Historical Sketch

Bookplates, sometimes called Ex Libris, have a long and interesting history. Initially a tool to identify the owner of a book and to prevent theft (or ensure safe return) of valuable property, bookplates evolved from mere identification into tiny works of art and reflections of the owner's personality and aspirations. The first known bookplate dates from 15th-century Germany, but the earliest bookplate found here is from 1685, a plate bearing the inscription "Gulielmus Payne Me suis addidit MDC,LXXXV." Perhaps the most common bookplates to be found are armorial bookplates, featuring family coats of arms and mottoes, which became prevalent in bookplate design from an early date. As Charles Dexter Allen somewhat cheekily observed, these armorial designs display both "pride of ancestry and love of the display of aristocratic claims." Also quite common are simple labels with the owner's name, sometimes enclosed in a border of engraving or type ornaments. Around the turn of the last century, bookplate design became much more creative and personal, with designers creating plates that reflected the interests of their clients—homes, pets, hobbies, portraits. In this period, many of the bookplates never made it into books, but instead were collected and traded among fellow enthusiasts. The collecting and trading of bookplates reached its peak between the 1880s and 1950s, and most of the plates in the MHS collection date from this era.