W. G. Bowdoin - The Rise of the Book-plate

W. G. BOWDOIN

This 2012 edition published by Barnes & Noble, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Barnes & Noble, Inc.
122 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011

ISBN: 978-1-4114-5761-4

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

DURING the past ten years much has been written about book-plates; a good deal of repetition, seldom anything new, simply the oft-repeated tale dished up in various styles to suit the whims and oddities of the writers. There are more collectors of book-plates today than at any other previous time. Many collect because it is the fashion; others again for the money they think there is in it; some because they really admire these artistic bits of paper; and a few in order that they can get together a large collection.

In spite of the strictures of unthinking critics, however, there is much that can be urged in favor of book-plate collecting. It is not so easy to obtain examples of the rarer varieties now as it was in the days about which W. J. Hardy writes so pleasantly, but there are still rewards for the patient collector who is untiring in search. Book-plate collecting, aside from being educational, is a means of social relaxation, and there is something to be said in favor of the exchange of personal plates on the part of collectors who are strangers one to the other.

More knowledge is requisite for the book-plate collector of our day than was needed in the equipment of the pioneers in the field, and the literature available upon the subject is constantly increasing. Countries again that once sat in darkness are coming more and more to book-plate light. Book-plate designers spring up on every hand, and the total number of existing book-plate examples is simply bewildering. Many of them are, of course, common place, but many a gem is encountered among the modern or so-called "recent" products.

The aim in the volume that now comes from the hand of Mr. Bowdoin is not to pull down book-plate card houses, but rather to add something to the sum of book-plate knowledge, to help those who would be collectors to a little more acquaintance with book-plate lore, and to some extent to lighten their toil in their search after ex-libris wisdom. His list of the more recent American engravers and designers of book-plates will be found to contain many new names, but he has not by any means assembled them all.

From my own personal standpoint I am constantly gaining, rather than losing, interest in the subject. I welcome any serious publication regarding it, and I do not believe that I stand in a state of isolation in regard to it.

HENRY BLACKWELL.

THE STUDY AND ARRANGEMENT OF BOOK-PLATES

THE collector who appreciates art, as well as the joy of collecting, finds book-plates unusually fascinating, something in fact totally different from any other hobby, and the more interested he gets the deeper he becomes involved in his pursuit. With each addition to his collection, he should be able to tell at a glance if he already has it, to what nation it belongs, and to form a good idea as to who engraved or designed it, be it ancient or modern.

The age of a plate that is not dated can, by the expert collector, be told with a great deal of certainty; even by the amateur it is not hard to determine, as plates have their own individuality and characteristics at stated periods.

To study book-plates thoroughly means that you must have a knowledge of heraldry, geography, genealogy, and biography, be the possessor of a good library on all of these subjects, and have familiarity with everything that has been published on the subject.

Oftentimes the collector gets a plate that is a puzzle to him. It looks as if it were American, but it may be an English example, or possibly a Continental; and to get at the exact particulars of that one plate, hours will be wasted and considerable correspondence involved, all without any result. Very few have any idea of what this one plate means to the collector. Going on the supposition that it is an old American plate, an examination of American biographical works is necessary; then Allibone; after that lists of graduates of the various colleges, as they are the most likely people to own plates; if these fail, the Index to American Genealogies may help solve the question. Even the lists of subscribers printed at the end of books published in this country some sixty to a hundred or more years ago are worth preserving, as they contain names of people who bought books, and only book buyers in those days owned book-plates, which cannot always be said today.

Frequently one comes across a book-plate that looks foreign, has a foreign name, and is even signed by the name of an engraver well known as a foreigner; and yet, after all, this plate may belong to an American and be the plate of a man who had made a name in American history. Each plate has to be carefully investigated, and the study of the same often leads to surprising results, and makes one familiar with the history of people famous years ago and all forgotten now, their memories being brought to light simply because they had a book-plate fifty to four hundred years ago. In olden times in America as well as in other countries nigh all important people who cared for books had book-plates. Examine any important collection of American plates, and it will be a revelation to discover names of people well known in American history who had such plates. What a grand work would it be if a biographical dictionary of all who had personal plates from the earliest times to the year 1900 could be made. It would contain the greater portion of the famous people in the world's history. Some day it will be done, for the reason that book-plates are thoroughly studied now, and will be more so, year by year.

The serious collecting of book-plates means a great deal in these days. Plates are hard to get, particularly old varieties; and there is no limit to the money you may spend. Big collections cannot be gathered as easily as was the case ten years ago, unless by purchasing collections formed by others, and that cannot really be called true collecting. To know what you have and something about them, it is better to gather singly, or a few at a time, then you can learn as you go along. Experience teaches in book-plates quite the same as in other branches of collecting.

Regarding the number of book-plates of all nationalities known to collectors, it is difficult to give an accurate estimate, but I should judge the number may reach some two hundred thousand; and in collecting it is advisable to make up one's mind as to the branch one will collect. In America it is better to collect only Americans, and in England English, and collectors in each country should confine themselves to their own nationality. If one insists on a mixed collection, it only makes one's task more arduous and exasperating in determining to what country they belong.

When one is fairly started the question arises, How shall I keep my plates? This is a knotty question, and not always satisfactorily answered; each collector has his own idea on the subject: some keep their plates in scrap-books, others in cigar boxes and envelopes. For my part I have tried many ways, and discarded all for the reason that they gave too much trouble, and difficulty in finding a plate when wanted, unless one had a card index, and that again entailed too much work. The idea in arranging plates, particularly when they run into the thousands, is to so have them that any certain plate can be found at a moment's notice, and to do this I have adopted the single-mount plan. I use a thick gray-tint linen paper, as that color shows the plate to the best advantage; the mount is 6 x 0 inches, as this size will admit of two ordinary plates. I paste the two upper corners of the plates about an eighth of an inch and then put in position on the mount. If one does not want to paste the corners, the plate can be put into position by the ordinary postage-stamp gummed hinge, easily obtained from any stamp dealer. I keep all my American, Canadian, English, Welsh, and Continental plates entirely distinct from each other, and all are arranged in