Bookplates

Whenever I'm in a bookstore, I have to

go check out the bookplates! There

are so many types and styles.

I especially like the vintage ones.

A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs

(Latin for 'from the books of'), is usually a small print

or decorative label pasted into a book,

often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner.

The earliest known examples of printed

book-plates are German, and date from the 15th century. Societies of collectors were founded, first in England in 1891, then in Germany and France, and later in the United States The first treatise on bookplates was Warren's famous Guide. In 1901-1903 the British Museum published the bookplate catalog of the Franks Collection, augmented with the notes and additions of J. Sidney Pearson. Bookplates, of which there are probably more than a million extant examples, have become objects of collection. One of the first known English collectors was a Miss Jenkins of Bath, who was active in the field during the early 19th century. Her bookplates were later incorporated into the collection of Joseph Jackson Howard. Since the 1950s, there has been a renewed interest in the collection of bookplates and in many ways a reorientation of this interest. There are still substantial numbers of collectors for whom the study of bookplates spanning 500 years is a fascinating source of historical, artistic and socio-cultural interest.

More than 30 'national' societies of ex-libris collectors exist, grouped into an International Federation of Ex-libris Societies (FISAE) which organizes world-wide congresses every two years.

~~~~ ~~info from wiki & google~~~~~~ Do you use bookplates in your favorite books? Or are any of you

serious collectors?