Ex Libris: The Art of Bookplates - Softcover

Martin Hopkinson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0714126748 ISBN 13: 9780714126746

Publisher: British Museum Press, 2011

Synopsis

A bookplate, or Ex Libris, is a small print for pasting inside the cover of a book to express ownership. The first books were highly valuable and prestigious objects to own, hence the first bookplates usually incorporated the decorative coats of arms of the fabulously wealthy. By the late nineteenth century, bookplates had developed into a highly imaginative form of the engraver’s and printmaker’s art in miniature. This delightful book showcases bookplates drawn from the rich collections of the British Museum, including works created by some of the most talented artists of their day, such as Albrecht Dürer, Edward Burne-Jones, Aubrey Beardsley and Eric Gill. Equally it shows how the content of bookplates has evolved over the years to feature a vast range of allegory and symbolism – often incorporating a pun on the owner’s name – uniquely relevant to that individual. For example, the bookplate for a professor of Sanskrit features Hindu imagery, while a Venetian publisher is associated with a lion, the symbol of his city. Endlessly diverse, surprising and touching, this is a book that will be treasured by art-lovers and book-lovers alike.

About this title

Review:

'...[a] modestly priced, beautifully produced introduction to the art of bookplates... admirably concise and thought provoking... The book's card cover with generous flaps will rightly draw in many people who have yet to encounter Ex Libris and its content will whet their appetite for more.' --The Bookplate Journal, May 2011

'Endlessly diverse and charming... traces the design evolution [of bookplates].' --Apollo, March 2011

About the Author:

Martin Hopkins was curator of prints at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, from 1977 to 1997. He is now a freelance art critic and writer; his publications include Italian Prints 1875-1975 (British Museum Press 2007).

About this edition

• Publisher: British Museum Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0714126748
• ISBN 13: 9780714126746
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112