Barbara Adams Hebard is an American conservator and bookbinder. She was born on July 26, 1951 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to George D. and Bonnie J. Adams. Adams Hebard earned her Bachelor's Degree from the University Massachusetts in 1975 trained in bookbinding and book conservation at the North Bennet Street School. She has worked as a conservator in libraries since 1989. She served as Conservator of the John J. Burns Library at Boston College. Hebard writes book related articles and book reviews, gives talks and presentations, exhibits her bookbindings nationally and internationally, and teaches book history classes. She is a Fellow of IIC, a Professional Associate of AIC, a board member of the New England Conservation Association, and an Overseer of the North Bennet Street School.

Bertha Stuart was born on October 22, 1869 in Clinton, Iowa. When she was a child, her family moved to Chicago where her father opened a stationary store. Stuart studied design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1890, won first prize for Decorative Designing. The Stuarts moved to Portland, Oregon in the early 1890s. While in Portland, Stuart continued to draw and sketch.

In 1900, Stuart moved to New York City to pursue her art career. She attended the Women’s School at Cooper’s Union and also took courses at the Art Student’s League. In 1902, while at Cooper’s Union, she won the Bronze Medal for Designing among first year students and later that year, won a prize for Best Design in Silk. In 1904, she began to work for Henry Holt’s publishing company for which she drew 73 of her 168 cover designs. By 1912, changes in publisher’s binding styles eliminated the need for book cover artists such as Stuart; consequently she stopped working for Holt in 1914.

Stuart returned to Portland and opened an interior decorating shop called The Studio. Some of her clients included the Pittock Mansion, the Governor’s Mansion, and the Autzen Mansion. Stuart died in Portland on January 22, 1953.