American Book-Plates: A Guide to Their Study with ExamplesAllen, Charles Dexter
History
American Book-Plates: A Guide to Their Study with Examples
Allen, Charles Dexter
Bookplates -- Bibliography; Bookplates, American
The plate of _William Vanamee_ shows what is also an actual interior,
probably. The stairs enter the room at the left, and the space under
them is occupied by books. Pictures adorn the walls, and a cosey bench
before the shelves invites the visitor to recline and read. The motto,
_Carpe diem_, is given above the picture, and the name below, both in
fac-simile of handwriting.
Actual comfort and enjoyment are expressed in the plate of _Louis J.
Haber_, of New York City. In this interior, a fire is blazing on the
andirons; the drowsy dog lies asleep before it; the hanging lamp sheds a
brilliant light over the room, and furnishes the means of reading which
the owner is enjoying, as he sits in an easy chair, in lounging-coat and
slippers. The rows of books at the far end of the room add to the effect
of comfort, and the motto which envelopes the whole design--_My silent
but faithful friends are they_--discloses the attitude of the owner
towards his volumes.
The plate of _Albert C. Bates_, of the Connecticut Historical Society,
at Hartford, is a reproduction of an early woodcut which represents the
interior of an old library (University of Leyden, 1614), with long rows
of books chained to their desks. Globes are protected by brass covers,
the patrons salute each other in apparent silence, and over all there is
an air of repression and elevated learning. No seats are provided, and
light is admitted through long windows filled with small lozenge-shaped
panes of glass.
[Illustration]
The beautiful colored plate of _Gerald E. Hart_, of Montreal, represents
the interior of a cell in some mediæval monastery; for the tonsured monk
is sitting upon his stone bench, illuminating a large volume. The Gothic
window admits light through its highly colored design, and rows of
vellum lie beside the desk of the old monk.
The plate of _W. E. Baillie_, of Bridgeport, Conn., represents a corner
of a modern library, furnished in the Louis XV. style, having some
half-dozen frolicsome Cupids, rolling on the rugs, peeking out of the
window, reading in arm-chairs, or discussing the volumes taken from the
elaborately carved case. This plate is the second one to make use of
the half-tone process direct from the pencil sketch.
Continuing with the plates which come properly under the classification
“Literary,” we find them to be very numerous, very various in design,
and very unlike in shape and treatment. A plate which represents the
past is used by _Henry M. Brooks_, of Salem, Mass. In this the old
ink-pot and quill, the box of wafers, the wax and seal, and the sand for
blotting are disposed about the letter, which, being used before the
days of postage stamps and envelopes, bears the amount due and the
address upon the back of the sheet. The address seen is that of the
owner.
[Illustration:
George
Wharton
Edwards
]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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