New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-04
BOOH PLATES.



From tho time that book Plates we're hrst used, the
owners coat of arms, beneath which usually APP
peared his name and TITLES has formed the PRINCIPAL
feature in almost every specimen, uOr Is 1t dlhcut
to understand why aTmOrldl bedtmSs were MIRO
duccd into these plates Book plates, IN all proh1-
lllity had their origin n Germany, trcn "a now
an essentially heraldic country. where the coat OF
aims of every man OF position was nearly as well
known to his neIghbors aS were the features OF hs
own face, and if "a volume having WITHIN II lt-
owners book plate was found III wrongful hands,
the Under. If be could not read the inscription
on the plate, would at once recognize Tie arms
upon H. and thus be enabled 10 restore Tn work To
its proper owner Germany, besides being able 60
boast OF possessing the earliest dated book plate eX
taut Q5lG. can also pride herself upon furnishing
the most artistic specimens. Several OF the early
TeutOnic book plates were designed 10y Albert
DuIer and III after generations artists OF more or
less eminence have lett u signed examples o! their
work IA the shape of book plates.
Turning to the book plates of our own country.
the earliest known specimens of which date about
1860, 10 must he admitted that we cannot we either
in antiquity or design with our foreign ucighbofs.
Yet English book plates form an interesting study,
aud amongst the cugravcrs OF them are some emf
ucut names notably John Pine who IN 1913 en-
graved IA book plate for George the r~t 10 place ID
the books he presented e. the uiNcrIty OF Cam
BRIDGE, William Hogarth, George Ncrtuc, SIR
Robert Strange. and last, though not least Thomas
Bewick The simple hcTaldc shield, iiankcd 10y
heavy folds of mantllng, forms the leading charac-
teTI~tic IN design from the earliest examples ."hlth
have come - lignt down 20 the close oi the days ot
good Queen nne. After that. al!cgDry crecp- INTO
the nj 1fes which emhelli~hcd the covers of the vol
umcs IN our principal Libraries, just rs 10 dd INTO
the walls and ceilings Of the Libraries themselves
About l54O the leading style 10 the English LOOK
plate was that known a. CMPpendaIc, called 20
from the celebrated designer OF furniture dcrora-
tiOns at that time. It's characteristic was prOlu-c
display around the h"raldic shield OF clusters OF
natural tOwt r.. In the pastoral days which tol-
lowed, the. owners Of book plates allowed their
family arms to rest in the midst oi hoWery bowers.
guaIdrd by pine blowing shepherds and shepherd
esses. or dispensing altogether with heraldry. IN
scribcd their names beneath some charming scene
of rural life. In this last style were the book plates
designed by Thomas BewIck. Free from hcraldry Is
Sterne's book plate II represents the bust OF
Young man, beneath which books are scattered,
one being inscribed, Alas, poor IoIick" and an
other " lrstram Shandy.' It's c0mrctuTcd lhat
Sterne designed his own bOOk plate. Like Sterne'5
book plate Is that OF David Garrck, only that, rs
might be expected, the bust introduced into 1t IS
theatrical properties. CurOus TO note are the book
mates which have belonged to women these
generally of elaborate design and exceedingly
beautiful Prominent among them are those OF
Henrietta Countess of Oxford. engraved for her by
George Vertue; and also that OF Mrs; DaHcr. the
sculptor, designed 6y Agnes Berry; tio intimate
fr1end of herself and of Horace Wapole. Each Of
these engrayings. apart from their interest as book
plates are in themselves gems Of art and valuable
as such. Both, though designed at different
periods are in the aegoricsl style.
Very quaint and interesting are the yanons
notices which appear on book plates, both English
and foreign; these usually given IN latln, but
on Scotch book plates frequently n English. The
earliest form Of motto appears TO have been simply
a text from Scripture; this-in Imitation, perhaps
of the inscription nailed on the Cross at the Cruel
fxion-was sometimes repeated IN iiebrew, Greek
and Latin notably on that of the PlrkhelmeI book
plate designed by Durer. Often the motto was
specially directed against the class of professional
book borrowers before referred to- and TO whose
existence We as it has been said in all Likelihood
owe the introduction of book plates. Thus, on the
book plato Of one Andr Hedio, q konigsberg
Professor which dates about the year 1850, we find
these lines supposed to be spoken by The book itself:
Mi sibi jure SUM DominuB propriumque psrayit;
Usum ooncessit spOnte cucumque bono
Sed tn, 81 bonus Domino me redtiito gratus,
81 retines, maus es, nee bonus usus erit"
Which, very freely translated, might read thus:
"By him who bought me for his own,
I'm lent for reading &, leaf by leaf.
II honest you'll return the loan
II you retain me you're q thief"
In England such examples less frequent. but
more terse when they do occur; tor instance,
"The ungodly borroweth and payeth not again, an
inscription VI ed on several English book plates