The Art of the Bookplate

Book excerpt: The world is full of people who love books. People who not only love to read, but who love to possess and collect books. Since the fifteenth century truly devoted collectors have commissioned their own bookplates, known also as ex libris. Some are straightforward ? a simple label bearing the owner?s name. Others are impressive works of art in miniature. Whether plan or fancy, book plates give an owner a special sense of proud proprietorship. Even more important, they assure that if a cherished book is lent, it has a decent chance of being returned. They are an indulgence of the rich and famous, certainly. And, ?The art of the Bookplate? includes many owned by prominent people such as George Washington, Charlie Chaplin, John F. Kennedy, Joan Crawford J.P. Morgan, Walt Disney, Grace Allen, Otto Bismarck, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, Sigmund Freud, Charles Dickens, and Anita Loos. But other bookplate patrons are unknown to us, like Mabel Bishop, whose charming ex libris shows a young woman tending her garden, or Lucius Fisher, whose bookplate, naturally enough, features a fish. In this delightful book James P. Keenan, Director of the American Society of bookplate collectors & Designers, shares many of his favorite bookplates. He explains the history behind each, and discusses the artists ? some as famous as Rockwell Kent and Claes Oldenburg, others as unknown or not ex libris owners are passionate about keeping their book collections intact. As one very old bookplate proclaims, ?Steal not this book for fear of shame. For here you see the owner?s name.? The Art of the Bookplate is a book to be treasured and, of course, kept in your possession. --