Important evidence for the provenance of books are small decorative labels pasted on the inside front cover of a book that typically bear a name, motto, coat-of-arms or any motif that relates to the owner of the book. Bookplate collecting began in the 19th century and most collections were built through the exchange of duplicate pieces.
Bookplates started as simple inscriptions in the Middle Ages, but by the Edwardian era evolved into elegant engravings and etchings known as ex-libris (‘from the books of…’). Having written about the Bloomsbury group in one way or another in earlier posts, I am not surprised that famous artists such as William Hogarth and members of the Bloomsbury group all designed bookplates for themselves and others. For more, check out The Bloomsbury Artists: Prints and Book Designs
Designed by William Fleming
I can’t resist bookplates that have garden themes. I imagine Miss Margaret April, kneeling in her garden weeding…the opening lines of Greening of a Heart inspired by such a person. “In the Cotswold village of Burford, Hannah Winchester pulled the oxalis that had sprung up throughout the garden’s herbaceous borders. The previous night’s rain allowed her to tease the roots effortlessly from the wet soil, the knew of her work trousers already soaked and black.”
Ex libris. Artist Josep Triadó for Joseph Casas (1905)
Visit my Pinterest board – Bookplates for more examples
I love bookplates, and I have to admit being an avid reader of eBooks, I do miss out on them!
This is one of the reasons I love Pinterest, which allows me to have a lovely collection of bookplates.I read MANY of my books on my Kindle. I have run out of shelf space in the ‘cottage for two.’ Of course, I have to buy a book that I can’t resist now and then. One day when your queue is empty, please download Greening of a Heart and read it. I think you would enjoy it and it would make me smile.
What a delightful post. I haven’t thought about bookplates in ages. I’ll investigate. 🙂
Also, I tried to find your pinterest board with no success. 😦
I updated the link and it seems to work now. Thanks! Deborah for alerting me. Hope you enjoy looking at the pins I’ve collected for a sample of bookplates.
That’s great! I’ll try again! 🙂
I googled some sites where you can have your own bookplates designed from their templates. Would love to have my own bookplate to add to the books on my shelves. Not sure of cost yet, but thought I would pursue this when I have a minute between watering, weeding, and trying to finish this second novel. 🙂
I haven’t thought of bookplates in years, so this was a lovely reminder. My father has bookplates in all of his books. How long have you been collecting and where do you go to find them?
I wonder how mine should look like….