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Title: Book-plates of To-day
Author: Various
Language: English
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BOOK-PLATES _of_ TO-DAY
Edited By WILBUR MACEY STONE
NEW YORK
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
1902
Copyrighted 1902 by Tonnelé & Co.
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Amy Ivers Truesdell.}]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Book-plate of Mrs. Amy Ivers Truesdell, in colors.
Designed by Jay Chambers. Frontispiece
Book-plate of Arnold William Brunner, in colors.
Designed by Thomas Tryon. Facing 3
American Designers of Book-plates: William Edgar
Fisher. By W. G. Bowdoin. 3
Book-plate of William Frederick Havemeyer, from the
copper. Designed by Thomas Tryon, engraved by E. D.
French. Facing 9
Nineteen Book-plates by British Designers. 9
Book-plate of T. Henry Foster, in colors. Designed by
Jay Chambers. Facing 19
The Artistic Book-plate. By Temple Scott. 19
Book-plate of Miss Henrietta M. Cox, in colors.
Designed by Thomas Tryon. Facing 23
Thirty-two book-plates from various sources. 23
Book-plate of Robert Fletcher Rogers, in colors.
Designed by Homer W. Colby. Facing 33
Book-plates and the Nude. By Wilbur Macey Stone. 33
Book-plate of Willis Steell, in colors. Designed by
Thomas Tryon. Facing 39
The Architect as a Book-plate Designer. By Willis
Steell. 39
Book-plate of William A. Boland, in colors. Designed by
Homer W. Colby. Facing 45
A Check-list of the Work of Twenty-three Book-plate
Designers of Prominence. Compiled by Wilbur Macey
Stone. 45
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Arnold William Brunner.}]
AMERICAN DESIGNERS _of_ BOOK-PLATES: WM. EDGAR FISHER
By W. G. BOWDOIN
The book-plate designers of to-day are legion because they are many.
Almost every one who can draw, and many who cannot, have ventured into
the field of book-plate designing; and the result has been that many
of the book-plates that are current have little to commend them to
critical observers. The present increasing interest in these little
bits of the graver's art has greatly encouraged the production of
them, and new ones arise daily. It is desirable, therefore, if we are
to have book-plates at all, that they shall be as artistic as may be;
and it is important, from an art standpoint, to all those who are
about to adopt the use of these marks of ownership that they shall
have, as they may have, the artistic flavor about them.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Library of the Studio Club.} By Wm.
Edgar Fisher]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Winifred Knight.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
Most of our leading designers have hitherto been grouped in the
eastern section of our country, or at least not much further west than
Chicago. Some few designs, it is true, have been produced in
California, but for the most part the book-plates of note have been
marked with an eastern geographical origin.
In William Edgar Fisher we have a designer who has strikingly departed
from geographical conditions of book-plate designing heretofore
prevailing, and in faraway Fargo, North Dakota, has set up his studio
from whence have come designs that are fresh, original and very
pleasing. Mr. Fisher loves to work in a pictorial field. He makes a
plate that tells a story, and in his best plates there is artfully
placed something bookish that harmonizes with the design-form
selected; and, because of art coherence and harmony in design that go
hand in hand, his plates are more than satisfactory. The general
eastern notion in regard to North Dakota is that nothing artistic can
come out of the State, but the work done there by Mr. Fisher quickly
dispels such an idea. The plates he has drawn are acknowledged as
highly meritorious by the best American masters of book-plate
designing. In all the plates from the hand of this artist that are
here grouped, and which may be regarded as quite typical of him, there
are only two that do not contain a book as a detail somewhere in the
finished plate.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Maie Bruce Douglas. Book-plate of Mary
N. Lewis.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
One of the exceptions is the plate of the Studio Club that gains
infinitely by the omission of a book in the plate as produced. The
grouping of the five observers (symbolic of the members of the Studio
Club) around the feminine portrait is most charming, and to the writer
it appears one of the happiest of recent productions in appropriate
book-plates.
Mr. Fisher's feminine figures that he introduces into many of his
plates are likewise exceedingly effective. This is particularly the
case when to the charms of femininity he has added those of symbolism,
as in the case of the plate for Miss Winifred Knight, in which the
graceful female masker appears at the shrine of the idealized god Pan,
who writes, it may be something oracular, in her proffered album. The
figure is gracefully posed and the lines of the arms and neck are
marked by pleasant curves.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of John Charles Gage. Book-plate of
Elizabeth Allen. Book-plate of Leila H. Cole. Book-plate of
Elizabeth Langdon.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
In the plate of Maie Bruce Douglas, Mr. Fisher may have been
influenced by Hans Christian Andersen. At any rate, whether or not
this is so, he has neatly and most effectively grouped the old-time
jester with his cap and bells, the pointed shoes from whence came our
modern samples, and the maiden with the quaintness of head-dress and
drapery, that at least suggests the fairy and the incidental sacred
stork, making this plate with its shelf of books and the panel of
repeated heraldic shields very attractive even to the chance observer.
In the plates for the Misses Mary N. Lewis, Elizabeth Langdon, Leila
H. Cole and Elizabeth Allen there are several diverse methods shown in
which convention has been pleasingly utilized. The vine and tree forms
that are motifs are very effective, and in all of these we see
suggestions of treatment similar to that which stands out perhaps a
little more pronouncedly in the plate of Miss Douglas. Costume
quaintness, charm of pose, graceful outline, the tendency toward
lecturn detail and delicacy of touch, are in each instance here seen
to be characteristic of the artist.
The plate of John Charles Gage has in it the atmosphere of the
monastery. Two friars are busy with a folio manuscript that has been
beautifully illuminated. The one reads the lessons for the day from
the book of hours. The other has a pleasing bit of gossip that he is
telling to his brother friar as he reads, and the reader hears with
eagerness with his ears while he reads without absorption with his
eyes.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Samuel H. Hudson. Book-plate of Silvanus
Macy Jr.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
Into the plate of Samuel H. Hudson the atmosphere of the monastery is
also introduced. The cordelier sits absorbedly reading his matins.
Through the open window of the monkish cell is seen the morning
medieval landscape whose charms exercise no influence upon the
solitary recluse, solitary save for the monkey who plays sad havoc
with the vellum volume that lies upon the cell floor and the
destruction of which the Franciscan is too absorbed to notice. The
monkey as a foil for the ascetic in this plate shows that Mr. Fisher
has a strong appreciation of the most delicate humor, which here crops
out most delightfully. The border makes the plate a trifle heavy, but
this can easily be excused because of the charm of the plate
otherwise.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Stanley Shepard.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
The dog is given a prominent place in the plate of Miss Lula Thomas
Wear. He dominates even the books, and it may be that the owner
prefers her dachshund to her library, although it is evident that her
books have some place in her esteem.
The design on the plate of Stanley Shepard suggests a derivation from
an old print. The caravel rides upon the waves according to the
conception of the old-time engravers. The anchor, the sword fish of
the deep sea, and the sea-stars all suggest the ocean voyager who has
deep down in his heart a love of books.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Edna B. Stockhouse.} By Wm. Edgar
Fisher]
In contrast with the plate of Mr. Shepard's appears that bearing the
name of Silvanus Macy, Jr. The love of hunting stands out right boldly
here, and in the fox hunt does Mr. Macy undoubtedly revel. He could
not have such a book-plate otherwise, and live with it every day, let
it be in all his books and have it stand for him as it does, unless it
was fairly representative of the man's personality. That is what makes
a book-plate so eminently interesting, aside from the art work put
upon it. Books appeal to all sorts and conditions of men, as the work
of Mr. Fisher's here grouped clearly indicates.
The plate from the books of Miss Edna B. Stockhouse is a trifle
shadowy in motif notwithstanding which there can be no doubt the owner
loves books. The face in the book-plate reads. There is also a love of
the beautiful in ceramics indicated as an incident in the plate. No
wonder the head wears an aureole.
The "Bi Lauda" plate is that of a secret society at Wellsville,
N. Y., and we, therefore, forgive if we cannot forget its poverty of
bookish design.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Wm. Edgar Fisher.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
In the personal plate of the designer, of all those here reproduced,
we catch glimpses of the artist's own personality. We see him as a
book-lover and something of his inspiration is spread out before us.
He goes reading along, carrying reserve volumes in case the one that
engages his attention in the portraiture is happily finished. Mr.
Fisher has been producing book-plates only since 1898, since which
time he has to his credit some forty examples of work in this field.
He is perhaps happiest in his rendition of the plate pictorial, and he
has sometimes tinted his plates most charmingly. Mr. Fisher prepared
for Cornell at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. At Cornell he studied
architecture for two years, with especial attention to drawing. He
also studied, for six months, at the Art Institute, Chicago, Ill.,
whither he went from Cornell. He has been largely self-taught in the
matter of designing, but his work indicates that his teacher was a
good one. He has privately but carefully studied the work of the best
modern pen-and-ink draughtsmen, and from this he has formed his
personal style. The methods and craftsmanship of reproduction were the
subject of special study on his part while he was with one of the
large Chicago engraving houses. Anything that comes from his hand will
be sure of the most kindly reception, so long as his work is
maintained at the present high standard.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Bi Lauda. Book-plate of Lula Thomas
Wear.} By Wm. Edgar Fisher]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of William Frederick Havemeyer.}]
NINETEEN EXAMPLES OF DECORATIVE BOOK-PLATES BY MODERN BRITISH
DESIGNERS
From THE LONDON "STUDIO"
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Charles Holme.} By J. W. Simpson]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Frank Lynn Jenkins.} By Byam Shaw]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Théodule, Comte de Grammont.} By R.
Anning Bell]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of P. C. Konody.} By Walter Essie]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Edward Morton.} By E. H. New]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of J. W. Simpson.} By J. W. Simpson]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Katie Black. Book-plate of R. C.
Book-plate of Edy. Book-plate of K. D.} Four Designs by Gordon
Craig]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Hugh Giffen McKinney.} By J. Williams]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of R. Mullineux Walmsley.} By J. Williams]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of W. S. George.} By W. B. Pearson]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Kenneth N. Bell.} By S. A. Lindsey]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Therese Alice Mary Jackson.} By Enid M.
Jackson]
[Illustration: {Book-plate, no name.} By Anna Dixon]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of A. H. V.} By Arthur H. Verstage]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Robert M. Mann.} From Drawing after
Etching
By D. Y. Cameron]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Edith A. Kingsford.} By Harold Nelson]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of T. Henry Foster.}]
THE ARTISTIC BOOK-PLATE
By TEMPLE SCOTT
A book-plate, in its simplest expression, is a printed indication of
the ownership of a book. It may take the form of the unadorned
visiting card, or it may be embellished with heraldic and other
designs explanatory of the owner's name, ancestry, tastes, or
predilections. Primarily, however, it is intended to fix ownership.
How far it satisfactorily serves its purpose, is, perhaps, of little
moment to the average book-collector; for the book-plate has emerged
from the stage of practical utility and become a thing in itself, so
to speak. It has taken its place beside the many _articles de vertu_
which are godsends to the weary of brain and heart, inasmuch as they
become the objects of a passion so delightful in its experience, as to
make us forget the little trials and worries of life that make
pessimists of us in this "bleak Aceldama of sorrow." Nay, they may
even become the one sun, shining and irradiating for us all the dark
places of our wanderings, and cheer us with the hopes for newer and
finer acquisitions than we already have.
When, however, we come to a consideration of the _artistic_
book-plate, we enter upon a new field of enquiry entirely. It
indicates that a simple usage of a necessary and harmless convention
has developed into a complex expression--an expression not merely of
the individual to whom the book belongs, but also of the artist whose
business it is to give pictorial form to the desires and wishes and
tastes of his patron.
From the crude, if sufficient, paste-board stuck on the end-paper, to
the heraldic display, was, surely, no very far cry. In the countries
of the Old World, where pride of ancestry touches the worthy and
unworthy alike, it was to be expected that so valuable an opportunity
for flaunting the deeds of "derring do" of one's forefathers as a sign
of one's own distinction, such as the book-plate offers, was certainly
not to be neglected. So we find that the coats of arms which once
served as inspirations, and which once had a genuine meaning to their
owners and retainers, now do service in the more peaceful realms of
Bookland. And, assuredly, there are certain books in a library, which
are more worthily acknowledged after this ancient and martial fashion.
We cannot but believe that a Froissart from the press of Caxton or
Wynkyn de Worde, would be handled with more reverence if one saw on
the verso of its front cover a glorious display of the arcana of
heraldry, in all its magnificence of mysterious meaning. This feeling
would also be aroused in turning the leaves of, say, Philippe le
Noir's edition of the "Gesta Romanorum" (1532), or of Hayton's "Lytell
Cronycle" from the shop of Richard Pynson, or of Mandeville's
"Voyages and Travailles," issued by T. Snodham in 1625, or of Pliny's
"Historia Naturalis" from the Venetian press of Nic. Jenson in 1472,
or of Rastell's "Pastyme of People," "emprynted in Chepesyde at the
Sygne of the Mermayd" in 1529. To these and their like a book-plate of
heraldic story comes as a fitting and graceful complement.
But the average mortal of this work-a-day world and age has not the
means wherewith to acquire such treasures of the bibliophile. Nor,
perhaps, has he the necessary pedigree with which to adorn them, if
acquired; though on this latter consideration, we suspect that the
Herald's College in the purlieus of Doctors' Commons, and the more
amenable, though not less expensive Tiffany on this side of the
Atlantic, would, no doubt, prove excellent aids to a full
satisfaction.
But we are not here dealing with the pomp and glorious circumstance of
Heraldry. In dealing with the artistic book-plate, we are considering
a matter which concerns itself not with past stories or past
individuals, but with the present tale and the particular living
personage who has the laudable and humble ambition to distinguish his
copy of a book from his friend's copy of the same book. A taste in
books may be easily whitewashed, but a taste in a book-plate flares
its owner's heart right into the eyes of the demurest damsel or the
simplest swain. It may be that our collection is but a series of
Tauchnitz editions carefully garnered on a European tour, or a handful
or two of Bohn's Library, accumulated from our more studious days, or
a treatise on golf, chess, gardening and photography, or a history of
the state or town in which we live--it matters little what--these are
the treasures we most prize, and we wish to hold them. Now, how best
shall the collector mark them as his own?
He writes his name on the title-page. Ugh! What a vandal's act! The
man who could so disfigure a book deserves to have it taken from him,
and his name obliterated. He who could find it in his heart to write
on title-pages could surely commit a murder. We'd much rather he
turned a leaf down to mark the place where he had left off in his
reading; though to do that is bad enough, in all conscience. Nor does
he save his soul by writing on the fly-title, or even end-paper.
Moreover, this will not save his book either. A visiting card can
easily be taken out--it looks too formal, nondescript, meaningless,
common, to inspire any respect in a would-be thief. But an artistic
book-plate! Ah! that's another thing altogether.
An artistic book-plate is the expression in decorative illustration of
the proprietor's tastes, made by an artist who has sympathetically
realized the feeling intended. It should objectify one, and only one,
salient characteristic, either of temperament, habit, disposition, or
pleasure, of its owner. If it does less, it is not individual; if it
does more, it is not satisfying.
Now each one of us has some characteristic trait that is not common to
us all--then let that be the aim of the artist to embody in decorative
form. And let that embodiment be simple and direct--the simpler and
more direct it is, the more will it appear; and the more beautiful it
is the more will it soften the kleptomaniacal tendencies of the
ghoulish book-hunter. For nothing touches him so nearly to the finer
impulses of nature than the contemplation of beauty; and he would be
less than human did he fail to respond. We would even go to the length
of giving as an admirable test of the book-plate artist's powers, the
lending of a book (whose loss would give no qualms) containing the
plate. If it come not back, there's something the matter with your
plate; or, you can libel your friend as a beast of low degree, which
suggests a good way of finding out your friend's true character. But
then, there's no limit to the powers of a beautiful book-plate.
Now there are a great many coy people who don't care to wear their
hearts on their sleeves; these would naturally feel indisposed to post
themselves thus before the public eye, be the book-plate never so
beautiful. To these we would say: Give us what you prize best--your
home, your wife, your sweetheart, your motto (though that's giving
yourself away too), your baby, anything that is truly yours. (Babies
are quite _à propos_, and should be characteristic, though it does not
always follow. Some babies have a habit of taking after quite other
people.) The idea is, to embody something individual, something
special and particular.
If he can afford a large library, or is a collector of the works of
one or two authors, there's a way out of the difficulty for the coy
person, by having the book-plate represent the characteristic of the
author and have his name as an addition. That may be taking a
liberty--but authors are accustomed to that; and, besides, you are
appreciating them, and that should exorcise the spirit of an indignant
"classic" from the four walls of your library. Have the original of
the design framed on the wall; it may save you a lot of explanation
should the spook even get "mad." You can always lay the blame on the
artist. Of course, this means a book-plate for each author; but as
book-plates are not, after all, such very expensive luxuries, this
consideration need be a matter of but small moment.
Yet another idea is to have an artistic treatment of a representation
of your library, your "den." That sounds very inviting and certainly
can hurt no one's feelings. If you don't happen to possess a special
apartment, give an apartment such as you would like to possess. Or
show your favorite chair, or nook, or greenwood tree, or running
brook, or garden plot. There are thousands of ways in which to fashion
a book-plate, and an artistic book-plate, too. We thus can see what an
advance the modern artistic book-plate is on the old style article--so
formal, so characterless, so inchoate and so amorphous.
Indeed the artistic book-plate is a genuine inspiration, or it may be
made so. How charming, or delight-giving, or valuable, or intoxicating
it is, depends largely on the artist. But it also depends on the
individual who desires it. It should be planned with care and executed
with feeling. It should be like no other book-plate in the sense that
it possesses some _flavor_ that is private and personal. It should be
as much an indication of the owner's taste as is his library--and no
man can hide his nature from the friend who has had access to that.
There are many things a book-plate should not be--but these may be
summed up in the advice--it should not be a mask. You may order your
books by the hundredweight from your bookseller, but that won't stand
you in any stead when your friend handles them and turns to you for a
criticism, or an opinion. You may also commission your artist for a
book-plate; but you are in a worse plight if you fail in the more
direct explanation you will be required to make to the insistent
inquiries as to its meaning or appositeness. No! Be it ever so humble,
let it be yours. It may be a poor thing, but it is your own; but it
may be also a very rich thing, and your own also.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of James Dick.} By J. W. Simpson]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Henrietta M. Cox.}]
THIRTY-TWO EXAMPLES OF BOOK-PLATES _from_ PRIVATE COLLECTIONS _and
Other Sources_
[Illustration: {Book-plate of the Worcester Art Museum.} From Steel
Engraving By E. D. French]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of the Authors' Club Library.} By Geo.
Wharton Edwards]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Theodore Brown Hapgood Jr.} By T. B.
Hapgood, Jr.]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Eaton.} By Charles Selkirk]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Frances Louise Allen.} By T. B. Hapgood,
Jr.]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of David Turnure.} By Louis H. Rhead]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of A. Squire.} By B. G. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of William Snelling Hadaway.} By W. S.
Hadaway]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Edwin Allis de Wolf.}]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of John B. Larner.} From Steel Engraving
By E. D. French]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Constance Grosvenor Alexander.} By
H. E. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Amy M. Sacker.} By H. E. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Udolpho Snead.} By B. G. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Barreau de Bruxelles.} By Fernand
Khnopff]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Hans Thoma.} By Hans Thoma]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of May v. Feilitzsch.} By Bernhard Wenig]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Max Ostenrieder.} By Julius Diez]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Charles E. Eldred.} By Charles E.
Eldred, of English Navy]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Richard Butler Glaenzer.}]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Reginald C. Vanderbilt.}]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Alice Hillingdon. Book-plate of Mildred
Chelsea. Book-plate of Sarah Isabel Wilson. Book-plate of Clementine
F. A. Walsh.} From Steel Engravings by Wm. Phillips Barrett]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury. Book-plate
of Constance Derby. Book-plate of Alice Stanley. Book-plate of
Gladys de Grey.} From Steel Engravings by Wm. Phillips Barrett]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of George Louis Beer. Book-plate of Lewis
W. Hatch. Book-plate of Irving and Sissie Lehman. Book-plate of Julian
Pearce Smith.} Four designs by Thomas M. Cleland]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Robert Fletcher Rogers.}]
BOOK-PLATES AND THE NUDE
By WILBUR MACEY STONE
[Illustration: Book-Plate of Mr. Carl Schur]
Lovers of the beautiful have been burdened with endless talk and
writing and many quarrels on the nude in art, and now I have the
temerity to open a new field of battle and throw down the gauntlet for
strife. The Eternal Feminine is a prominent factor in the picture
book-plates of the day, and she is showing some tendencies to appear
minus her apparel. Question: is it wise and in good taste?
Of course, to start with, I am quite free to admit that good taste is
a movable feast and is much influenced by the point of view. Your
taste is good if it agrees with mine; otherwise it is bad taste or no
taste. At any rate, there are a few things we can agree upon, I think.
For instance, that there is a wide distinction between the nude and
the naked. Also, that the human form divine is most beautiful, but
that to remain most beautiful it must deviate not one jot or tittle
from the divine, for any deviation is to tend to the earthy and gross,
which is vulgar and--bad taste. We can also agree, I think, that
partially draped figures can be, and often are, sensual and repulsive
beyond the frankly nude, and this without the direct intent or
knowledge of the artist.
"A hair perhaps divides the false and true,
Yes; and a single slip were the clue--"
But above all things a nude figure should never carry the idea of a
consciousness of its nudity! Also, clothing or drapery used simply to
hide portions of the figure is execrable and more suggestive than any
entire absence of clothing; while to add, as I have seen done, a hat
and French-heeled shoes to a nude figure is abominable beyond
condemnation.
But all this is of broad application and is sawing upon the same old
and frayed strings. Abstractly, a beautiful nude is as beautiful on a
book-plate as in a portfolio or in a frame, and some of the most
beautiful book-plates I have ever seen have been nudes. Nevertheless,
to me the nude seems out of place and in questionable taste on a
book-plate; the simple matter of repetition is enough to condemn it.
The partially draped figures by R. Anning Bell are chaste and
beautiful, and one never thinks of them other than as clothed; so they
can hardly be considered in this discussion. Many of the book-plates
by Henry Ospovat contain partly draped figures which are always
beautifully drawn, pure and a constant delight. But really, I think it
would jar me to meet even an angel--the same one, mind you--in each of
a thousand volumes. Emil Orlak, in Austria, has made some fairly
pleasing nudes, but they lack that purity of conception without which
they are common. Armand Rassenfosse, of Belgium, has etched a number
of dainty, faultlessly drawn and really most beautiful nudes, but many
of them have been ruined by the needless addition of shoes and fancy
head-dresses. Pal de Mont, of Antwerp, has a plate by Edmond van Oppel
which he probably thinks a work of art, but which is surely the height
of vulgarity; while in "Composite Book-Plates" is a design by Theodore
Simson containing a large figure of a nude woman with her hair done in
a pug, seated in a grove amid dandelions and poppies, and diligently
reading a book. The figure is treated in broad outline, which is ill
adapted to the subject, and it lacks that refinement without which
nothing is beautiful. She is absolutely at variance with her
environment, and the whole is a _tour de force_ quite unforgivable.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Robert H. Smith.} By H. Nelson]
Miss Labouchere, in her volume on ladies' plates, shows a rather
amusing pair of designs for Miss Nellie Heaton. These plates both bear
the legend, "Gather ye roses while ye may." In the first, the
designer, Mrs. Baker, has a fair creature in all the glory of entire
nudity plucking blossoms from a rose-vine. In the other, she used the
same design throughout, but has fully clothed the figure. Evidently
Miss Heaton protested.
These designs by a woman call to mind the fact that among the
book-plates of over one hundred and fifty women designers with which I
am familiar, I know of but one other nude. This other is by Miss Mary
Florence, and is of a large full-length angel entirely undraped.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Arthur Guthrie.} By H. Ospovat]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of H. v. W.} By A. Rassenfosse]
Fritz Erler, a German designer of much strength, has made a number of
symbolic book-plates. All, I believe, have the feminine as motif, and
in several the figures are nude. The design for Emil Gerhäuser is
inoffensive and well-drawn, but surely is not beautiful, and lacks a
good excuse for existence. In a generally pleasing decorative
arrangement for Robert H. Smith, Harold Nelson, an English designer,
shows a rather attenuated nude maiden looking with envy at a gorgeous
peacock on the opposite side of the design; while the peacock in turn
seems to say, "Why don't you grow some feathers?"
We naturally expect to find well-drawn, if not always pleasing, nudes
in the French school. Henry André, one of the best known French
designers of book-plates, uses the nude quite freely in his work; in
some instances pleasingly, but in one or two with marked vulgarity.
Octave Uzanne has the most pleasing nude plate that I have ever seen.
It is designed by Guérin, and represents a tortoise bearing the
implements of the artist, and coaxed along by the hot torch of
knowledge in the hand of a light-winged cupid. By Sherborn, the great,
I have seen but one nude in a book-plate, and that a poor thing but
innocuous, for Mr. Harris Fahnestock of New York. Mr. E. D. French has
made but one nude that I have seen, that for Mr. E. H. Bierstadt; the
design shows a nude shepherd boy piping to his flock. The plate Mr.
French engraved for Mr. De Vinne, from the design by Geo. Fletcher
Babb, has nude termini for bearers, and is elegant and beautiful, an
ideal plate.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of John & Jessie Hoy.} By H. Ospovat]
American artists have essayed the nude but little in book-plate
design, perhaps through wisdom, perhaps through fear; but the fact
remains that they have thereby avoided the perpetration of at least
some crimes. Judging by the examples we have been able to cite, and
they are representative, it would seem that the best advice we can
give those tempted to use the undraped beautiful in their book-plates
is--don't.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Al Mockel.} From Drawing after Etching
by A. Rassenfosse]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Octave Uzanne.} After Etching by Guérin]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Emil Gerhäuser.} By Fritz Erler]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Willis Steell.}]
THE ARCHITECT AS A BOOK-PLATE DESIGNER
By WILLIS STEELL
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Frank Jean Pool.} By Thomas Tryon]
Among the book-plate designers of the present day the architect may,
if he choose, take a high place. He is one whose studies have led him
through the paths of artistic training where his eye and hand have
learned to see color and form and balance of parts, and while the
usual media of his profession are wood, stone, terra cotta and iron,
there are many by-paths through which he must travel to appreciate the
value of his pencil lines upon the flat.
No more delightful by-way than the book-plate route will open before
him, hedged in as it is by purely artistic shrubbery and leading
constantly to pretty and even beautiful designs in which the genius of
architecture has played a great part. Moreover, all his preceding
journey through the hard conventional country to which architecture at
first seems limited, has equipped him thoroughly to give expression to
his fancy. That the gift of imagination is among his endowments should
be taken for granted, however, if the architect is to succeed in the
line of drawing book-plates.
Fancy and imagination being in his mental equipment the architect can
"rest" his mind in no more delightful fashion than by giving them full
scope in this gem-like art. His experience, his collections of
drawings, the work of others of his craft which he has studied, all
tend to render his fund of information large, and if he has the key to
book-plate art, inexhaustible, since nothing comes amiss to the pen of
one whose facile fancy can grasp a good motive and direct it to a
purpose other than that originally intended.
[Illustration: JAMES SEYMOUR TRYON
By Thomas Tryon]
In the early days of art the architect was not only a designer of
buildings but was also a sculptor and sometimes a decorative painter.
He was called upon by his patrons to design whatever was needed at the
moment, and these men were "all-round" artists, the day of
specialization and the speculator not having dawned.
Buonarotti is an awesome name to call up, but this great painter,
sculptor, architect and builder touched nothing that he did not adorn,
and in many of the hundreds of crayon sketches and cartoons that he
left behind him, the feeling of the book-plate artist is clear. Had
Lorenzo the Magnificent wanted a book-plate for use in his library,
the great Michael Angelo could have filled the want from his own
notes, with very little of either suppression or expansion. It may
seem strange to think of this Titan of art, the creator of the
sweeping "Last Judgment" turning his pencil to the delicate lines, the
imperceptible nuances demanded by a book-plate, yet it may be
repeated, in his work may be found a myriad of suggestions for these
gem-like products.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Annah M. Fellowes.} By Thomas Tryon]
Buonarotti was not, however, first and last an architect. Painter and
sculptor also, these sides of his artist soul would have been drawn on
for the book-plate. Therefore the statement that not every architect
can design so fanciful and dainty a work as a book-plate becomes a
truism patent to everybody. The architect's profession calls for a
two-fold nature, the one side tending toward that of the engineer with
its eminently practical and very necessary tables of stress and
strain, its mathematical calculations for loads and disposition of
carrying walls, while the other side leans to a nice discernment of
color and proportion. The laying out of vistas and the arrangement of
surfaces and lines, so that the eye is aided in receiving the best
impression from all points of view. Of this turn of mind is the one
who can and does design book-plates. The very practical architect, if
he wishes the glory, which is doubtful, has one of his draftsmen make
the design and then signs the drawing and gets the glory. It would be
amusing if such an one through some luck charm received constant
application for such work. His draftsmen would change and his drawings
be as dissimilar as the men who drew them. Possibly the signature
would lead the long-suffering public to think him very versatile.
It is not of this class of architect that we write. It is of him who
is half painter or sculptor, and who loves his pen and pencil and
delights in the personal expression of his ideals. He finds that his
way of seeing things is more to his liking than any way of any other
man. He sees the infinite beauty of nature and loves her shifting
pictures in the clouds. Then too, he must have the ability to clearly
comprehend the half-formed ideas of him whose plate he undertakes to
draw. This is not always an easy matter. There are but few in the
world who can formulate their ideas, much less invent a picture
without first seeing it. Here the architect has, perhaps, an advantage
over the purely imaginative artist, since the average man does not
know the difference between the Classic period and the Gothic, the
Napoleon era and the modern German renaissance.
Of the architects who have obtained unquestioned recognition in this
exquisite art, Thomas Tryon is among those whose work is especially
prized. His adaptation of architectural forms to the confined space of
the book-plate shows the work of a man who has command of his tools
and knowledge, and despite the narrow confines of the field his work
is not at all "cabined or cribbed." The illustrations accompanying
this essay are taken rather at random from among Mr. Tryon's designs,
but they will convey to those unfamiliar with his work, a fair idea of
its scope and treatment. His first design was a plate for his father,
an ornate armorial design, the name being set up in type at the base.
The plate for Miss Annah M. Fellowes is quite elaborate. A long-haired
and bewhiskered knight stands before us in a suit of rich armor, his
right hand bearing his sword and helmet, and his left resting upon his
shield. His helmet is surmounted by a pair of spreading wings. The
design is backed by a rambling rose bush on which is hung the motto
ribbon.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Loyall Farragut.} By Thomas Tryon]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of George Elder Marcus.} By Thomas Tryon]
Mr. Frank Pool is obviously a lover of the drama. In an oval window
set in masonry, is a Roman gentleman, laurel crowned, reading from a
large volume, while at the upper right and left sides are comedy and
tragedy masks from which hang a gracefully festooned wreath. Palms,
ribbon and name plate finish the design. For Mr. Farragut, the son of
our old admiral, Mr. Tryon has made a very "salt water" arrangement of
arms. The shield is surmounted by a quaint ship and the bearers are
dolphins, which on one side encircle a trident and on the other a
sword. The conventional acanthus leaves give body and decoration to
the whole. Perhaps one of the most distinctively beautiful of Mr.
Tryon's designs is the fleur-de-lis for Mr. Marcus. In this the artist
has blended most delightfully the natural and the heraldic flower and
has produced a gem of which one never tires. For his sister and her
children Mr. Tryon has made a light and airy design, distinctively
feminine and graceful. The main feature of the design is an ornate
cypher of the letters S T. On the ribbon below the name is shown. This
is changed to the names of Mrs. Stone's three daughters for their
individual use. The plate reproduced here is that of one of Mrs.
Stone's daughters. The design for "The Boys Club" is surmounted by the
American eagle perched upon the globe, and the flag of our country is
draped over the tablet bearing the lettering. This plate has been
reproduced both by photo-process and copper plate.
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Rachel Norton Tryon Stone.} By Thomas
Tryon]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Library of the Boys Club.} By Thomas
Tryon]
Of the three color plates reproduced the first was made for Mr. A. W.
Brunner, and has for "piece de resistence" a very ingenious monogram
set in an oval frame. For bearers there are two graceful palms and the
keystone is surmounted by a pile of books and a classic student's
lamp. The base of the design is relieved by a pleasing arrangement of
acanthus leaves. The plate for Miss Cox is a seal-like design,
dignified yet dainty, and would be entirely in place in all kinds of
volumes. The plate for Mr. Steell quite speaks for itself and makes
the sportsman feel wildly for the trigger of his gun. The buck and doe
silhouetted against the yellow of evening and the reflection in the
stream are a delight.
Three of Mr. Tryon's designs have been engraved by Mr. E. D. French.
The famous Sovereign plates being two, and one for Mr. Havemeyer being
the third. This plate for Mr. Havemeyer is indicative of the owner's
collection of Washingtoniana, and is surrounded by several of the
well-known portraits of the father of his country, while at the top is
a small view of Mount Vernon. The portraits and view are interwoven
with foliage and ribbon and form a frame in which Mr. Havemeyer's arms
are displayed. The "Sovereign" plates, which were made in 1895 for the
library of Mr. M. C. D. Borden's yacht, are of great richness, the
first or "crown" design being especially so. This one did not please
the owner, who had a second one made surmounted by an eagle instead of
a crown. This is simpler in treatment and not so decorative as the
earlier design. These plates were both cut on the copper by Mr. French
who treated them in a very sympathetic manner and brought out in clear
relief the ideas of the designer.
Mr. Tryon's production has not been great, reckoned by the number of
plates made, but as his work is never done hurriedly or slightingly it
carries an air of finished dignity and worth that gives it lasting
qualities. As he usually has one or two plates in hand to which he
adds a few lines and a few thoughts from time to time, we may still
expect pleasant surprises in this miniature art from his workshop.
[Illustration: {Book-plate, no name.}]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of the Library of the Harvard Union.} By
B. G. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of M. A. de Wolfe Howe.} By B. G. Goodhue]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Barrett Wendell.} By E. D. French]
[Illustration: {Book-plate of Harvard University Library, Lowell
Memorial Library of Romance Literature.} By B. G. Goodhue]
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
[Illustration: {Book-plate of William A. Boland.}]
A CHECK-LIST of the WORK of TWENTY-THREE BOOK-PLATE DESIGNERS of
PROMINENCE
Compiled by WILBUR MACEY STONE
It was thought that interest and value would be added to this book by
the inclusion of lists of the book-plates made by the more prominent
artists whose work is reproduced here. These lists are the nearest
complete of any that have ever been published, and as they have been
verified in many instances by the artists themselves, and in others
carefully collated from the actual book-plates, they may be relied
upon as highly accurate. The sundry notes, bibliographical and
otherwise, by which the individual lists are prefaced, are in no way
exhaustive, but just a cursory gathering to relieve the bareness of
the lists and to give some little additional assistance to the
amateur. The lists are arranged alphabetically under the artists'
names as follows:
William Phillips Barrett
Robert Anning Bell
D. Y. Cameron
Thomas Maitland Cleland
Gordon Craig
Julius Diez
George Wharton Edwards
Fritz Erler
William Edgar Fisher
Edwin Davis French
Bertram G. Goodhue
Harry E. Goodhue
T. B. Hapgood, Jr.
Harold E. Nelson
Edmund H. New
Henry Ospovat
Armand Rassenfosse
Louis Rhead
Byam Shaw
Joseph W. Simpson
Hans Thoma
Thomas Tryon
Bernhard Wenig
WILLIAM PHILLIPS BARRETT
In Great Britain every family of rank has its arms suitably emblazoned
on its harnesses, carriages, table-plate, dining-chairs, and, of
course, in its library. When a new coach is ordered, or a new set of
harnesses, the coach-builder or the harness-maker furnish the proper
trimmings. So milord's stationer fixes up the family letter-paper
_and_ the family book-plate. Somebody has to lick into some semblance
of artistic unity the records of prowess of our medieval ancestors. In
the workshops of Messrs. "Bumpus Limited," Mr. William Phillips
Barrett performs this more or less genial task. He has signed some
ninety to one hundred designs, which were cut by the workmen in the
Bumpus establishment. Mr. Barrett's designs are not wholly without
merit, but they so apparently lack the spark of vitality and their
execution is in many cases so hard and mechanical that one is inclined
more to pity than to praise. In the pages of the London Ex Libris
Journal, that industrious encourager of the ordinary and banal in
book-plate design, Mr. Barrett's work is exploited at length. Vol.
II., page 81, et seq.
1896
Lady Gerard
Hon. E. Byng
Mr. Jack Cummings
Lord Manners
Lady Sarah Wilson
Lady Charles Bentinck
H. Somers Somerset, Esq.
Lady K. Somerset
1897
J. Watson Armstrong, Esq.
Lady Angela Forbes
Mrs. Panmure Gordon
Hon. Mrs. Charles Harbord
Miss Beatrice Dudley Smith
The Marchioness of Headfort
Miss Audrey Battye
Lady Beatrix Taylour
Miss Rachel Duncombe
J. S. Forbes, Esq.
1898
Lady Maud Warrender
Lady de Trafford
Hon. Marie Hay
The Countess Mar and Kellie
Mrs. Brocklebank
The Viscountess Wolseley
Robertson Lawson, Esq.
Baron Königswarter
Baroness Königswarter
Miss Van Wart
Reginald Nicholson, Esq.
Lady Sybil Carden
The Countess of Lathom
1899
The Duchess of Bedford
Miss Eadith Walker (Australia)
The Countess of Wilton
The Viscountess Chelsea
Mrs. Duff
J. E. Ballie, Esq.
Lord Bolton
Lady Margaret Levett
Miss Howell
Basil Levett, Esq.
Mrs. Harcourt Powell
Lady Ampthill
J. & E. (Mr. and Mrs. Muller)
Bishop Lefroy of Lahore
Mrs. McCalmont
Miss Gabrielle de Montgeon
1900
Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Great Britain
The Earl of Lathom
The Duke of Beaufort
Hon. Mrs. Gervase Beckett
The Countess of Gosford
The Marchioness of Bath
Mrs. Lee Pilkington
Freda and Winifreda Armstrong
Mrs. Wernher
Miss Freda Villiers
Miss Muriel Dudley Smith
Lord Kenyon
Lady Savile Crossley
Hon. Hilda Chichester
Lady Dickson-Poynder
Sir John Dickson-Poynder
Gervase Beckett, Esq.
Canon Stanton
The Duke of Portland
Mrs. Alfred Harmsworth
Mrs. Arthur Wilson
J. Hutchinson, Esq.
Hon. Mrs. G. Kenyon
Captain Noble
Edward Hubbuck, Esq.
R. L. Foster, Esq.
Royal Naval and Military
Will Watson Armstrong
Masonic Supreme Council, 33° (Large and small)
The Earl of Shaftesbury
Miss Barclay (Wood block Armorial)
H. A. Harben, Esq.
1901
Ivor Fergusson, Esq.
Harold Harmsworth, Esq.
Lord Haddo
Lady Mary Cayley
Mrs. Sheridan (Frampton Court)
The Marchioness Anglesey
Sir Charles Cust
The Countess of Derby
Lady Hillingdon
Lady Alice Stanley
Lady Clementine Walsh
R. C. Donaldson-Hudson, Esq.
ROBERT ANNING BELL
Robert Anning Bell, Director of the Art School of the Liverpool
University, is the most prolific designer of artistic picture-plates
in Great Britain. His work has long been the envy of amateurs, and no
collection can claim to be representative without some examples of his
work. His book-plates have been reproduced and commented on in almost
all published articles on the general subject. The book-plate number
of the "Studio," Simpson's "Book of Book-plates," Bowdoin's "Rise of
the Book-plate," Zur Westen's "Ex Libris" (Leipzig, 1901), all show
examples. His work is characterized by dignity and grace, is in good
drawing, and has an average of excellence unsurpassed. The list is
complete to July 1, 1902.
1 Walter George Bell
2 Rainald William Knightley Goddard
3 G. R. Dennis
4 Barry Eric Odell Pain
5 Jane Patterson (circular)
6 Jane Patterson (rectangular)
7 Christabel A. Frampton
8 Frederick Brown
9 Matt. Gossett
10 Arthur Trevithin Nowell
11 Edward Priolean Warren
12 Frederick Leighton (small)
13 Frederick Leighton (large)
14 Arthur Melbourne Sutthery
15 Juliet Caroline Fox Pym
16 Yolande Sylvia Mina Noble Pym
17 Florence and William Parkinson
18 Nora Beatrice Dicksee
19 Felsted School
20 Arthur E. Bartlett
21 The Hon. Mabel de Grey
22 Geraldine, Countess of Mayo
23 Walter E. Lloyd
24 George Benjamin Bullock-Barker
25 George Benjamin Bullock-Barker
26 Thomas Elsley
27 University College, Liverpool
28 Rowland Plumbe
29 Rennell Rodd
30 Alicia, Lady Glomis
31 H. E. John Browne
32 Barham House
33 Cecil Rhodes
34 Mander Bros.
35 Hon. Harriet Borthwick
36 Beatrice Patterson
37 Walter Drew
38 Walter Raleigh
39 Théodule, Comte de Grammont
40 Joshua Sing
41 Alice Emma Wilkinson
42 James Easterbrook
43 Theodore Mander
44 W. H. Booth
45 Hector Munro, 1897
46 Margaret Wilton
47 L. and M. S.
48 Gardner S. Bazley
49 Ex Libris Sodalium Academicorum Apud Lyrpul
50 Roberti A. S. Macfie
51 Richard T. Beckett
52 Edmund Rathbone, 1898
53 Croy Grammont, 1898
54 A. J. Stratton
55 John Duncan
56 Helen Woollgar de Gaudrion Verrall
57 C. Kohn
58 C. J. R. Armandale
59 Wm. Renton Prior
60 H. and O. Lewis
61 Herbert Lyndon
62 Johanna Birkenruth
63 Fanny Dove Harriet Lister
64 Mary Josephine Stratton
65 Louise Frances Foster
66 Caleb Margerison
67 Ellis Roberts
68 Marie Clay
69 Fanny Nicholson
70 L. and E. Stokes
71 Alfred Cecil Gathorne Hardy
D. Y. CAMERON
D. Y. Cameron is one of the most prominent artists in the so-called
"Glasgow School of Designers." His plates are nearly all etchings and
are decidedly his own in subjects and treatment. They are most
excellent productions. His work has been most fully exploited in
Simpson's "Book of Book-plates," Vol. I., No. 4. There are eleven
designs listed in Fincham, and the "Studio" Book-plate number
reproduces four.
Donald & Grace Cameron Swan
Robert M. Mann
John Roberton
John Maclaren
Roberta Elliot S. Paterson
Joanna Cameron
Jeanie Ure MacLaurin
Katherine Cameron
J. Craig Annan
James Arthur
John Macartney Wilson
James Henry Todd
James J. Maclehose
Robert G. Paterson
R. Y. Pickering, 1895
R. Y. Pickering (another design)
John A. Downie
Beatrice H. MacLaurin
Sir James Bell, Bart.
THOMAS MAITLAND CLELAND
Mr. Cleland is a young man who has an innate appreciation for
decorative effect and, what is more to the purpose, an ability to
apply it. For some years past his skill in typographic arrangement has
added much to the products of several of our more advanced publishers;
by more advanced I mean those with a knowledge and belief that it is
good business to offer to the public books that delight the eye as
well as the mind. Mr. Cleland has done many decorative bits by way of
head- and tail-pieces and initials. There are also to his credit a
baker's dozen of book-plates. These last are intensely decorative, and
to class them as pictorial really does them injustice. They are
thoroughly conventional and quite medieval in feeling.
Sara Stockwell Clark
Herbert Wood Adams
Laura Gaston Finley
Elmer Bragg Adams
Lewis W. Hatch
Angus Frederick Mackay
Julian Pearce Smith
Irving and Sissie Lehman
Louis and Bertha Stillings
Alice and Arthur Cahn
Rubie La Lande de Ferrière
Maurice M. Sternberger
George Louis Beer
GORDON CRAIG
"The Page" has been so much exploited in the public press that it
seems supererogation to write anything more about it or Gordon Craig,
one the embodiment of the other. Mr. Craig is very much of an
all-round young man; brought up in the atmosphere of the theater and
of books and pictures, he has dabbled in all to some purpose. He has a
clear-cut individuality that differentiates him and his--work, I was
going say, but perhaps play would be better, for Mr. Craig is one of
those inconsequential chaps that seem to take things as they come and
be chipper and happy and youthful-hearted with all. His book-plate
work is of the meat-ax variety and inspired by the rough wood-cuts of
the early engravers. His work has the air of the poseur that is as
balm to the heart of the dilettante.
James Pryde, 1898
M. P. (Margaret Palgrave)
Ellen Terry (large), map
Ellen Terry (small), map
K. D. (Mrs. Kitty Downing), 1900
Katie Black
E. T., 1899 (Ellen Terry)
James Corbet
V. C. (Vincent Corbet)
R. C. (Robin Craig)
H. F. (Helen Fox)
C. M. (Carl Michaelis)
Nina (Lady Corbet)
B. (Beatrice Irwin)
C. D. (Charles Dalmon)
W. H. Downing
M. M. (Maud Meredith)
A. L. (Aimée Lowther)
William Winter
Roche (Charles E. Roche), 1900
S. B. B. (S. B. Brereton)
C. (Christopher St. John)
G. C. (Gordon Craig)
Edy (Edith Craig)
J. D. (John Drew)
L. W., 1897 (Lucy Wilson)
Oliver Bath, 1899
E. D. L. (monogram) (Edie Lane)
G. C., 1898 (Gordon Craig)
Martin Shaw
Miss Norman
Lucy Wilson
E. C. (Edith Craig)
Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Marion Terry
Cissie Loftus
Evelyn Smalley
Edith Craig
C. B. P. (Mrs. Brown-Potter)
Tommy Norman
Jess Dorynne
Jess Dorynne
Rosie Craig
G. C. (Gordon Craig)
Gordon Craig
Gordon Craig
Gordon Craig
Mrs. Enthoven
Audrey Campbell
M. Tolemache
G. Tolemache
J. B. R. (Madam Bell-Rauche)
M. Fox
Anna Held
Pamela Colman Smith
Katie Dunham
Haldone McFall
N. F. D. (Mrs. Dryhurst)
JULIUS DIEZ
The work of Julius Diez is rich with the flavor of medievalism and
full decorative effect. The example shown in this book, the plate for
Max Ostenrieder, is a little masterpiece and an ideal book-plate. Mr.
Diez has done others much more elaborate, and with well-drawn and well
thought-out motifs, but none to excel the bit referred to.
Bayerischer Kunstgewerbe-Verein
Gustav Euprius
Max Ostenrieder
Gustav Wolff
Richard Hildebrandt
August Drumm
Luise Riggaur
Joseph Flokmann
Dr. Jul. Fekler
Julie von Boschinger
Georg Hirth
Adolf Beermann
Julius Diez
Paul Scharff
Elise Diez
Georg Buchner
Franz Langheinrich
Paul Meyer
GEORGE WHARTON EDWARDS
Mr. Edwards has made a large number of very excellent book-cover
designs and has decorated several volumes throughout. One of the most
beautiful of the latter is Spenser's Epithalamion, published by Dodd,
Mead & Company. Mr. Edwards has done a few other book-plates in
addition to those listed here, but these are all he wishes to stand
sponsor for.
Harvard University, Arnold Arboretum, 1892
Grolier Club
Author's Club Library
George Washington Cram
Tudor Jenks
G. W. Drake
FRITZ ERLER
Fritz Erler has been one of the leading contributors to that prince of
German art periodicals, "Jugend," since its beginning. His book-plates
are characterized by the same imaginative spirit and weirdness that
appear in all his work. His work is often reproduced in soft tints
with excellent effect. In the third volume of "Jugend" there was a
double page given to prints of Mr. Erler's book-plates.
Carl Mayr
Arthur Scott
T. Neisser
Hugo Wolf
C. Schoenfield
Sigmund Schott
M. Souchon
S. Fuld
Albert Schott
Ulrich Putze
Max Mayr
Toni Neisser
M. von B.
M. von B.
E. Gerhäuser
H. Marx
Gustav Eberius Liebermann
WILLIAM EDGAR FISHER
Mr. Fisher's work is fully described in the leading article in this
book by Mr. Bowdoin. The list of plates is in chronological order and
is complete to July 1, 1902.
1 William Edgar Fisher
2 William Edgar Fisher
3 William Edgar Fisher
4 Winifred Knight
5 William Lincoln Ballenger
6 Stanley Shepard
7 William A. Brodie
8 Silvanus Macy
9 Edna B. Stockhouse
10 Leila H. Cole
11 C. A. W. (C. A. Wheelock)
12 Lula Thomas Wear
13 Gertrude T. Wheeler
14 Guild of the Holy Child, Peekskill, N. Y.
15 Elizabeth Langdon
16 John Charles Gage
17 Sallie A. Richards
18 Albert Edgar Hodgkinson
19 Samuel N. Hudson
20 John Elliot Richards
21 Ellen E. Langdon
22 Maria Page Barnes
23 Maie Bruce Douglas
24 Sara Grace Bell
25 Edward A. Wilson
26 Peyton C. Crenshaw
27 Marion Maude Lindsey
28 Chauncey E. Wheeler
29 Bi Lauda (secret society)
30 Mary N. Lewis
31 Elizabeth Allen
32 The Studio Club
33 (Dr.) I. N. Wear
34 William Chauncey Langdon
35 Charles S. Young
36 Frederic H. Church
37 John M. Harrison
38 Les Chats Noirs
39 George H. Phelps
40 Mary Speer
41 Julia Locke Frame
42 John D. Farrand
43 Lucy P. Winton
44 Winifred Knight
45 Mary Cheney Elwood
46 Ernest Orchard
47 Reta L. Adams
48 Edward C. Brown
49 Adeline Cameron
50 T. Frank Fisher
51 Edna B. Stockhouse
52 John Le Droit Langdon
53 W. J. Awty
54 Henry McLallen
55 William Edward Ramsay
56 David S. Calhoun
57 Walter W. Wait
EDWIN DAVIS FRENCH
The book-plates of Edwin Davis French are the most esteemed of those
of our present American engravers. His work is decidedly the vogue
among those who can afford the best, and is much prized by collectors.
There has rarely been an article on book-plates published in the past
five years or more that has not contained a eulogy of his work, and
there have been reproductions galore, both from the original coppers
and by half-tone. There is no American designer whose work is so
eagerly sought by the collector or for which larger returns are asked
in exchanges. Mr. French usually designs the work he engraves, but in
several instances he has cut plates from the designs of others. Such
instances are noted in the list. Mr. French's work is characterized by
daintiness of design and great beauty of execution. He is
unquestionably a master of the graver in decorative work. In the
following list those numbered 133 and below are from Mr. Lemperly's
well-known list, and credit is hereby rendered him therefor. The rest
of the list is made up from various sources and has been very
carefully compared and is believed to be accurate and complete, with
the few exceptions noted, to July 1, 1902.
174 Adams, Ruth
141 Allen, Charles Dexter, 1899
_a_ with portrait
_b_ with book-case
_c_ with one club emblem changed
170 Alexander, Amy B.
187 Adams, Frances Amelia, 1901
199 Adams, Edward Dean, 1902
207 Adams, Ernest Kempton, 1902
44 Alexander, Charles B., 1895
11 Andrews, William Loring, 1894
76 Andrews, William Loring, Compliments of, 1896
195 Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie, 1902
111 Armour, George Allison, 1898
98 Author's Club (designed by Geo. Wharton Edwards), 1897
10 Avery, In Memoriam, Ellen Walters, 1894
142 Bakewell, Allan C.
43 Bakewell, A. C., 1895
36 Bates, James Hale, 1894
53 Barger, Samuel F., 1895
17 Baillie, W. E., 1894
20 Blackwell, Henry, 1894
16 Bierstadt, Edward Hale, 1894
42 Bernheim, A. C., 1895
60 Biltmoris, Ex Libris (designed by owner, George W. Vanderbilt),
1895
67 Bar of the City of New York, Association of the (Chas. H.
Woodbury's library, 1895), 1896
118 Bar of the City of New York, Association of the (the John E.
Burrill Fund, 1897), 1896
119 Bar of the City of New York, Association of the (Gift of James
C. Carter)
69 Biltmoris, Ex Libris (like 60, but smaller), 1896
87 Bliss, Catherine A., 1896
104 Burke, Edward F., 1897
133 Bradshaw, Sidney Ernest, 1898
1 Brainerd, Helen Elvira, 1892
4 Brainerd, Helen Elvira, 1894
124 Brown, Georgette (adapted from Parisian trade-card 18th century)
_a_ with border
_b_ without border
176 Borden, M. C. D.
177 Borden, M. C. D. (small)
139 Boas, Emil L.
80 Borland, Harriet Blair, 1896
166 Buck, John H. (designed by Miss Marion Buck)
171 Bullock, James Wilson, 1900
180 Barnes, John Sanford
65 Bull, William Lanman, 1895
147 Blackwell, Henry (monogram), 1899
150 Blackwell, Henry, Compliments of, 1900
91 Carnegie, Lucy Coleman, 1897
96 Candidati, 1897
7 Chew, Beverly, 1894
47 Chew, Beverly, 1895
41 Church, E. D., 1895
59 Champaign Public Library, 1895
8 Clark, Charles E., M. D., 1894
9 Clark, Charles E., M. D. (smaller), 1894
18 Colonial Dames of America
28 Coutant (Dr.), Richard B., 1894
66 Clough, Micajah Pratt, 1896
83 The John Crerar Library, Chicago, 1896
97 Connell, William, 1897
100 Child Memorial Library (Harvard), 1897
125 Cox, Jennings Stockton, 1898
51 Clough, Micajah P.
156 Cheney, Alice S., 1900
167 Chamberlain, Elizabeth (The Orchards), 1900
145 Cushing
22 Deats, Hiram Edmund, 1894
131 Dana, Charles A. (designed by A. Kay Womrath), 1898
70 Dows, Tracy, 1896
56 De Vinne, Theo. L. (designed by George Fletcher Babb), 1895
84 Denver Club, The (designed by Cora E. Sargent), 1896
143 Duryee, George Van Wagenen and Margaret Van Nest, 1899
46 Ellsworth, James William, 1895
88 Emmet, The Collection of Thos. Addis, M. D., New York Public
Library, 1896
2 French, Mary Brainerd, 1893
3 French, Edwin Davis (Volapük), 1893
5 E. D. F. (French, Edwin Davis), 1893
_a_ E. D. F., without enclosing frame
_b_ with frame
_c_ Edwin Davis French
19 Foote, Charles B., 1894
168 Foot, Margaret H., 1900
198 Furman, Dorothy, 1902
21 Grolier Club, The, 1894
29 Goodwin, James J., 1894
30 Goodwin, Francis, 1894
32 Godfrey, Jonathan, 1894
64 Goodrich, J. King, 1895
89 Gray, Adelle Webber, 1897
110 Goldsmith, Abraham, 1898
121 Goldsmith, James A., 1898
49 Goodwin, James J., 1895
136 Gale, Edward Courtland, 1899
185 Gage, Mabel Carleton (design by owner), 1901
202 Gray, John Chipman, 1902
181 Harvard, Society of the Signet (designed by B. G. Goodhue)
186 Harvard Union (designed by B. G. Goodhue), 1901
_a_ 1901
_b_ In Memoriam Henry Baldwin Hyde
184 Harbor Hill (Mrs. Clarence McKay)
38 Haber, Louis I, 1894
106 Hartshorn, Mary Minturn (designed by Miss E. Brown), 1897
55 Havemeyer, William Frederick (designed by Thomas Tryon), 1895
73 Herter, Christian Archibald, 1896
149 Horsford, Cornelia
155 Hopkins (Maj.), Robert Emmet
23 Holden, Edwin B., 1894
24 Holden, Edwin B. (smaller)
61 H(olden), E(mily), (Miss), 1895
25 Holden, Alice C., 1894
26 Holden, Edwin R., 1894
164 James, Walter B., M. D.
33 Kalbfleish, Charles Conover, 1894
90 O. A. K(ahn), 1897
94 Kingsbury, Edith Davies (designed by Lilian C. Westcott), 1897
113 Lambert, Samuel W., 1898
85 Lamson, Edwin Ruthven (designed by E. H. Garrett), 1896
173 Larner, John B.
35 Lawrence, Emily Hoe, 1894
6 Leggett, Cora Artemisia, 1894
15 Lefferts, Marshall Clifford, 1894
39 L. B. L(öwenstein), 1895
105 Lefferts, Mollie Cozine, 1897
102 Lemperly, Paul, 1897
169 Loveland, John W. and Lee Partridge
159 Livermore, John R.
172 Little, Arthur West
192 Long Island Historical Society, 1900
_a_ Storrs Memorial Fund, 1900
_b_ Ecclesiastical History
148 K. D. M. (Mackay, Mrs. Clarence) (small monogram with crest)
58 Marshall, Frank Evans, 1895
37 Mausergh, Richard Southcote, 1895
95 Marshall, Julian, 1897
188 Merriman, Roger Bigelow
40 Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1895
_a_ Cruger mansion
_b_ new building
54 Messenger, Maria Gerard, 1895
85 Messenger, Maria Gerard, 1896
_a_ gift-plate with book-pile
_b_ with view of Pleasantville library
74 Morgan, A. J., 1896
92 McCarter, Robert H., 1896
115 Medicis, Ex Libris (Cushing), 1898
45 McKee, Thomas Jefferson
151 Messenger, Maria Gerard and Elizabeth Chamberlain (The
Orchards), 1899
68 V. E. M(acy)
_a_ V. E. M.
_b_ Macy, Valentine Everit and Edith Carpenter, 1896
140 Moore, Louise Taylor Hartshorne
128 Nimick, Florence Coleman, 1898
163 New York Yacht Club, The (after sketch by the late Walter B. Owen)
12 Oxford Club, The, Lynn, 1894
57 Osborne, Thomas Mott and Agnes Devens, 1895
62 Odd Volumes, The Club of, 1895
13 Players, The (designed by Howard Pyle), 1894
50 Pyne, M. Taylor, 1895
63 Pine, Percy Rivington, 1895
81 Plummer, Mary Emma, 1896
107 Pyne, M. Taylor, 1897
204 Pyne, R. Stockton, 1902
108 Princeton University, Library of, 1897
132 Prescott, Eva Snow Smith, 1898
160 Porter, Nathan T., 1900
189 Phillips, William (design arranged from 16th century armorial
by P. de Chaignon la Rose), 1901
14 Reid, Whitelaw, 1894
34 Rowe, Henry Sherburne, 1894
103 Ranney, Henry Clay and Helen Burgess, 1897
191 Richards, Walter Davis, 1825-1877, 1901
158 Robinson, C. L. F.
99 Sabin, Ruth Mary, 1897
109 Sampson, Florence de Wolfe 1898
52 Sherwin, Henry A., 1895
77 Sedgwick, Robert, 1896
82 Sherwin, Henry A. (similar to 52, but smaller), 1896
117 Sherwood, Samuel Smith, 1898
129 Scripps, James Edmund, 1898
101 Skinner, Mark, Library
134 Stickney, Edward Swan (Chicago Historical Society), 1898
112 Stratton, A. Dwight, 1898
93 Stearns, John Lloyd, 1897
71 Sovereign (designed by Thomas Tryon) (crown), 1896
79 Sovereign (designed by Thomas Tryon) (eagle), 1896
193 Society of Colonial Wars, Connecticut, 1901
179 Sherman, William Watts (design by B. G. Goodhue), 1901
78 Taylor, Chas. H., Jr. (designed by E. B. Bird), 1896
135 Talmage, John F.
152 Treadwell Library (Mass. General Hospital) (designed by B. G.
Goodhue)
127 Thorne, Katherine Cecil Sanford, 1898
122 Twentieth Century Club (designed by Mrs. Evelyn Rumsey Carey), 1898
157 Union League Club
154 University Club, Cleveland
48 Vail, Henry H., 1895
116 Vassar Alumnae Historical Association, 1898
196 Varnum (Gen.), James M.
128 Van Wagenen, Frederick W., 1898
31 Warner, Beverly, M. A., 1894
114 Wendell, Barrett, 1898
126 Williams, E. P., 1898
130 Wood, Arnold, 1898
137 Wood, Ethel Hartshorne
182 Worcester Art Museum, 1901
144 A. W. (Arnold Wood), 1899
146 Williams, John Skelton
161 Wodell, Silas
175 Woodward, S. Walter, 1900
178 Whitin, Sarah Elizabeth
120 Winthrop, Henry Rogers, 1898
75 Willets, Howard, 1896
27 Woodbury, John Page, 1894
72 (Yale) The Edward Tompkins McLaughlin Memorial Prize in English
Composition, 1896
BERTRAM G. GOODHUE
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue is a Boston architect who has made several
book-plates of merit. One made for a department of Harvard University
is particularly rich in decorative effect, and a design of which one
would not grow weary. Others of Mr. Goodhue's designs are treated in
broad line and might have been reproduced very effectively by wood
engraving.
A. Squire
Udolpho Snead
Rachel Norton
Harvard University Library, Lowell Memorial Library of Romance
Literature
H. I. K. (H. I. Kimball)
Library of the Harvard Union
Society of the Signet, Harvard
Treadwell Library, Mass. General Hospital
M. A. de Wolfe Howe
William Watts Sherman
HARRY E. GOODHUE
The few book-plates designed by Harry E. Goodhue are mostly of the
"girl and book" type. In the plate for Jessy McClellan the young woman
appears to be sorry she "done it," or else is quite discouraged at the
idea of lifting her folio romance into her lap. Mr. Goodhue's most
pleasing design is that for Constance Alexander, shown on page 27.
Amy M. Sacker
Constance Grosvenor Alexander
Jessy Trumbull McClellan
June Eldredge
Juliet Armstrong Collins
T. B. HAPGOOD, Jr.
Mr. Hapgood is a decorative designer in Boston, and his work on the
covers of various periodicals and catalogs is well known. Plate No. 5
was submitted in competition and took second prize. It has never been
reproduced. No. 1 was reproduced in "The Red Letter," No. 2 in the
book-plate number of "The Studio," as was also No. 4. No. 14 has not
been reproduced. No. 15 was originally made as a printer's mark and
was so used. It was later altered to serve as a book-plate.
1 Rev. George Fred Daniels, 1896
2 Norris Hastings Laughton, 1897
3 A. F. Skenkelberger, 1897
4 Theodore Brown Hapgood, Jr., 1897
5 Society of Mayflower Descendants in Mass., 1897
6 Rufus William Sprague, Jr., 1898
7 Frances Louise Allen, 1898
8 Andrew C. Wheelwright, 1898
9 Andrew C. Wheelwright, 1898
10 Richard Gorham Badger, 1898
11 Thursday Club, 1899
12 North Brookfield Free Public Library, 1900
13 Edwin Osgood Grover, 1900
14 Harriet Manning Whitcomb, 1900
15 Carl Heintzemann
HAROLD E. NELSON
Many of the figures in the book-plates by Harold Nelson are of the
attenuated pre-Raphaelite type, but there are others one can believe
really once lived. The frontispiece to the book-plate number of "The
Studio" is a beautiful decorative bit by Mr. Nelson, and makes us
quite willing to forgive him some of his more eccentric designs. The
plate referred to is enhanced in beauty by a few lines of gold
judiciously used. The musical plate on page 18 of this volume is a
pleasing one.
Mary L. Oldfield
Edith A. Kingsford
Robert H. Smith
Fanny Nelson
Ellen Maguire
Edward Lomax
Ernest Scott Fardell, M.A.
Ernest Scott Fardell, M.A.
Geoffery Parkyn
A. Ludlow
James Wilmar
Bedford College Library
Horace Shaw
Harold Edward Hughes Nelson
Lady Literary Society
Mark Nelson
Evelyn Wynne Parton
A. A. Wood
Maude Burton
Marion H. Spielmann
Alfred Anteshed
Jane Nelson
Leopold d'Estreville Lenfestey
EDMUND H. NEW
The book-plate designs by Mr. New are in a class by themselves. No one
else has worked quite the field occupied by this artist. Mr. New has
used architecture for the motifs of a series of unusually pleasing
plates. He has treated in a most decorative way whole buildings as
well as details, doorways, and so forth. His plates are particularly
adapted to the dignified old houses that contain the libraries for
which they were made. Mr. New has not limited himself to this field,
as he has done a number of designs with no architectural suggestion.
His work in book illustration and decoration is of a most delightful
quality, and is well known to all lovers of black and white. A number
of his book-plate designs were reproduced and commented upon in
Simpson's "Book of Book-plates," Vol. II., No. I. The book-plate
number of "The Studio" also showed some of his designs. The list is in
chronological order and complete.
Herbert New
Rev. Richard R. Philpots
Rees Price (wood cut)
Montague Fordham (wood cut)
C. Elkin Mathews
Dr. Edmundi Atkinson
Edward Morton
Frederic Chapman
William and Catherine Childs
Beatrice Alcock
Arthur Fowler
No. 1 Highbury Terrace
Julia Sharpe
Herbert B. Pollard
William Malin Roscoe (three sizes), 1897
Edward Evershed Dendy
J. G. Gardner-Brown
Phil. Norman
Edward Le Breton Martin
Roberti Saundby, M. D., LL. D. (two sizes), 1900
George Lewis Burton
George Cave, 1900
Alexander Millington Sing (two sizes)
Peter Jones
Edward Alfred Cockayne
HENRY OSPOVAT
Henry Ospovat is a young Russian artist residing in London. He has
done some superb decorative work for the sonnets and poems of
Shakespeare published by John Lane. His book-plates are precious bits
of decoration worthy the adoration of all lovers of the beautiful.
There have been only a few reproductions of them. The book-plate
number of "The Studio" shows several and Fincham's "Artists and
Engravers" lists two.
Arthur and Jessie Guthrie, 1898
James and Maud Robertson, 1898
John and Jessie Hoy, 1898
Arthur Guthrie, 1898
Walter Crane
Charles Rowley
James Hoy
James Hoy
Frank Iliffe Hoy
John and Jessie Hoy (second design)
George Moore
A. Emrys Jones
Fred Beech
J. H. Reynolds
T. C. Abbott
Frank and Marie Hoy
ARMAND RASSENFOSSE
Armand Rassenfosse is a resident of Liege, therefore, presumably, a
Belgian and a subject of the German Empire. But as stone walls do not
always a prison make, so frontiers do not always mark the nationality
of art and letters. Mr. Rassenfosse is distinctly French in his
feeling and artistic point of view. Perhaps I should rather say
Parisian, for it is of the Latin Quartier and the Beaux Arts that his
work breathes. His designs are almost entirely of nude femininity and
his method of expression the etching. He has made some eight or ten
charming bits, full of life and chic--I was going to say, frou-frou,
but that would be a misnomer, for his models are innocent of gowns or
lingerie. Their spirit and beauty of execution is high, but as
book-plate designs--well, it's a bit like champagne for breakfast.
Alex. von Winiwarter
Alfred Lavachery, 1890
M. R. (Marie Rassenfosse)
A. R. (Armand Rassenfosse)
Alb. Mockel
H. v. W. (Hans von Winiwarter)
Three designs without names
D'Alb. Neuville
LOUIS RHEAD
The illustrator of "Pilgrim's Progress" and the "Idylls of the King"
needs no introduction to the average book-lover, and the hearts of the
poster-collectors throb at his name. Mr. Rhead is an American of
English birth and a resident of one of the suburbs of greater Gotham.
His decorative work has been long and favorably known, and his
book-plates can but add to his reputation. He has done but fifteen,
and two of these are yet to be reproduced, but some examples of his
work are in most collections.
Gertrude Tozier Chisholm
James Henry Darlington
Samuel Moody Haskins
Le Roy W. Kingman
Frank J. Pool
Louis Rhead (symbolic)
Louis Rhead (fishing)
Katharine Rhead
W. H. Shir-Cliff, 1897
Jean Irvine Struthers
Stephen S. Yates
David Turnure
Ivy Club (Princeton University)
Rector Kerr Fox
George Weed Barhydt
BYAM SHAW
The one or two book-plate designs by Mr. Shaw that have been published
show a magnificent imaginative conception and makes the lover of the
beautiful ardently wish for "more." The one for Isabella Hunter, on
page 216 of Vol. I. of the "International Studio," is at the head of
its class. Mr. Shaw's other line-drawings and his paintings have a
richness and weirdness of design that is very attractive.
C. E. Pyke-Nott
Frank Lynn Jenkins
Isabella R. Hunter
Laurence Koe
Mr. Claye
JOSEPH W. SIMPSON
Mr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, is a young Scotchman of infinite ambition
and generous talent. He is not only a clever designer of book-plates,
but he has a magazine to exploit his schemes and theories of art. This
is reputed to be a quarterly, but it is erratic, like its sponsor, and
issues "once in a while." Mr. Simpson's designs are full of feeling
and rich in treatment. About twenty-five of these have seen the light
and are prized by the lovers of modernity.
Robert Bateman, 1897
Kris Allsopp, 1897
Kris Allsopp, 1897
J. A. Whish, 1898
James Dick, 1898
F. N. and A. W. Hepworth, 1898
Cissie Allsopp, 1898
J. W. Simpson
Charles Holme
Julio Guardia
K. E., Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg, 1898
Maud H. Scott, 1898
A. Gaston Masson
Geo. May Elwood
T. F. M. Williamson, 1899
(Gordon) Craig
Mabel Waterson
Fiffi Kuhn
Maisie Phillips
Samuel Linsley
Pauline Stone
T. N. Foulis
Joseph W. Simpson
W. M. Stone
HANS THOMA
Hans Thoma is a painter of national reputation in Germany who has
thought it not beneath his dignity to do book-plate designs. This by
way of recreation or to strengthen his line for more pretentious
efforts. His designs are along classic and dignified lines. His own
personal plate is a weird one; on it is a nude youth bearing the torch
of knowledge and riding a gruesome dragon.
Dr. S. Herxheimer, 1898
Hans Thoma
Adolph von Gross, 1896
Dr. Henry Thode
August Rasor
Martin Elersheim
S. Herrheimer
Sofie Küchler
Hermann Levi
Dr. Otto Fiser
Luisa Countess Erdödy
R. Spier
J. A. Beringer
Karl and Maria Grunelius
THOMAS TRYON
Mr. Tryon's work has been described at length in another part of this
book and a large part of his designs reproduced.
William Frederick Havemeyer (engraved by E. D. French), 1892
James Seymour Tryon, 1892
Arnold William Brunner, 1893
Frank Jean Pool, 1893
"Sovereign," Crown design (engraved by E. D. French), 1896
"Sovereign," Eagle design (engraved by E. D. French), 1896
Annah M. Fellowes, 1896
George Elder Marcus, 1897
Loyall Farragut, 1898
Mary Tryon Stone, 1900 } same
Janet Tryon Stone, 1900 } design in
Rachel Norton Tryon Stone, 1900 } different
Mary Tryon Stone (2d), 1900 } sizes
J. C. M. (Miss J. M. Cox), 1901
Library of the Boys' Club, 1902
Willis Steell, 1902
BERNHARD WENIG
Bernhard Wenig is a comparatively newcomer in the field of book-plate
design, but he has already established for himself an enviable
reputation in Germany, and his work is meeting with a growing
appreciation by collectors in this country. Mr. Wenig's general manner
is that of the old engraved wood block, bold and more or less crude of
line, but full of virility. Most of his work is reproduced in black on
white, but in a few instances he has used a color or two with good
effect. His choice of subjects is varied, but the studious bookman of
the middle ages seems to be uppermost in his heart and mind. Mr. Wenig
has made one plate for a child, a small boy, that is among the best
half-dozen of designs for children.
Baroness May v. Feilitzsch
Bernhard Wenig, 1897
Anton Wenig, 1897
Joh. Nep. Eser, 1899
E. W. J. Gärtner, 1900
Richard Schulz, 1900
Mathilde Schulz
Heinrich Stümcke
Karl Emich, Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg, 1901
Günter Otto Schulz
Gertrud Schulz
Dr. Adolph Brenk
Carl Selzer
Lorenz Wenig
Countess Sofie du Moulin
Max H. Meyer
Dr. Fr. Weinitz
H. von Sicherer
Hugo Schmid
Julie Speyer
Louis King
Claire von Frerichs
Franz Menter
L. Frankenstein
Dr. Hans Lichtenfelt
Heinrich and Hedwig Brelauer
Fr. Schade
F. Schaffener
G. Drobner
H. R. C. Hirzee
Wolfgang Quincke
Alfred Misterck
Ludwig Stivner
Max Landmann
Hans Jaeger
Dr. Louis Merck
Richard Jaeger
Rosalie Eeginbrodt
Georg Ortner
Melaine Dorny
Anna Furstin
Ludwig Klug
Doris von Heyl
Frieherr Max Heyl
Carl R. Peiner
David von Flansemann
Paulus Museum, Worms
(Mrs.) Hedwig Smidt
Wilhelm Karl Herams
(Mrs.) Julie Wassermann
Dr. C. Schonborn
Maria von Ernst
Wolfgang Quincke
Walther Frieherr von Seckendorff
Wilhelm von Schon
[Illustration: {Book-plate of W. S.}]
Transcriber's Note
Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.
Printer errors and inconsistencies have been amended as follows:
Page 28--Bernard amended to Bernhard--By Bernhard Wenig
Page 36--Gerhaeuser amended to Gerhäuser--The design for Emil
Gerhäuser is inoffensive ...
Page 43--portaits amended to portraits--The portraits and view
are interwoven ...
The final chapter, the check-list of works, contained a number of
errors and inconsistencies in the names. Where there were other
mentions of the name in the book, the transcriber has made amendments
for consistency, as follows:
Page 45--Bernard amended to Bernhard--Bernhard Wenig
Page 49--Pierce amended to Pearce--Julian Pearce Smith
Page 51--F. amended to E.--E. Gerhäuser
Page 51--Lulu amended to Lula--12 Lula Thomas Wear
Page 58--Jomes amended to James (second instance)--James Hoy
Page 61--Havermeyer amended to Havemeyer--William Frederick
Havemeyer (engraved by E. D. French), 1892
Page 61--Fellows amended to Fellowes--Annah M. Fellowes, 1896
The following are likely to be errors, but as they appear only once in
this book, they are preserved as printed. This list may not be
exhaustive.
Page 58--Dr. Edmundi Atkinson should probably be Dr. Edmund
Atkinson
Page 62--Rosalie Eeginbrodt should probably be Rosalie
Eigenbrodt
Page 62--Melaine Dorny should probably be Melanie Dorny
Page 62--Frieherr Max Heyl should probably be Freiherr Max Heyl
Page 62--Carl R. Peiner should probably be Carl R. Reiner
Page 62--Dr. C. Schonborn should probably be Dr. C. Schönborn
Page 62--Walther Frieherr von Seckendorff should probably be
Walther Freiherr von Seckendorff
Page 62--Wilhelm von Schon should probably be Wilhelm von Schön
The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.
Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are
not in the middle of a paragraph.
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