Antiquarian Bookplates: 55 Bookplates to Personalize Your Library

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Hear from librarians about amazing collections, learn about historic bindings or printing techniques, get to know other collectors.

A box of 36 Book Plates, 3 each of 12 individual designs, with flower frames illustrated from our original watercolour botanical paintings. The shield shows a plain spade-like outline, manifestly based upon that of the pseudo-classic urn then very alive.The first real impetus was given by the appearance of A Guide to the Study of Book-Plates (Ex-Libris), by Lord de Tabley (then the Honorable J. Cards and tags can be hand written and prints, stationery, bookbinding kits and handmade books can be gift wrapped on request. They commission numbered and signed editions of bookplates to their name which are never pasted into books but only serve for exchange purposes. The influence of these draftsman over the decorative styles of Germany has been felt through subsequent centuries down to the present day, notwithstanding the invasion of successive Italian and French fashions during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the marked effort at originality of composition observable among modern designers.

Near the turn of the 20th century, the composition of personal book tokens became recognized as a minor branch of a higher art, and there has come into fashion an entirely new class of designs which, for all their wonderful variety, bear as unmistakable a character as that of the most definite styles of bygone days. The engraved copper matrix is then printed with an intaglio press on paper, and the resulting print can be pasted into the book to indicate ownership. Such plates could be very elaborate, or very simple in their design, reflecting the character of the awarding institution.The ornate and elaborate German style does not seem to have affected neighbouring countries; but as it was undoubtedly from Germany that the fashion for ornamental bookplates spread, the history of German ex-libris remains relevant to all those who are interested in their development. Many bookplates you’ll find are decorative, and they’re reflective of the time period in which they were created and the aesthetic preferences of the owner of the bookplate. The librarian David Pearson has argued that a plausible case can be made for regarding this as a kind of bookplate. In the United States, bookplates replaced book rhymes (which replaced book curses) after the 19th century. With gold foil details these letter book plates will add a fantastic personal touch to any home library.