservation, and in the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation Laboratories. Mrs. Deiss holds a B.S. in Chemistry and received a Master of Library Science degree from Syracuse University where she specialized in the study of archives and rare book collections.

WILLIAM A. DEISS, TYPESETTER AND PAPER R EPAIR SPECIALIST, also lends his skills as the bookkeeper and records manager for the company. Mr. Deiss is an archivist retired from the Smithsonian Institution Archives and completed graduate work in history at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the co-editor of New Animals, New Worlds: From Menagerie to Zoological Park in the Nineteenth Century (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).

DEE EVETTS, BOOKBINDER, specializes in making new bindings --single copies through small editions--and protective boxes as well as contributing to restoration projects. Mr. Evetts was born in England and read English Literature at Cambridge University, later becoming a student and teacher of oriental languages. He has 25 years experience as a cabinetmaker and designer. Mr. Evetts has three published books of poetry: A Small Ceremony (From Here Press, 1988), endgrain (Red Moon Press, 1997), and Home after Dark (Kings Road Press, 2002) and is a former secretary of the Haiku Society of America.

SUSAN MCCABE, BOOKBINDER, is in charge of preparing book texts either for new bindings or for the cover restoration process. Her specialities include the sewing of book texts and the development of unique techniques for meeting the special requirements often seen in the course of hand bookbinding work. In addition to her work at the bookbindery, Ms. McCabe operates her own genealogical research company established in 2002. She teaches periodic mini-courses in genealogical research, and her genealogical publications include Freedom by Deed an abstract of slave emancipations from deed records, and an Index to Burials in Frederick County, Virginia. Ms. McCabe is a charter member and a past president of the Shenandoah Valley Genealogical Society.

BRANDI FERREBEE, BINDERY ASSISTANT, is responsible for the organization of the bindery's tools and materials. She oversees the annual materials inventory and participates in the preparation of the bindery's annual tax accounts. During the school year Brandi is an undergraduate at Oberlin College where she is studying liberal arts and majoring in English. She has interned with the Hirshhorn Museum (Smithsonian Institution), Arlington House (the Robert E. Lee memorial home), the Phillips Collection, and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Her interests include education, historical architecture, and swing dancing.

AMY JACKSON, BINDERY ASSISTANT, works making new covers for individual volumes and small editions. Her job encompasses a wide range of bookbinding activities including typesetting and paper repair. Using her expertise as a colorist, Amy regularly contributes to the dying and toning required for restoration projects. She has gained experise in washing and drying damaged pages and in humidifying and flattening prints and documents. Amy is an undergraduate at Longwood University where she is majoring in art with concentrations in printmaking and book arts.