The second fully 3D-printed book from Tom Burtonwood produced during his 2014 residency at the Art Institute of Chicago. Signed and numbered limited first edition.

Folium is comprised of bas-reliefs with both text and braille descriptions of each page. Each page’s relief is paired with a mould verso so that copies of the relief can be made directly from the book’s pages. Folium is a 3D Printed Book of Bas Relief from the museum’s collection, spanning over two thousand years of human history. The title Folium is derived from the Latin for leaf and refers to the decorative leaves that allow each page to flex.

Folium features 3D scans produced using Autodesk’s 123D Catch and Recap photogrammetry applications. These scans were edited in Netfabb Pro, cleaned up for 3D printing, and combined with STL files generated in Autodesk’s Tinkercad to create the ‘pages’. Each of the scans is printed with the positive and negative on the same page, allowing people to use malleable materials to create copies of all the pieces inside Folium. Simply undo the two securing bolts and slide the pages out. Detach from the flexible leaf if you choose. When finished simply reinsert and slide the bolt through and secure with the nut.
Each page is attached to a flexible leaf held in place by two 136mm long bolts, which are secured by two knurled nuts. Each ‘leaf’ should be printed in Ninjaflex, PolyFelx, or a similar flexible thermoelastic polymer, allowing the individual pages to flex and open like a ‘regular’ book might.
Folium is designed with braille translations of the front cover and list of works to aid recognition for the low sighted and visually impaired.

List of Works in Folium:
1. Relief Plaque Depicting the God Horus as a Falcon, Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664-30 B.C.)
2. Relief Plaque Depicting a Queen or Goddess, Ptolemaic Period (305-30 B.C.)
3. Relief Panel, first century A.D.
4. Buddha’s Footprints, India, Andhra Pradesh, second century
5. Stamped Tile with Crouching Ascetics, fifth century
6. Architectural Panel with Parrots, Indonesia, Java, ninth century
7. Coronation Stone of Motecuhzoma II (Stone of the Five Suns), fifteenth century
8. Plaque with Portrait of George Washington, nineteenth century
9. Louis H. Sullivan, Felsenthal, Eli B., Store: Decorative Panel early twentieth century.

Full-size page dimensions 195mm x 130mm with spine, hinge, and fasteners. Includes text and braille annotations, both require further optimization.