So much for allegory on English book-plates. It is to the credit of Englishmen that Allegoric work did not become popular until something really artistic in this particular style was produced, and that, even before that time, allegory never ran quite so wild on English book-plates as it did on foreign examples. M. Poulet Malassis assures us that into one French book-plate of the last century were crowded the whole _personnel_ of Olympus! FOOTNOTES: [7] The design has been more recently used by Thomas Gainsford. [8] William Oliver's plate from _Bibliographica_, vol. ii. p. 434. CHAPTER V ENGLISH 'PICTURE' BOOK-PLATES IN turning now to consider English book-plates which show us, apart from the heraldry upon them, things wholly real, we find much that is interesting. First, we have 'Portrait' book-plates, those which, either combined with heraldry or entirely without it, show us the features of the owner of the volume. There are but few of such book-plates, but they are so interesting that we shall speak of them by themselves later on (pp. 216-220); they are common to all periods, and the fashion of using them has increased lately. Then we have book-plates in which books themselves--book piles or book shelves--are the predominating feature in the design; with these, Sir Arthur Vicars, in the pages of the _Ex Libris Journal_, has dealt exhaustively. Though the book-plates which show us library interiors would seem naturally to come into this class of examples, I have been forced to except the majority of them, and to speak of them in the previous chapter, as being in nearly every case at least tinged with allegory. Even in the _sanctum_ of a doctor of divinity, Cupid frolics about as happy, and as busy, as in a maiden's boudoir. Still there are a few 'Library Interiors' entirely free from allegory. Take, for instance, the book-plate of Sir Robert Cunliffe. Here we have the interior of a library with a window to the right. Every ornament is thoroughly 'Chippendale' in character; the legs of the table, the cartouche (which contains the name), the shield, and the woodwork surrounding the window. On the table is a globe, upon a stand, the supports of which terminate in Chippendale scrolls, an inkstand with a pen on it, and two books, one closed, and the other open. There are numbers of books confusedly disposed on the shelves, the ceiling of the room is plain, and there is only a plain line for a cornice. The arms occupy the centre of the plate, and appear to be suspended in mid-air, the foot of one of the scrolls only resting on the table.