Quantcast
Channel: Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie
Viewing all 314 articles
Browse latest View live

This Week in Bookplates 2/28/2016

0
0
A good many bookplate collections are currently up for sale or have recently been sold so the current supply of choice items is  overwhelming.
Anthony Tufts purchased the  Robert Lloyd Henderson Collection.  Mr. Henderson was the son of James D. Henderson, the famous collector of miniature books. Robert was a collector in his own right with Charles Dickens being a particular interest. Most of the collection is being sold on Ebay.
You can see his current listings by searching Ebay using the seller name  Exeter-Rare-Books


From the Henderson Collection I purchased a group of leather bookplates used by Jerome Kern


Jerome David Kern(January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Long Ago (and Far Away)" and "Who?". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr.Guy BoltonP. G. WodehouseOtto HarbachOscar Hammerstein IIDorothy FieldsJohnny MercerIra Gershwin and E. Y. Harburg." In addition he was an notable American book collector.
I currently have a duplicate of his bookplate for possible exchange.If you wish to contact me my Email is Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

Tom Boss recently purchased two significant bookplate collections and is currently sorting though and pricing them.He can be reached at this Email address:
TGBoss@gmail.com

I was sent a fine collection from a collector who wishes to remain anonymous
Here is one of my favorites from that collection.
Within that collection I also obtained this bookplate for Blaine Cordner.
He was an actor and his bookplate is a woodcut by Drusilla Albert (Mrs. George Kidd) I already have a copy so this one is also available for possible exchange.
Last but not least, fellow collector Luigi Bergomi purchased the Richard Schimmelpfeng collection. In several weeks he will be writing a blog article about the collection .This is one of the finest private collections assembled in the last fifty years. It contains well over 50,000 American and European bookplates .
If you want to contact Luigi his email address is

 Lbergomi@gmail.com


Here are a few Mystery Bookplates

 I believe both bookplates were done by the same artist..Dr.Eric Stone was affiliated with Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in the early twentieth century
and he lived in Brookline Mass.Does anyone out there know who designed these bookplates?
Bookplatemaven@hot mail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Yes, this one is grotesque . Perhaps that is why I like it. In any event do you recognize the Artist's cipher ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This one measures 2 1/4 inches wide by 3 1/4 inches high ,circa 1920
At first I thought it might be a book ticket but most book tickets are tiny and it was pasted in the center on the inside front cover of a book about world war one.
 Mr. Schliepmann sold books  from apartment 13 A at 440 west 40th Street. I have not located any information about this bookseller and any input would be appreciated.

See you again Next Week.



A Tribute to The Late Larry Conklin By Tom Boss

0
0
 I'm really going to miss Larry Conklin. We had innumerable interesting conversations over the thirty-five years I knew him. He was always a provocative thinker with a great vocabulary and command of the English language. Larry loved to discuss, dissect and yes, even argue.

        He was an important mineral dealer and had many stories about collectors and collecting. His personal collection was also enviable. Larry had a passion for early American furniture and decoration and displayed wonderful pieces in his home. They always seemed well-integrated into his style of living.

         I knew Larry chiefly as a book collector first, then as an avid early American bookplate enthusiast. He formed an extensive collection of the works of William Loring Andrews the American bibliophile. I found most of the books in his collection for him. I hope his work on Andrews will result in a book on this important figure.

         Larry also became vulnerable to the charms of bookplates and decided to collect the works of Paul Revere and Nathaniel Hurd and other important engravers and prominent American figures of the 18th century. He liked to keep his bookplates in specially made boxes with the individual prints matted. He was a fastidious collector whose knowledge and passion were in ample evidence whenever I encountered him.

          I hope that other collectors now and in the future will be influenced by Larry in their activities but I'm afraid that with his passing we are left with a permanent void.

Note from Lew -Here is a link to Larry Conklin's website:






       

Some Interesting Bookplate Stories

0
0
 George Brent ( 1904 –  1979) was an Irish-born American stage, film, and television actor .He was also a book collector .His unique  exlibris is the largest leather bookplate I have ever seen.The outside dimensions are 3 1/2 inches wide by 4 inches high.
George Brent


John Held Jr.


Clare Dwiggins
Clare Dwiggins(1874- 1959) , a.k.a Dwig was a well known cartoonist. He was the creator of the first half page Sunday feature known as SchoolDays
Shown below is the bookplate he and his wife Bess used in their library.



This bookplate amuses me. How often do you see a Judaica angling plate?
Does anyone out there know anything about the owner ?
Send your responses to    Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com



Solving an E.D. French bookplate mystery with the assistance of fellow collector Richard Schimmelpfeng






Lucy Coleman Carnegie  This one is easy to identify (Brainerd #91)*

Margaret C. Perkins         The puzzle begins here.
This plate is identical to #91 in every way except it is printed in green
and the owner’s name has been changed. It is not listed in Brainerd*

F.Curtis Perkins Jr.  As above, but again with a different name.

From this link I deduced that these were all relatives who used the original copper after the Brainerd book* was published.


I also sent the link to Richard and he responded as follows:
”Hey thanks for the link. I did a little research myself, and Lucy Coleman Carnegie married the brother of Andrew, had nine children, one of whom married Frederick Perkins. All the ones you bought are altered names from the original ED French copper engraving; yes, they are genuine, and they wouldn't have turned up in the literature because of being too late.  The Carnegies and Rockefellers intermarried, and they owned several islands. Fascinating people." 

 * REF. Edwin Davis French A Memorial by Mary Brainerd French

Ô Canada

0
0
I rarely write about Canada so I am  pleased to talk about some Canadian related topics today.  The University Of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library  has placed a portion of their bookplate collection on Flickr.

Here is a link:

New Flickr Set: Canadian bookplates

Ex-Libris of Mary Frances Holgate
The Fisher Library possesses an extensive bookplate collection dating from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, referencing prominent figures and institutions in Canadian history. Reaching across Canada as well as the United Kingdom, the ex-libris collection comprises a wide range of owners. Provenance for some bookplates include prime ministers, military commanders, universities, libraries, private businesses and journalistic groups. The collection also offers a wide range of styles, representing a great variety in bookplate artistry. Some of the styles consist of armorial, pictorial, printed, emblematic, and hand-written bookplates. Many ex-libris have extraordinary artwork by notable artists like J.E.H. MacDonald and Francis Adams, while others possess witty rhymes, elegant mottos and family crests.



 These are just a sampling of the collection as there are more than 1,000 bookplates are available in the library’s physical collection.
Student intern Selin Kahramanoglu was responsible for preparing the finding aid for the collection and for curating the set of images on Flickr.

Fellow Bookplate collector Warren Baker has a new PDF catalog of Historical Canadian Documents, autographs and ephemera
I am unable to reproduce PDF images on this blog .
Here is Warren's contact information to obtain a copy of the catalog.

Warren Baker P.O. Box 844, Station B Montreal, Quebec H3B 3B0 

Tel. (514) 482-3070

 email: peguis@videotron.ca

Here is a link to a Canadian bookplate blog by Andrew Godefroy which has not been updated for quite some time .


In My own collection of notable people I have several Canadian bookplates

Dr.Frederick Grant Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting, KBE, MC, FRS, FRSC was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter and Nobel laureate noted as the first person to use insulin on humans.

William Maxwell Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook)
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, PC, ONB, was an Anglo-Canadian business tycoon, politician, newspaper proprietor and writer who was an influential figure in British society of the first half of the 20th century

Saul Bellow


Thomas B. Costain
 was a Canadian journalist who became a best-selling author of historical novels at the age of 57
Stephen Leacock
Stephen P. H Butler Leacock, FRSC was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1910 and 1925, he was the most widely read English-speaking author in the world

If you have any interesting Canadian bookplates in 

your collection please send  a scan to me 

and it will be added to this posting.

Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com









The Bookplates of Richard Wagener

0
0
I attended several book shows in New York City recently  and was pleased to meet with Richard and Cathy Wagener .For those of you unfamiliar with Richard Wagener here is some biographical information taken directly from his website.



www.RichardWagener.com

Richard Wagener grew up in southern California spending a lot of time 

with his grandfather in remote parts of the desert and up in the Sierra. 

Early art classes introduced him to Maynard Dixon and Edgar Payne. 

After school activities included selling the evening newspapers at the 

Disney studios where he met many of the illustrators and animators.

Richard has an undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego 

and a graduate degree from Art Center College of Design. He has been 

engraving wood for over thirty years and his work has been in a number 

of fine press editions, most notably with Peter Koch in Berkeley and the 

Book Club of California. In 2006 Richard established his own imprint 

Mixolydian Editions to publish his own fine press editions of his work. He 

has collaborated with David Pascoe of Nawakum Press, Santa 

Rosa, California on two fine press books, one of which earned them the 

2016 Carl Hertzog Award for Excellence in Book Design. Richard was 

also awarded the Oscar Lewis Award for contributions to the book arts. 

He currently lives and works in northern California.


Check List Of Bookplates By Richard Wagener

Boston Book Congress 2000

James M.Goode

James P.Keenan 1994

Gregory Krisilas

Steven Sharafian


Cathy Wagener

Richard Wagener
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A Mystery Bookplate

Every so often I go to a  dumpy bookstore in Philadelphia where I have only found two excellent bookplates in twenty years. A third one was found last week.
I know nothing about the owner of the plate nor the artist.
Here is an enlargement of his (her) cypher. At first I thought it said E Fry but on closer examination I now believe it is E Fay.
Does any one out there have any information about the owner or the artist ?
Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An Old Mystery Solved

I remember exactly when I purchased this bookplate. It was in 2000 at the Boston Book Congress.I've written about it in the past because it made no sense to me.

Now the mystery is solved

See you next Week.
4/26    Comments received from readers
Hi Lew
When I first saw Richard Wagener's bookplate of an emu, my first thought was that he must be an Australian to be using the iconic flightless bird (not much smaller than an ostrich), but now realise that he isn't!
Best wishes
Andrew Peake
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cannot find a bookplate example, or that monogram, but could this be by Clark Fay?

Hope that helps! - Mike



Bookplate Exhibit and Sale in Norwalk Connecticut

0
0
SOMETHING PERSONAL

Ex Libris Collaborations and Other Personal Prints

By Jeffrey Price



For over 100 years almost everyone who loved books had their own personal prints created to identify their library and exchange with their literate friends.

These “Personal Prints” represent unique collaborations between artists and their patrons or collectors. Albert Einstein had a small print designed to identify books from his library and also as a personal artwork to be presented to his colleagues and friends.

 J. F. K. and Jackie Kennedy had their personal prints designed by Tiffany, while artists ranging from M. C. Escher to Maxfield Parrish created intimate artworks that reflected the artists’ styles as well as the interests and personality of their patrons.

This exhibition is one of the first opportunities to see prints such as these in a gallery setting, beautifully framed and available for ownership by a new generation of collectors.


The exhibition will be free and ongoing during Artists’ Market hours of  Monday – Saturday 9am – 5pm, with special late hours on Thursday when the gallery is open until 8pm. Parking is free. For more information contact Jeffrey Price at 203-846-2550




Bookplate Odds and Ends- Hitler and Trump

0
0
I spotted this in the  bookplate listings by the Ebay seller Owl10  and thought it was very clever.


*The Bookplate Rehousing Society

An imaginary society dedicated to finding new homes for old bookplates.
---------------------------------------------------

Pictures are worth a thousand words
Click on Image To Enlarge
Waiting for Appropriate Caption from an inspired reader relating to these two images  
-------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waiting for appropriate caption
By the way, if you can think of an appropriate caption for the Trump and Hitler bookplates or the two new years greetings please send them to me and I will publish one or more responses next  week
Bookplatemaven @hotmail.com
=================================================

An Interesting Link

Here is another resource  about bookplates and porcelain
The Bookplate Journal.
 An issue in which  20 pages and the back cover are devoted to an article by Paul Latcham entitled “Bookplates and Armorial Porcelain” [New Series, September 2008, Vol 6 No 2], available to non-members of The Bookplate Society at £14 plus postage from the editor, Peter Youatt [email: editor@bookplatesociety.org ]. This article includes a full list of the bookplates believed to have been used as patterns for armorial services


Bookplate Odds and Ends 6/5/2016

0
0
Congratulations to fellow collector Jerry Petterson for having unearthed a very rare Anglo-American bookplate.

Here is what he wrote to me.

"I found a bookplate that is very interesting and unlisted in Allen,Eno, or the American society of bookplates 1959/1960.of a Gabriel Johnston, his nephew was Samuel Johnston, the American patriot.
Gabriel Johnston was Governor of North Carolina 1734/1749? I could only find his biography, it was engraved by an English engraver Andrew Johnston, 1724/1750 "

I sent the information to fellow collector Anthony Pincott and he sent me the following additional information :

Dear Lew


As you say, this is undoubtedly a rare bookplate. It was known to John Henderson Smith, so I assume there may be a print in his collection at the National Library of Scotland. In his copy of Fincham it is one of six extra plates added to Fincham’s tally of eight bookplates by Andrew Johnston. As the second Royal Governor, being appointed in 1733 to succeed Governor George Burrington, he first arrived in North Carolina in November 1734. The bookplate was probably ordered from LOondon a few years later. It bears a crescent for cadency, so maybe Samuel (mentioned in Gabriel’s will, as is their sister Elizabeth Smear of Fife) was his elder brother (although I suppose there could have been other brothers). Samuel and Helen (née Scrymoure) were in Dundee at the time of the birth of their son Samuel Johnston (1733-1816, American revolutionary leader) but emigrated to North Carolina, probably at about the same time as Gabriel.


There is a conflict of information between the Dictionary of American Biography, which indicates he did not take a degree, and the online article 

which states: “In 1717 he entered the University of St. Andrews as a divinity student, graduating with a Master of Arts degree. In 1721 he began attending the University of Leiden to study medicine but then after a month applied to teach Hebrew at St. Andrews. In 1727 he moved to London to pursue political opportunities. For seven years he lived in the house of his benefactor Spencer Compton, first Lord of Wilmington and his primary occupation was as a political writer. He primarily wrote articles for a publication called the “Craftsman.” Wilmington helped him obtain an appointment in the Colonies as governor of North Carolina.”


The online article also tells us he was “born in 1698 in Southdean Scotland to Reverend Samuel and Isobel Hall Johnston” (the DoAB gives 1699 as year of birth) and that “he and his brother built the largest collection of books in the colonies which was kept at his brother’s home, called Hayes Plantation. Also, under his leadership, the first printing press began operation in North Carolina.”


Andrew Johnston  (fl.1683-1730) engraver in Round Court [in the Strand], London, is mentioned in several newspaper advertisements (the first being the London Gazette, October 14, 1718 - October 18, 1718; Issue 5686). An edition of Twenty five actions of the manage horse : engrav'd by Josephus Sympson was printed for and sold by J. Sympson at the Dove in Russel-Court in Drury-Lane, and Andrew Johnston Engraver in Peter's-Court in St. Martin's-Lane, 1729.


Rgds, A.


Capitol Hill Books Washington D.C.



I have never visited Capitol Hill Books in Washington D.C but after reading about the store I will go there on my next Washington trip.

Edward Chace Tolman 
 A white rat scurrying through a multiple-choice maze is featured on the unusual, but singularly appropriate, bookplate of the distinguished theoretician and "rat psychologist," Edward Chace Tolman (1886-1959). He went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an undergraduate and took a degree in electrochemistry, and then in 1915 earned a Ph.D. in psychology at Harvard with a dissertation on human memory. Tolman began using rats in 1919 at the University of California at Berkeley to study animal learning, specifically, the inheritance of maze-learning ability (N. K. Innis, "Tolman and Tryon," American Psychologist 47 [1992]: 190-197).  Based upon his animal learning experiments, Tolman developed an influential cognitive theory of learning that was the antithesis of the then-dominant school of Behaviorism.
            Tolman's professional and scholarly career were well established within a decade, and in 1932 his seminal book Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men (New York: Century) was published. He dedicated it to "M.N.A."; in his preface, he reveals that M.N.A. is Mus norvegicus albinus, the white rats that were so important to his research. In 1937 he served as president of the American Psychological Association and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The white rat and maze from Tolman's bookplate appear again on the title page of Collected Papers in Psychology (Berkeley: the University of California Press, 1958), a volume of Tolman's articles compiled by his students and published in his honor, the rat stars again on the half title of the book's second printing with the new title Behavior and Psychological Man (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1958).

            The original block for Tolman's seven-by-eleven-centimeter bookplate is in the collection of his papers held by the Archives of the History of American Psychology located in the University of Akron's Bierce Library. "


An Interesting Link


Morocco: one of the world’s oldest libraries is renovated





The Opposite of a Perfect Storm

0
0
Perfect Storm-"a detrimental or calamitous situation or event arising from the powerful combined 
effect of unique set of circumstances"

I contact many booksellers each week with a simple repetitive message.
I am a bookplate collector.Do you have an accumulation of loose bookplates for sale ?
More often than not the answer is no but I do have many bookplates in books. 
What are you looking for ?
I collect American bookplates . Can you scan any that you think are unique in books under $25.00

That resulted in my purchase of this bookplate:

" Very attractive illustrated huntsman's bookplate(with flying wild turkey framed in trees with rod and gun) on half-title page on which is printed In Memory of Austin Haight and Charles Haight. (Austin Haight wrote a well-regarded memoir, TheBiography of a Sportsman.). Signed by the author on a card affixed to the front end paper. Overall a very good copy without dust jacket"
Several more scans were sent which did not appeal to me or I already had the plate.


 I then received this scan  and I purchased the plate.
I knew I had seen this plate somewhere so I wrote to Anthony Pincott and swiftly received this response:

"A copy in the Wright collection (disposed of through the Society) carried the note that the name Perceval M Fraser was written on the flyleaf of the book from whichit came."

This was my final selection:
This is a scarce Rockwell Kent Bookplate.

It is illustrated (in red) on page 38 in Later Bookplates and Marks of Rockwell Kent

So there you have it I experienced the opposite of a perfect storm which as it turns out is called a Virtuous Circle


"The terms virtuous circle and vicious circle(also referred to as virtuous cycle and vicious cycle) refer to complex chains of events which reinforce themselves through a feedback loop.
 A virtuous circle has favorable results, while a vicious circle has detrimental results"
By the way,if you have unearthed wonderful bookplates lately send me some scans and a few words about the bookplate so I can add the information to this blog posting.
Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com




Judaica Bookplates for Possible Exchange

0
0
From time to time I post duplicates for possible exchange.It is a good way to add items to my collection and meet new collectors.
 I also have duplicates in the following categories :
18th century American
Magicians
Notable people
Angling
Theatrical and Cinema
I can send scans by category to anyone who contacts me.
Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com




Note: one side of the David Wolffsohn bookplate is closely trimmed



July 4th 2016 Bookplates and Ephemera

0
0
On Monday we celebrate our independence .I was trying to find some July 4th bookplates with little success .These late 19th and early 20th century postcards seemed appropriate for starters .





Fireworks are an integral part of July 4th celebratios so I am adding a link from The Lotus Fireworks Company which has a museum of fireworks


The eleven signers of The Declaration of Independence
 who used bookplates.



John Adams
The name label shown above was used by President John Adams
and is in the collection of the Boston Public Library

Charles Carroll

Samuel Chase

Thomas Hayward 
Image from
The Boss collection

William Hooper    
Image from Tom Boss

Francis Hopkinson

Benjamin Rush

Richard Stockton  
Image from Tom Boss

George Taylor   
This plate was copied from an illustration in  The Loan Exhibition of Colonial Bookplates  organized by The Society of Colonial Dames State of New York in 1908. It is the date (1782) which puzzles me as Mr. Taylor died in 1781

Oliver Wolcott   
 I believe this bookplate was used by Oliver Wolcott.
 He and his  son (Oliver Wolcott Jr.) used the same plate which had a blank name tablet
 Signature enlarged directly from bookplate with an example of the signers signature below .


George Wythe


If you have any other images of bookplates used by signers  please send me a scan so it can be added to this posting.

   Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com






Pins , Zebras and Dodo Birds

0
0
Below, a Badger is hiding among a herd of zebra. Can you spot it?

This was sent  by the B.B.C.and it took me about a week to solve .
 Have fun with it.
I have two bookplates with Zebras in my collection.
Color Woodcut by Julius Nitsche
Etched By Horatio Nelson Poole
Dr. Guion Was a remarkable woman who rose to the top of her chosen profession at a time when women were treated like second class citizens in the field of medicine .


"THE big estate on the Catawba also furnished a definitely directed motive to the small Connie. From this plantation her grandfather and five of his eleven brothers had gone off to medical school in Lexington, Kentucky. They subsequently practiced medicine formally while their mother practiced it informally, but almost as extensively, when she covered the plantation on horseback ministering to sick slaves. Family stories of these earlier generations planted in the child the notion of becoming a doctor. And there was an added embellishment: a visual picture of Dr. C. Guion calling on her patients in a carriage drawn by a pair of zebras, harnessed tandem fashion. (This stemmed from a banner day in her eighth year when an animal-loving little girl headed a circus parade on an actual zebra.) "
(The paragraph shown above was extracted from this site  )   
http://www.vahistoryexchange.com/womens-education-why-it-matters/
=========================================================
This is a printer's negative for the H.A.Bryden bookplate.
Henry Anderson Bryden was an English solicitor, athlete , sportsman and author.,
He was a keen hunter and naturalist and travelled widely.



                Bookplate used by a Pin Collector
Tom Boss sent this image of a bookplate used by Henry M. Brooks.
and designed by Edward S. Morse.
Before staples and paper clips were invented old papers and documents were held together with pins.Mr. Brooks had a world class collection with specimens going back to the 17th century.


 Bookplate used by a DoDo Bird Collector
 The information shown below appeared in the March 1988
 Bookplate Society Newsletter
and was sent by fellow collector Anthony Pincott
If you have any bookplates in your collection depicting a Zebra or a bookplate owner's unusual hobby please send a jpeg image and it will be added to this posting.
Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

Signed Bookplates

0
0
In general, bookplates used for book signings are not of interest to me.
In my collection I have made ta few exceptions..
Walter B. Gibson
The following expression will be familiar to many of you especially if you grew up in America between 1940 to 1960

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

That's right -The Shadow knows. The Shadow is a fictional character created by Walter B. Gibson, one of the most famous of the pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s. Born Kent Allard he assumed various identities for his crime fighting work, most notably that of Lamont Cranston.

Mr.Gibson was also very involved with magic and his book signing exlibris

reflects his interest
Al Jaffee


The blog has a mind of its own .It was not my intention to stop here..
Click on the words READ MORE below and to the left
"Allan "AlJaffee (born Abraham Jaffee,] March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in. As of 2015, Jaffee remains a regular in the magazine after sixty years and is its longest-running contributor. In the half-century between April 1964 and April 2013, only one issue of Mad was published without containing new material by Jaffee.
In a 2010 interview, Jaffee said, "Serious people my age are dead."

J.Edgar Hoover

I am not sure if Mr. Hoover used bookplates in his books. He sent these out to bookplate collectors who asked for one.
By the way the handprint in the background is not J Edgar reaching out from his crypt because I keep his bookplate in the cross dresser file.
I was trying to hold down a folded letter.when I scanned it and the accidental image appealed to me..
Ralph Hammond Innes
"He was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941), the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being demobilized in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes. His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF GatowRAF Membury after its closure andRAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948) from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) fromThe White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957) from the book of the same name (1952), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) also from the book of the same name (1956). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979. It was partly filmed in Nullagine, Western Australia. An audio adaptation of The Doomed Oasis was repeated on the UK digital radio station BBC Radio 7 (now called BBC Radio 4 Extra).
Innes' great love and experience of the sea, as an experienced yachtsman, was reflected in many of his novels. He and his wife Dorothy both travelled in and raced their yachts Triune of Troy and Mary Deare. At his death he left the bulk of his estate to the Association of Sea Training Organisations, to enable others to gain training and experience in sailing the element he loved."
His bookplate shown below was signed and used in his "working library"

Current and Future Events Plus Bugs Beasts and Birds

0
0

If I’m fit and well in four years time I shall be off to university at Cambridge. No, not Harvard, but to one of England’s historic cities, where The Bookplate Society is proposing to hold the 38th International Exlibris Congress, commencing Wednesday, 12 August 2020. Already some impressive groundwork is in place, which you can see by visiting the website at 


www.bookplatesociety.org/2020home.htm        and linked pages.

The formula of taking over a college worked very well in 1982 when the 19th congress took place at Keble College, Oxford. Since then the quality of student rooms has greatly improved, and the intended venue, Churchill College, offers good modern accommodation, including a newly-opened bedroom block with elevator. The ancient aspects of Cambridge will be appreciated  through tours of colleges and libraries, and by the formal dinner being held in the old dining hall of St John’s College. 


It appears that the organizers will be introducing some innovations, and with good forward planning in evidence this promises to be a busy and hugely enjoyable event. I can understand that there is intense competition to hold conferences in Oxford & Cambridge colleges, hence the need for very early booking.




Of course this all presupposes that, when they meet on 26 August 2016, FISAE delegates will vote to adopt this proposal, but the present troubles in Turkey (which held a congress as recently as 2010) don’t make it an attractive alternative for me. So I plan to book my place at Cambridge as soon as registration opens, and thus to get a 10% reduction in the participation fee. However, don’t expect to see me on the river in a punt!



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bookplate Exhibit Currently in Whittier California



George Washington Bookplates as well as other 18th century American bookplates are currently on display at The  Whittier public Library located at 7344 Washington Ave.  Whittier California 90602
 Tel. # 562 567 9900

Among the other highlights in the exhibit are the very rare Gabriel Johnston bookplate  as well as examples of plates by Nathaniel Hurd, Amos Doolittle, and Paul Revere. 

The bookplates were provided by fellow collector Jerry Peterson and new examples from his extensive collection will be added  every few months.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

Bugs Beasts and Birds


 I am sorting through a very fine collection of bookplates that were originally owned by a herpetologist, It contains lots of snake related plates along with insects and all sorts of critters. In addition   many bookplates were from  scientists and physicians at the University of Chicago.
So far I have selected about thirty bookplates for my own collection.
Here are some examples.
 An article about the Emil August Goldi bookplate. *


Bookplate of the week: Emil August Göldi

Émil August Göldi (1859-1917), whose colorful bookplate is this week’s feature,was a Swiss-Brazilian zoologist who discovered numerous species of Amazonian wildlife, and researched the causes and prevention of yellow fever. Following a successful research career, Goldi was tasked by the Brazilian government with the founding of a scientific museum in Pará, which still exists today. 

Göldi’s bookplate, representing his background and various interests, is one of the few color bookplates in our collection.

This bookplate is part of the Daniel Butler Fearing collection at Houghton Library. Fearing collected several thousand bookplates related to angling, watercraft, and other related subjects.




Dr. Hugo Kahl      Affiliated with the Carnegie Museum    

C. de Mello Leitao                                                                        
A zoologist  considered the founder of Arachnologyin South America -  who has published 198 articles on taxonomy of arachnids .

He was also an educator, writing books for college courses . He contributed to biogeography , studies on the distribution of members of the class Arachnida in the South American continent.


Dr.Frank J. Psota was an Insect Collector


Notes From Lew

Throughout the week I will be adding more images to this posting .

* Here are more postings from Harvard's Bookplate of the week series:


8/7/2016- Note received from Gordon Collette

Hi again Lew,
 
Just a quick note to say hello, and that thanks for putting up the UK Bookplate Society bid for FISAE 2020.
The image with the swans is one of mine. Hopefully see you there!
 
Also I have a new look website  www.muralartist.co.uk
 
and you can see all new stuff on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Gordon.Collett.Artist
 
 
Keep up the good work!
Best wishes,
 
Gordon

    






Bookplates in the Rabbit Hole

0
0

The Quest Begins 

By Jeffrey Price
Jeff and Esta

For the past forty years or so I have enjoyed collecting the woodcut bookplates by M. C. Escher and exhibiting them in my art gallery in Connecticut.   In addition to inventing prints where fish turn into birds and stairways that wind in endless loops,

Escher created about a dozen woodblock engraved bookplates, each one of them quite rare and loaded with historical connections and aesthetic virtues.

The Latin in this print gives it its title: "A Reader Banishes Troubles" The print is surrounded with a mat embellished with watercolor and ink, and the frame is created from white gold with hand engraving in the traditional scagrafitto technique.
M.C. Escher’s Works© The M.C. Escher Company,Baarn, The Netherlands

To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Escher's birth in 1998, an exhibit was held in Holland that focused on Escher's bookplates and challenged artists around the world to create their own bookplate designs that somehow connected to Escher's unique and imaginative designs. I wrote to many of the artists who designed Escher-like prints, and my small collection grew to include marvelous prints by Peter Lazarov, Elle de Kosta, and many others.
Bookplates Inspired By M.C. Escher's Artwork







 In 2005 I commissioned Natalija Cernecova of Latvia to design a 'personal print' for my wife Esta and myself.
 Her brilliant etching featured a Venetian woman in a dress containing Escher-like butterflies, surrounded by floating spheres, and other delightful Escheresque and personal designs.
Cernecova's etching 'Scherzando' 

My small and specialized collection kept me happy for many years, and then I fell down the ex libris rabbit hole in November of 2015. Today, just.eight months later, thousands of bookplates are organized in my albums and in frames on the walls of my art gallery, and I feel I have caught a collecting bug for which – delightfully – there may be no cure.

Note From Lew

Here is Jeffrey Price's Contact Information


     Proprietor:  Artists' Market Inc.
      Collector :  Artists' Bookplate Museum
         Curator:  Famous Photographers Archive LLC
163 Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06851 USA
203.846.2550
Open Monday - Saturday 9 -5 & Thursday tll 8pm
Closed Sundays


Bookplates In The Rabbit Hole Part Two

0
0

More Bookplates In The Rabbit Hole

By Jeffrey Price
Fellow Collectors James Goode, Lew Jaffe and collector/dealer Tom Bossopened a gate to the wonderlandof bookplates. How could I have not been aware of such a vast and rewarding field?  Why weren't names like E. D. French, Spenceley, and C. S. Junge familiar to me? The fact that this entire genre of prints was  'under-the-radar' was so fascinating to me that I immediately dove in to learning all I could and acquiring some prints. It certainly was challenging to figure out what areas I wanted to focus on when so many genres were appealing.

Engraved by A.N. Macdonald for Enrico Caruso

I soon discovered that there were at least three distinctly different types of prints in the ex libris world. The British had created armorial plates featuring family crests and insignias for hundreds of years. In Europe the majority of modern ex libris prints were actually editions of 'free graphics' and surrealistic etchings, always inscribed with a patron's name and interestingly often too large to ever be glued into a book.


Americans raised the art of ex libris to new heights with some of history's finest engravers and designers creating miniature works of consummate beauty and craftsmanship. These American Masters soon became the focus of my collecting, and I began to acquire prints, proofs, and vintage books by these artists.

Engraved by E.D. French , designed by Howard Pyle for The Yale Club
I thought a lot about the words ex libris' and 'bookplate.' Certainly, many of these prints could have been glued into books to identify ownership, but these prints were so much more than name-plates. Each print reflected the personality of the patron, the craft of the artist, and the history of the time in which it was created. I believe many of these prints were presented by their owners as gifts to friends and collectors. My collection of plates, however, was not in books; each print was treasured separately and many were destined to be on my walls in fine picture frames. I decided the name 'Personal Prints' was the most appropriate title for a collection of these prints. My hope is that name sticks and becomes part of the general vocabulary describing bookplates. These prints deserve more dignity and a greater presence in the world of art and I believe new nomenclature is a good place to start!


 After speaking to James Goode, Lew Jaffe and Tom Boss I discovered there were many appealing paths to explore in the Bookplate World. I began acquiring prints by famous artists or works commissioned by notable patrons. How exciting it was to discover that I could own a small print by Aubrey Beardsley, Winslow Homer and Maxfield Parrish, artists I had admired all my life! That enjoyment was multiplied by the fact that my art gallery features a world-class picture-framing workshop, and I was able to design frames for these works. 

Designed by Maxfield Parrish for Theodore Weicker

Designed by Aubrey Beardsley for John Henry Ashworth
 I learned that the usual way collectors organized their bookplates was to put them in albums or boxes in much the same way that stamps or baseball cards are stored. A lifetime of picture frame designing experience enabled me to create a gallery display of bookplates that was historical as well as down-right gorgeous.  The possibilities for creative design are endless and a well-designed frame will only enhance and never overpower its contents. Fortunately, many small personal prints have huge impact that balances a complex frame design. It was inevitable that I would collect far quicker than I could sell these prints, and the fact was that I wanted to keep much of what I acquired for my own collection anyway, so I decided rather than a typical gallery exhibit I would create a space in my gallery known as 'The Artists' Bookplate Museum.' Of course, unlike most museums, many of the works on the walls had price-tags along with their historical captions!

Designed by E.B. Bird and engraved by E.D. French

 One fortunate acquisition was a tattered 1911 edition of Freud's 'Interpretation of Dreams' with Charlie Chaplin's marvelous bookplate affixed to the inside of the front cover. The cover had separated from the book long ago, and that gave me the opportunity to frame the cover without committing the sin of destroying a historic book. I designed a frame with a hand-marbled-paper mat to surround the lovely view of Chaplin gazing at London with his trademark cane and shoes below and a theatrical mask above. Turning the frame over revealed the front of the book-cover with Freud's name and the title of his famous work. As a bonus, I commissioned Lynda Libby, a fine bookbinder from Washington State, to rebind the original book. Hanging in my gallery, I have no doubt that this little gem honoring Chaplin and Freud will be a great temptation to a future collector, especially considering that they can have Chaplin's personal copy of Freud's important book on their bookshelf while they enjoy a unique artwork on the wall.

Designed by Rob Wagner for Charlie  Chaplin

Another unique presentation was created for a spectacular hand-colored example of the Ohio print for the Manila Library by Hopson which was embellished with a beautiful remarque. This print was accompanied by the original booklet describing the commission and the symbolism of the various design elements. The booklet was beautiful as well as informative, so I designed a frame with a pocket on the outside of the glass to hold the information, which could be raised from the pocket by pulling on a Mylar tab. I was thrilled that the print and the booklet could both be elegantly displayed and fully studied. This one was only on my gallery's walls for a few weeks before one of my clients - a woman who had never collected a bookplate before - became enthralled with this treasure and bought it on the spot.



 I’ve continued to explore ways to combine the publication of a print with its creative process. I’ve designed frames that display an original printing plate by Carl Junge or Sarah Euginia Blake together with an example of their final print.




I have developed a frame  design using rare earth magnets that allow a small booklet to be shown off in a frame together with an associated print in such a way that the booklet can be easily removed from the frame for study. W. F. Hopson’s ‘Rowfantia’ proof and booklet was perfect for this cutting-edge frame.


 At its best, a framed bookplate should continue to tell the story of the artwork, combining the history of the era, the desires of the patron, and the artistic skill of the printmaker.


Jeffrey Price

Artists’ Bookplate Museum

at Artists’ Market

163 Main Street

Norwalk CT 06851

203-846-2550


Rudy Vallee's Bookplate

0
0

From the Antioch Bookplate Archives — Rudy Vallee’s Bookplate

 Among the samples of custom bookplates in the Antioch Bookplate archives is one with the signature of “Rudy Vallée” with the illustration of a Doberman Pinscher. Before definitively declaring that the bookplate was indeed printed for the well-known actor and bandleader, caution dictated that some confirming information be found (the correspondence with Antioch Bookplate to the create the bookplate had long been destroyed).
An Internet search did reveal that the actor was ineed mad about dogs, and at one time owned four, including two Dobermans. Historian of the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Marj Brooks noted: “Rudy owns two genuine Doberman Pinschers: Himmel…and Kaiser, a half-brother to Himmel. They are his constant companions and protectors… Kaiser takes keen interest in his master’s Variety Hour. If he doesn’t happen to like Rudy’s tones he places his paw over his nose simulating a gesture used by human beings… But if you should invite Rudy to dinner, there too would go Dobermans Himmel and Kaiser.”
Himmel was also noted for his association with famed dog psychiatrist Clarence Ellis Harbison as profiled in “The Dog’s Freud: He treats phobias and complexes of the canine world” by Herbert Brean in LIFE, January 2, 1950.
“Rudy Vallee’s doberman pinscher was easy to cure, although he presented a puzzle at first. The dog appeared healthy and sound, but the singer complained that he (the doberman) suffered fits of running wild through the house, scratching at doors, leaping at windows.
After having the dog in his bedroom one night, Harbison discovered the core of the trouble. It did not involve the psycho. The dog just needed to see a tree about a trunk every so often.” (Milwaukee Journal, August 16, 1949)
One of the Dobermans owned by Vallée was noted in another context, since Vallée joined a few other actors contributing their animals to the war effort in the “Dogs for Defense” program.
This entry was posted in Antioch Bookplate Archives and tagged 

Note From Lew

Rebecca Eschliman is a frequent blog contributor. She worked at

 The Antioch Publishing Co (originally Bookplate). for 24 years

 and  is  the publicity/website manager at

The Yellow Springs Historical Society

 Here are some other blog postings she has written  about  Antioch 

Bookplate Artists

Individual Artists

A Trip to Brooklyn

0
0
  I plan to visit Brooklyn on September 10th for the third annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair. Here is an article about the fair which was written by Thomas G. McKinney . It appeared in

Logo-full

2723 Pacific Avenue San Francisco, CA 94115
Tel: (415) 823-6678
Toll Free: (877) 323-RARE [7273]
Email: bmckinney@americanaexchange.com
Site: http://www.rarebookhub.com

Sept. 9-11: The Third Annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair brings books and more to NYC

20141cd5-41c6-4c17-b7ac-e2ea906d0e96
This month, the third annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair will be holding court from Friday, September 9th through Sunday, September 11th. With almost 100 dealers exhibiting a wide array of collectible and rare books and ephemera, as well as a busy agenda including interactive performances, a vintage photography exhibit, book signings, and workshops, the fair promises to be an exciting event.
Here’s a breakdown of the special events going on during the fair:
Opening Preview Night Celebration to Benefit 826NYC
The fair opens with a bang on Friday, September 9th with a preview event to benefit826NYC, a local organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.  From 6:00pm-9:00pm guests will have first dibs on the event’s 25,000 items on offer while enjoying locally sourced refreshments including treats from Jessy's Pastries.  Jessy’s is known for their home-made, fresh empanadas and alfajores, Peruvian cookies which the Huffington Post calls “the best cookie you've never heard of.” And, as a special thank you, each preview guest will receive a free limited edition fair poster. 
The Haiku Lounge
The Haiku Guys & Gals and Pop Productions will present “The Haiku Lounge,” an immersive, poetic hideaway featuring interactive performances, artful food and drink selections, curiosities, crafts, and other analog and antiquarian delights.  These remarkable Haikuists will be authoring free, one-of-a-kind, poems and spreading the syllable love through their unique blend of performance, audience interaction, and humor. 
Book Shots and Photography Expert Panel Discussion
Stacy Waldman, from House of Mirth, will present a lovingly curated, exclusive exhibit of vintage snapshots featuring books, readers, libraries, and other literary themes.  In addition, Stacy will be moderating an expert panel discussion entitled Lost Souls Found Photos: Obsessive New Yorkers Talk About The Insanity Of Collecting Snapshots.   This conversation will focus on the collection of vintage photographs, those “everyday” shots we all took with our Kodak and Polaroid cameras of our friends and relatives at family gatherings, at the beach, or wherever our camera happened to be. What was it in these collectors' lives that prompted them to start collecting vintage photos of people they have never met and what is the thought process which goes into assembling their collections?    Participants in this discussion include: WM Hunt, Brian Wallis, Jane Hammond, Billy Parrott, and Barbara Levine, all well-known experts in the field of vintage photography. 
Book Signing
Rebecca Rego Barry, the editor of Fine Books & Collections, will be greeting visitors and signing her newest book, Rare Books Uncovered: True Stories of Fantastic Finds in Unlikely Places, on Saturday, September 10th from noon to 3:00 pm.  This book recounts extraordinary discoveries from the world of book collecting, like a stash of vintage comic books worth $3.5 million long forgotten in a basement closet or a first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird purchased at a Philadelphia flea market for a few dollars.  The Washington Post called Rego Barry’s book "…a welcome gift for a passionate reader or collector.”
Free Drop-in Family Make-a-Book Workshop
Book author and artist Esther K. Smith of Purgatory Press will present her latest book, Making Books with Kids: 25 Paper Projects to Fold, Sew, Paste, Pop, and Draw, and will give a hands-on demonstration of simple pop-ups and movable books on Saturday, September 10th from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. Smith’s publications have been on display at the Metropolitan and the Victoria & Albert museums, and are in international collections including the MoMA, Whitney, Tate, Cooper Hewitt, and The National Gallery of Art, among many others.
Special Exhibit by The Center for Book Arts
Visitors will be treated to a remarkable display of artist books highlighting a variety of form and content from the permanent collection of this esteemed Manhattan based contemporary arts organization.  The Center for Book Arts, the first not-for-profit organization of its kind in the nation, was founded in 1974 and the only location in New York City where visitors can view book arts exhibitions in the context of an active, working studio.  The exhibit, which will on display throughout the three day event, will highlight works by Tadasha Mitsui, Shana Agid, and others. 

The third annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair will be held at the Brooklyn Expo Center, on Friday, September 9th from 6-9pm; Saturday, September 10th from 11am-7pm; and Sunday, September 11th from 11am-5pm.  A variety of ticketing options are available ranging from $7 for a Sunday only ticket to $25 for the preview opening benefit; for more information and to purchase tickets please click here.  The Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair is sponsored byAbeBooks and brought to you by Book and Paper Fairs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Note from Lew-  I have made the pilgrimage to 
Brooklyn for two consecutive years . The show is well stocked , well run and well attended.

Here are some Brooklyn related bookplates from my own  collection. If you want to send additional
scans of Brooklyn bookplates for inclusion in this posting send them to 

Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com






9/4/2016 Sent by Nina Allen

This Week in bookplates 9/11/2016

0
0
Let's begin with my simple wish on this fifteenth anniversary of the attack.
I hope one of the two ass holes running for president (whichever one is elected) gets some good advisors and follows their advice.

Fellow collector Yosef Halper made this bookplate shortly after the attack.
The translation is
 " There is nothing more complete (or whole) than a broken heart "

Throughout history during every social upheaval and plague prophets of doom along with religious zealots sprang up like mushrooms in manure.
9/11 was no exception.
Items like these were rapidly distributed .

They all have one common theme you are responsible for 9/11  because you sinned...

 I do not agree with the zealots who thrive on chaos
 The world is not coming to an end . 
We will muddle though this chaos  and life goes on.

See you on Monday when I will have a more upbeat posting .

Collector Profile Michael Anthony Middleton

0
0
In the bookplate collecting world we do not see too many young people joining our ranks so I am pleased to introduce a new collector, Michael Anthony Middleton who is 26 years old.

I asked Michael a few questions and these were his responses:
As for my personal bookplate, I commissioned Daniel Mitsui to provide me with something that would be representative of my interest in architecture and to be placed within the books of the antiquarian architecture book collection. This is how he described the bookplate's final design;

The concept is basically as I described earlier, although I made a few adjustments after I realized the limits of the space I was working it. So the view through the doorway is directly outside, not to a vestibule, and the shorter inscription "Exlibris Middleton Architecture Library" appears. "Exlibris" is worked into a repeating tile patter on the wall. The doorway and niches are late Gothic, based on models in C.A. Heideloff's books. The statues are derived from those on funerary brasses, reproduced in a model book by Augustus Charles Pugin. The ruins out the window I based loosely on an old photograph I saw recently of Palmyra - these might have been destroyed recently, I am not sure. 

 He based the design motifs off of famous architectural pattern books of the 19th century. I had asked him to incorporate both classical and gothic architecture into the design as they are the predominant architectural styles that the books in my collection encompass. One other request was that he provide me with a space to write the year in which I acquire the book the plate was to be place within. This is can seen right about the arch in the central doorway. One area has "20" and the other has a blank space to write the year.

Attached please find 4 scans of bookplates in my collection.

1.) Monty Wooley

2.) Jerome Kern

3.) Victory Jory

4.) Otis Skinner (This image is meant to show how I display the bookplates in my collection)

I seem to have developed an interest in bookplates belonging to early show business actors, though I collect from all notable Americans. I just find it so interesting that all the early personalities in show business seemed to have had book collections and bookplates.

Note from Lew:

If you want to say hello to Michael and welcome him to our very select group,

here is his contact information:

mam2448@columbia.edu



Viewing all 314 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images