The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28

Of the adult collect ors. the children's book
plates are extremely simple.
For the little ones scenes from Mother
Goose"-the Three Blind Mice. or the
Clock With the Mouse Running Up--or
chickens. birds. rabbits, dogs or what not
serve as motifs. For little girls. dolls or
flowers or garden scenes serve. while the
boys may ave pictures Of hunting. fishing.
rowing or other sports.
The book plate for children, however. ia
not intended as a book plate for permanent
use. II is prepared merely for use during
childhood. until the owner develops indi-
viduai tastes which will lea him 70 ave
his own book plate designed,
The book plate, however. is by no means
confined to the children of the rich. for the
teachers of drawing in the public schools
quickly recognized the value Of the book
plate s az lessons in design and drawing.
A. a result. many children have been
taught to fashion their own designs in suf-
ficient number 10 mark all Of their story
books and text books.
In fact, in Public School 50. in East Fifty
seventh street. a prize was offered to the
children for the best design for an artistic
book plate to mark all the books in the
school. The prize design. the work of a
girl only II years old, was then blocked
and IL TO be printed and carefully pasted in
all the books used in the school.
Since New York schools have taken mp
this work art teachers in other cities have
introduced IL. In fact, in the courses on
art and design fvi teachers giNcI in sa.e
New York University summer school on
University Heights, where teachers from
all the large cities are studying, and in the
pedagogical courses for art teachers in the
winter the teaching of book plate design
for children has become a special feature.
In discussing this work DIR. =. J. Haney.
director Of manual arts In, the Manhattan
schools, who il giving the university COURSES.
said:
@The designing Of book plates. we have
found, is a valuable exercise IN that il gives
the child q chance to design and draw
something Immediately useful and pleasure
giving. This is a great stimulus with the
also been found thai fthe child has a ooox
plate bearing his name to put in his book
he is far more APT TO keep his books clean
fyleaves. Particularly does the pooh
plate oounteract the tendency OF the child
TO write on the fyleaf:
"f my name You wish to see
Look ON page i03.".
And on page l0s the searcher will find.
To md my NAME you O., must Hook once more.
This practice naturally ruins books and
quickly makes them dirty and unpleasant,
especially 10 the searcher for the answer
gets angry and rups out with a wet finger
all the poetry
Moreover, I think that II a child can be
led 20 take the trouble TO make q book plate
for q book he will unconsciously become
more friendly TO boo and. learn to love
them. In the old collector the book plate
il q mark Of pride OF ownership IN some
rare volume. and he trusts TO his book plate
10 keep his name alive among fellow collec-
tors and book lovers after he 10 gone. The
child's book plate has no such significance,
hut IL does mean thai the child thinks enough
Of his book to see that his name and mark
improve, instead Of defacing H.