American Book-Plates
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His titled plates were mounted on gold and silver paper; and the ladies’ plates on bits of silk, damask, satin, or old pieces of brocade and other things pertaining to ladies’ wear. The American plates were mounted on the older styles of marbled papers, and on fancy patterns and colors in use years ago. They were numbered on the back, and were kept in alphabetical order. Very often the back of the mount was covered with notes about the owner of the plate. Portraits, autographs, views of houses, and sketches of the owners from newspapers, were also mounted and placed with the plate they were identified with. The plates were kept in old book-covers of fine, polished calf, beautifully tooled on the back and edges. An interesting history is connected with these covers. Mr. John Austin Stevens, of New York, had made a fine collection of the poetry, ballads, and romances of the mediæval ages, which was bound in the sumptuous style mentioned. Upon the occasion of a visit to Europe, Mr. Mauran, who was a friend of Mr. Stevens, saw them carefully packed in boxes, which were deposited in the vaults of the Chamber of Commerce building in New York, and insured for ten thousand dollars. During the absence of the owner, the negro janitor of the building broke open the boxes, and, tearing out the insides of the treasured volumes, sold them for waste paper! Portions were recovered; but the covers were of no further use as originally intended, and they fell to Mr. Mauran, who used them to hold his book-plates. This collection was quite rich in the early plates of America; for Mr. Mauran, being well-nigh the first in the field, had the cream of collecting for some time, and was able to secure plates which now are not to be had.
Not very long ago, this collection changed hands again, as the first purchaser, having no time to make use of the plates, was willing to sell them to some collector who could make them of greater use among others interested in the same topic. In some way the collection became disrupted, and parts of it are owned by different collectors.
Mr. E. N. Hewins is one of the older collectors among us. Mr. Hewins has a very interesting album of American plates, in which a goodly number of the rarer specimens find a resting-place. Other albums are used for the foreign examples, and the number of plates in the collection places it well up towards the head of the list of large and valuable collections. The plates are classified by styles.
Mr. Richard C. Lichtenstein, of Boston, has a large collection of book-plates. A part of his collection is arranged alphabetically in a large quarto bound in brown morocco, with gold tooling, and made especially for the purpose with leaves of very thin tinted paper. Individual mounts are also used. This collection is one of the largest and probably the best, as regards Americana, of all in the United States.
Another Boston collector who has been collecting for some time, and who has a valuable collection, is Mr. Fred J. Libbie. Mr. Libbie has a copy of Warren, most beautifully bound in crushed levant, which is extra-illustrated by the insertion of rare original plates, autograph letters, portraits, and views. The volume is extended to fully three times its original thickness, and is an elegant specimen of the book-binders’ art, as well as a most valuable storehouse of fine book-plates. Other works on the subject of book-plates are in process of extra-illustration by Mr. Libbie, who is an enthusiastic collector, confining himself to no specialties, but making an excellent collection in all lines.
The largest collection of plates is that belonging to Mr. H. E. Deats, of Flemington, N.J. This industrious collector, while a rather new comer, has distanced all the older men, and, being the owner of the bulk of the Mauran collection, has some very fine examples, as well as large numbers, to boast of.
Dr. Henry C. Eno, of Saugatuck, Conn., has a large and valuable collection mounted in volumes bound in full levant.
We number among our collectors several ladies, and it is earnestly to be hoped that here, as in England, we may have plates designed by lady artists. Probably the earliest lady collector is Mrs. Richard J. Barker, of Warren, R.I., who has several albums filled with good plates, and who has contributed an interesting article on the subject of early American plates to the literature of our topic. Other ladies who are collecting are Miss Helen E. Brainerd, of Columbia College Library; Mrs. C. H. Duhme, of Cincinnati; Mrs. E. M. Gallaudet, of Washington; and Miss Louise Fitz, of Newton Centre, Mass.
The mounting and arrangement of plates are vexed questions among collectors. The really satisfactory method has not yet been discovered. Many ways are tried; and experience shows that while one may at different times think he has found the very best way, its disadvantages are sure to appear, and a new method will be looked for.
Mr. E. H. Bierstadt, of New York, keeps his collection in large albums constructed for the purpose. The leaves are of double thicknesses of heavy calendered manilla paper. The plates are pasted down on mounts of a stiff white ledger paper, and are then placed in the book, four to the page, by slipping the corners of the mounts into slits cut for the purpose in the page. This allows the easy readjustment, the easy exchange of a poor specimen for a better one, the re-placing of a plate wrongly classed, and the extension of alphabetical arrangement ad infinitum. The appearance of the volume is handsome.
Mr. Henry Blackwell, of New York, is mounting all his plates on rather large sheets of a stiff paper, of a dark tint, which shows off the plates to good advantage. They are arranged in alphabetical order, and are kept in neat wooden boxes.
The plates of Mr. Pickering Dodge, of Washington, D.C., are mounted on a dove-colored mount, which is an advantageous tint. The plates are arranged according to styles. This collector, however, is about to change to albums.
Mr. Nathaniel Paine, of Worcester, Mass., has his plates mounted directly upon the pages of an album made for them. Portraits, views, etc., are also interspersed.
The present writer used originally the individual mount; but becoming dissatisfied with that method, because of injury by careless handling, adopted the albums, using in both instances the “hinges” of the stamp collector to fasten the plates down with. He is now changing back to the individual-mount plan, as it admits of more freedom in comparison, easy changes, and the better display of the collection, either to a few, or to an audience.
The larger part of our collectors do not mount their plates at all, or have any system of arranging them. They are kept in odd envelopes, boxes, between the leaves of books, or in a desk-drawer, and there await the new arrival, or the shaking up incident to the search for a particular specimen. This is ruinous.
The larger part of our collectors are members of the Ex Libris Society, of England, while many have also joined the societies in France and Germany. No American Society has as yet been seriously proposed.
Others who have collections, or who are interested in book-plates, but are not members of the societies, are: —
THE EX LIBRIS SOCIETIES
THE Ex Libris Society, of London, was organized in 1891, and now has four hundred members, of whom about fifty are residents of the United States. The Society publishes a handsomely illustrated Monthly Journal, which is free to members. The Annual Dues are ten shillings, sixpence. The Entrance Fee is two shillings, sixpence. This Society will probably limit its membership and raise its dues before long. All persons interested in the collecting of book-plates, except dealers in plates, are eligible to membership. The pre-payment of the Entrance Fee and the Annual Dues constitutes one a member.
The Honorable Secretary of the Society is Mr. W. H. K. Wright, of Plymouth, England. The Corresponding Secretary for the United States is Mr. Charles Dexter Allen, Hartford, Conn.
DES EX-LIBRIS-VEREINS ZU BERLINThe German Society published the first number of its Quarterly in October, 1891. This is beautifully illustrated with many plates in colors, and is free to all members. The Annual Dues are twelve marks. The address of the Secretary is, Friedrich Warnecke, Friedrich-Wilhelmsstrasse, 4. Berlin, W., Germany.
SOCIETE FRANÇAISE DES COLLECTIONNEURS D’EX LIBRISThe French Society was organized in 1893, and published the first number of its Archives in January, 1894. This monthly is free to all members. The Annual Dues are nineteen francs and fifty centimes. The address of the Secretary is, 3 Foubourg Saint-Jacques, Paris.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AMERICAN, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH
THE AMERICAN BIBLIOGRAPHYBy Eben Newell HewinsBook-plate collecting in the United States is of such recent growth that the literature on the subject is naturally limited, consisting of only a few scattered magazine and newspaper articles.
The following list is believed to be nearly, if not quite, complete.
The compiler desires his thanks to all who have assisted him in his work; and especially would he thank Mr. H. W. Fincham and Mr. James Roberts Brown, for kind permission to use their exhaustive English Bibliography, which is here reprinted from the journal of the Ex Libris Society; and also Mr. Walter Hamilton, for permission to use his Bibliography, prepared for his “Hand-Book of French Book-Plates.”
Additions to this list are desired, and correspondents having knowledge of articles not noted here will confer a favor by communicating with either the author or compiler.
1. The Heraldic Journal. Vol. I., American book-plate engravers; Thomas Johnson, p. 6; Nat. Hurd, p. 19; John Cole, Jun., pp. 95-108. Vol. II., American book-plate engravers; Thomas Turner, p. 94. Vol. III., The Harris collection of book-plates, pp. 21-24; Thomas Child’s book-plate, p. 190. Vol. IV., The Spooner book-plate, p. 45; the William King Atkinson book-plate, p. 119; Heraldic Painters and Engravers, p. 192.
J. K. Wiggin, Boston, 8vo, 1865-1868.2. Whitmore (William H.). Elements of Heraldry.
Boston, 1866.Contains copies of book-plates and notices of early American book-plate engravers.
3. Winsor (Justin). A catalogue of the collection of books and manuscripts formerly belonging to the Rev. Thomas Prince, … now deposited in the public library of the city of Boston, v., viii., illustrated.
Boston, U.S.A., 4to, 1870.Describes the various book-plates of the Rev. Thomas Prince, 1687-1758.
4. Brown (John Coffin Jones). The Coffin family, its armorial bearings, and origin of the name, illustrated.
Boston, 8vo, 1881.5. Literary World. A Library Pest, July 2, 1881. The Study of Book-plates. A review of Warren, Aug. 13, 1881. (By Rev. Dr. Joseph Henry Dubbs.)
Boston, U.S.A., 1881.6. Leach (Frank Willing). The Right to bear Arms, illustrated. The Continent, Vol. III., pp. 513-523.
Philadelphia, Penn., U.S.A., April 25, 1883.Many of the illustrations given are copies of book-plates.
7. Lichtenstein (Richard C.). Early Book-plates. The Boston Daily Globe, April 22, 1885.
8. Book-Mart. Original stanzas for insertion on the fly-leaves of lent books, III., 27.
Pittsburgh, Penn., U.S.A., 8vo, 1885.9. The Book Buyer. A List of American Book-plate Collectors, III., 165. The Original and Imitation Washington Book-plate, illustrated, III., 234. Practical Suggestions for Book-plates, illustrated, III., 377.
New York, Scribner, 4to, 1886.10. Hutton (Laurence). Some American Book-plates, illustrated. The Book Buyer, Vol. III., 7-9, 63-65, 112-114, 159-161.
New York, Scribner, 4to, 1886.These articles were reprinted in the Ex Libris Journal, Vol. II., pp. 42, 52, 69.
11. New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. XVIII., No. 1. Samuel Provoost, First Bishop of New York. An address to the Genealogical and Biographical Society. Illustrated with portrait and book-plate of Bishop Provoost.
New York, January, 1887.12. Lichtenstein (Richard C.). Early New England and New York Heraldic Book-plates. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XL., 295-299. Published under the direction of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Boston, 8vo, 1886.Also privately printed with additions.
13. Lichtenstein (Richard C.). Early Southern Heraldic Book-plates. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XLI., 296. Published under the direction of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Boston, 8vo, 1887.Also privately printed.
14. Lichtenstein (Richard C.). American Book-plates and their Engravers, illustrated. The Curio, 11-17, 61-66, 110-114; Washington’s Library, illustrated, 246-252.
New York, U.S.A., R. W. Wright, folio, 1887.The Curio was discontinued after the sixth number.
15. Martin (Charles Towneley). Book-plates and their Early Engravers. City Mission Record.
Hartford, Conn., 1888.16. Dubbs (Rev. Dr. Joseph Henry). Peter Miller’s Book-plate. Reformed Church Messenger (Whitehall Papers, second series, No. V.).
Philadelphia, Penn., U.S.A., June 19, 1889.17. The Century Magazine, Vol. XXXIX. The Grolier Club, 87.
New York and London, 8vo, 1889.Contains the book-plate of the Grolier Club.
18. The American Book Maker. Book-plates, illustrated. Vol. XI., No. 2, 8vo, August, 1890; Vol. XIII., No. 3, 8vo, September, 1891.
New York, U.S.A.19. The Book Lover. Edited by Ingersoll Lockwood, Phil. Bibl. Book-plate, A Classical, by Rhead, 60; An American, 35; An Artistic, by Rhead, 79; Book-plates, by Rhead, 53, 91; Centennial, by A. B. Bogart, 69; Design for, 23; for Cultured Collectors, 115; Book-plates, 13. All the above articles are illustrated.
New York, William Evarts Benjamin, 8vo, 1890.Publication discontinued after twelfth number.
20. The Sunday Sun. South Carolina Book-plates.
Charleston, S.C., January 4, 1891.
21. Dubbs (Rev. Dr. Joseph Henry). Hobbies and How to Ride them. The Interior, June 11, 18, 1891.
Chicago, Ill., 1891.These articles do not directly refer to book-plates, but contain incidental allusions.
22. Providence Sunday Journal. Collecting Book-plates, Mrs. E. H. L. Barker.
Providence, R.I., U.S.A., November 15, 1891.23. The News and Courier. A Bibliographical Hint. Something about Book-plates.
Charleston, S.C., U.S.A., March 1, 1892.24. Stevenson (E. Ireneus). The Book-plate and How to Make it. The Christian Union.
New York, U.S.A., April 30, 1892.25. The Collector. Some Historic Book-plates (Rev. Dr. J. H. Dubbs), V., 151-152, 164-165, 176-177; German Book-plates of Pennsylvania (Rev. Dr. J. H. Dubbs), VI., 3-5; The Book-plate of Jacob Sargeant, illustrated (Charles Dexter Allen); Collection of Book-plates, VI., 29.
New York, Walter Romeyn Benjamin, 4to, 1892.26. Hutton (Laurence). From the Books of Laurence Hutton. On Some American Book-plates, chapter i., 3-29.
New York, Harper & Bros., 12mo, 1892.A reprint of the articles which appeared in the Book Buyer, 1886, and also in the Ex Libris Journal, Vol. II.
27. American Dictionary of Printing and Book-making, Part iv., 180, 181. Ex Libris, illustrated.
New York, Howard Lockwood & Co., 4to, 1892.28. The Book Buyer. Some English Book-plates. A review of Mr. Castle’s book, illustrated, V., pp. 19-22. Some French Book-plates. A review of Mr. Hamilton’s book, illustrated, V., pp. 65-67.
New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 4to, 1893.29. The Library Journal. Note of the Ex Libris Society of London.
New York, May, 1893.30. Jamaica Plain News. Book-plates. A review of Mr. Castle’s book, illustrated.
Jamaica Plain, Mass., U.S.A., July 8, 1893.31. The Critic. Book-plates of New England Authors. A review of Mr. Castle’s book, illustrated, Vol. XIX., pp. 82, 83. Some American Book-plates, illustrated, Vol. XX., pp. 88, 89.
The Critic Company, New York, folio, 1893.32. The Hartford Post. Hundreds of Book-plates in the Collection of a Hartford Gentleman, illustrated.
Hartford, Conn., U.S.A., August 19, 1893.33. The Richmond Despatch. Arms of the Virginia Company. An interesting historical book-plate. R. A. Brock, Secretary Southern Historical Society, September 17, 1893. That old Book-plate. Note on the Arms of the Virginia Company, October 15, 1893.
Richmond, Va., U.S.A., 1893.34. The Richmond Despatch. Note on the Ex Libris Journal.
Richmond, Va., December 3, 1893.35. The Albany Argus. Note on Book-plate of the Albany Library Society.
Albany, N.Y., U.S.A., November, 1893.36. Magazine of Art. “Ex Libris.” A review of Mr. Castle’s book.
New York, folio, December, 1893.37. The Book-Lover’s Almanac. The Art of the Book-plate, by Henri Pene DuBois, with seven caricature designs by Henriot. The Carroll Book-plate, by Charles Dexter Allen, illustrated.
New York, Duprat & Co., 1893.38. The Art Amateur. Ex-Libris Notes, illustrated, Vol. XXX., pp. 92, 121, 148, 173.
New York, Montague Marks, Publisher, 25 Union Square, folio, 1894.
39. The Dial. Private Book-marks. A note of Mr. Hardy’s book, p. 88.
Chicago, Ill., February 1, 1894.40. The Collector. A Current Record of Art, Bibliography, Antiquarianism, etc. Published semi-monthly.
Alfred Trumble, 454 West 24th Street, New York.The following numbers contain brief articles on book-plates: Vol. IV., Nos. 13, 14, 20; Vol. V., No. 1, 1893; Vol. V., Nos. 8, 9, 1894. This is not to be confounded with The Collector, published by Walter R. Benjamin.
41. The Inland Printer. The Book-plate, its Literature, etc., by W. Irving Way, illustrated, Vol. XII., No. 6, pp. 460-461.
The Inland Printer Co., Chicago, Ill., March, 1894.42. Book Reviews. American Book-plates, by Charles Dexter Allen.
New York, Macmillan & Co., Vol. II., No. 1, May, 1894.* * *Allusions to book-plates, or reproductions of interesting plates, are found in the following works: —
Bridgman (Thomas). The Pilgrims of Boston and their Descendants. Book-plate of Peter Kemble, Esq.
Boston, Phillips, Sampson & Co., 8vo, 1856.Magazine of American History. November, 1880, Kissam book-plate, p. 376; February, 1881, Washington’s book-plate, p. 88; March, 1881, Kissam book-plate, pp. 225, 302; April, 1881, W. Smith’s book-plate, p. 274; August, 1884, Roger Morris; book-plate of Henry Clinton, grandson of Sir H. Clinton.
Ralph Waldo Emerson. His Maternal Ancestors. With some Reminiscences of Him. By David Greene Haskins, D.D. Boston, Cupples, Upham & Co., 12mo, 1886.
Book-plate of Rev. William Emerson, father of Ralph Waldo.
Lion Gardiner and his Descendants, by Curtis E. Gardiner.
St. Louis, 1890.Book-plates of John Gardiner, Fifth Proprietor of Gardiner’s Island, and John Lyon Gardiner, Seventh Proprietor.
History of the Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of George Washington as First President of the United States.
New York, Appleton & Co., 1892.Book-plate of George Washington.
Pene DuBois (Henri). Four Private Libraries of New York.
New York, Duprat & Co., 8vo, 1892.Book-plates of C. Jolly-Bavoillet and George B. DeForest.
Customs and Fashions in Old New England. Book-plates, p. 286. Alice Morse Earle.
New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1893.Jamaica Plain News. Sketch of a “talk” on Book-plates, by Mr. E. N. Hewins.
Jamaica Plain, Mass. U.S.A., March 3, 1894.Origin and Growth of the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. A paper presented at a Meeting of the Society, November 9, 1893, by Samuel Abbott Green, M.D. Pamphlet.
John Wilson & Son, University Press,Cambridge, Mass., 1893.Describes the various book-plates used by the Society, and is illustrated with several fac-similes.
The Jaunceys of New York. Pamphlet, 24 pp.
New York, 1876.William Jauncey’s book-plate for frontispiece.
Annals of the Van Rennselaers in the United States, by Rev. Maunsell Van Rennselaer, D.D., LL.D.
Albany, 8vo., pp. 241. 1888.Book-plate of K. K. Van Rennselaer, to face page 214.
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. IX., page 14.
Book-plate of Sir John St. Clair. Notices on him by Charles R. Hildeburn. 1885.
THE ENGLISH BIBLIOGRAPHYBy H. W. Fincham, Esq., and James Roberts Brown, F.R.G.S.
[Reprinted by their kind permission.]
1. Bartsch (Adam). Le Peintre Graveur, Vol. VII., for plates by Dürer and others.
Vienna, 21 vols., 8vo, 1803-1821.2. Moule (Thomas). Bibliotheca Heraldica Magnæ Britanniæ, pp. 367-388.
London, royal 8vo, 1822.Moule used the cut on the title-page as his book-plate.
3. The Gentleman’s Magazine. Remarks on the invention of book-plates, Part ii., 613.
London, 8vo, 1822.4. The Gentleman’s Magazine. Book-plates (C. S. B.), Part i., 198-199.
London, 8vo, 1823.5. Wadd (William). Mems., Maxims, and Memoirs, pp. 146-147.
London, Callow & Wilson, 8vo, 1827.6. Parsons (Rev. Daniel). On Book-plates. Third Annual Report of the Oxford University Archæological and Heraldic Society, pp. 17-25.
Oxford, J. Vincent, royal 8vo, 1837.7. Notes and Queries, 1st Series. Book-plates, whimsical one, vi., 32; motto, i., 212; early, iii., 495; iv., 46, 93, 354; vii., 26; xi., 265, 351, 471; xii., 35, 114.
London, 1849-1855.8. Dennistoun (James). Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange … and Andrew Lumisden, ii., 283-284.
London, Longman, 2 vols., 8vo, 1855.Gives the dates of three book-plates engraved by Strange.
9. Notes and Queries, 2d Series. Book-stamps, armorial, x., 409.
London, 1856-1861.10. Notes and Queries, 3d Series. Book-plates, armorial, vi., 306; their heraldic authority, xii., 117, 218.; by R. A., wood engraver, viii., 308. London, 1862-1867.
11. Beaupré (M.). Notice sur quelques Graveurs Nancéiens du XVIII Siècle. Nancy, Lucien Wiener, 8vo, 1862.
Contains description of a number of book-plates engraved by Dominique Collin.
12. See American Bibliography, No. 1.
13. See American Bibliography, No. 1.
14. See American Bibliography, No. 2.
15. Leighton, F.S.A. (John). Book-plates, Ancient and Modern, with examples, illustrated. Gentleman’s Magazine, 4th Series, Vol. I., pp. 798-804.
London, 8vo, June, 1866.Reprinted in the Ex Libris Journal, July, 1891; also reprinted in the British and Colonial Printer and Stationer, August 6, 1891.
16. Hugo, M.A. (Thos.). The Bewick Collector, illustrated, pp. 303-322.
London, Reeve & Co., 8vo, 1866.17. Larousse (Pierre). Ex Libris, mots latins qui signifient littéralement des livres, d’entre des livres, faissant partie des livres, avec le nom du propriétaire. Ces mots s’inscrivent ordinairement en tête de chaque volume d’une bibliothèque avec la signature du propriétaire. On connait ce trait d’ignorance d’un financier, homme d’ordre avant tout, qui avait ordonné à son chapelier de coller soigneusement au fond de son chapeau, “Ex Libris Vaudore.” Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIX Siècle, Vol. 7. Paris, 16 vols., 4to, 1866-1877.
18. See American Bibliography, No. 1.