Chapter I: Part 1

AMERICAN
BOOKPLATES

AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES

(EX-LIBRIS)

American Book-Plates

A Guide to their Study with Examples

By Charles Dexter Allen

Member Ex-Libris Society London · Member Grolier Club New York
Member Connecticut Historical Society Hartford

With a Bibliography by Eben Newell Hewins

Member Ex-Libris Society

Illustrated with many reproductions of rare and interesting book-plates
and in the finer editions with many prints from the original
coppers both old and recent

New York · Macmillan and Co. · London

Mdcccxciv

COPYRIGHT, 1894,
BY MACMILLAN AND CO.

Norwood Press:
J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith.
Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

PREFACE.

n a few years Book-plate literature will have a place in the catalogues of the Libraries, as it now has in those of the dealers in books. The works of the Hon. J. Leicester Warren (Lord de Tabley), Mr. Egerton Castle, and Mr. W. J. Hardy on the English plates, Mr. Walter Hamilton, M. Henri Bouchot, and M. Poulet-Malassis on the French, Herr Warnecke on the German, and M. Carlander on the Swedish, are all the work of master hands, and are recognized as authorities. In our own country the lists and essays of Mr. Richard C. Lichtenstein and Mr. Laurence Hutton have long been of invaluable service, and occupy a position both at home and abroad of undisputed eminence.

A large number of articles has also been contributed to periodical literature by those well informed upon the subject, and numerous monographs testify to the growth of interest in this fascinating study, and by the names of their authors, to the class of scholars and students of antiquarian lore who deem the humble book-plate worthy of their attention.

In view of what has been and of what will be written, this present modest attempt to introduce more fully than has yet been done, the book-plates of America, needs to be understood as simply a pioneer work; a great deal of information will reward the patient and painstaking investigator of the future, which is now inaccessible, and without doubt, too, much will be found even within the present to supplement these pages.

This book could not have been undertaken nor carried to completion had the writer been denied the generous assistance and hearty sympathy of our collectors, to whom he desires to express his appreciation of the kindnesses shown him.

Especially to Mr. R. C. Lichtenstein, Mr. E. N. Hewins, and Mr. Fred J. Libbie of Boston, does he feel under deep obligation for the generous loan of their splendid collections, for ready advice and counsel, for cheerful assistance whenever asked for, and for that tangible sympathy and lively interest which are worth so much to one engaged in such work. To many others also is he indebted, both for the loan of plates and for kindly words of encouragement.

To Mr. S. P. Avery, Mr. Beverly Chew, Mr. E. H. Bierstadt, Mr. Henry Blackwell, Mr. D. McN. Stauffer, Mr. Edward D. Harris, Mr. Laurence Hutton, and Mr. E. W. Nash, of New York City; to Mr. W. G. Brown of Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Va.; Mr. H. E. Deats of Flemington, N.J.; Dr. C. E. Clark of Lynn; Hon. W. A. Courtnay of Charleston, S.C.; Miss Helen E. Brainerd of the Columbia College Library; Mr. Pickering Dodge of Washington, D.C.; Mr. Charles T. Martin, Mr. Frank B. Gay, Mr. A. C. Bates, and Mr. John C. Parsons, of Hartford; Dr. Henry C. Eno of Saugatuck; Dr. J. H. Dubbs of Lancaster, Penn., President of Franklin and Marshall College; Mr. D. V. R. Johnston of the State Library at Albany; Mr. Nathaniel Paine of Worcester; Mr. Daniel Ravenel of Charleston, S.C.; Mr. Howard Sill of Glendale, Md.; Mr. R. A. Brock of Richmond, Va.; Mr. Howard Edwards of Philadelphia; Dr. Swan M. Burnett of Washington, D.C.; Mr. Richard Wijnkoop of Brooklyn; Mr. Bisbee of Dartmouth College; Mr. William Kelby of the New York Historical Society; and to Mr. Lyon G. Tyler of Williamsburg, Va., President of William and Mary College, does he wish to make acknowledgment for the favors which have contributed so much to the value of the work. From over the sea, particularly kind assistance has come from Rev. T. W. Carson, the veteran collector and eminent authority of Dublin.

To all others who by letter, gift, or advice have assisted him, the writer wishes hereby to make suitable and hearty acknowledgment.

The writer’s thanks are also extended to those who have so kindly permitted him the use of their plates for the illustrating of the book.

A word more is due to Mr. E. N. Hewins, who very kindly, at the writer’s request, accepted the labor of preparing the excellent Bibliography which appears in the volume.

CHARLES DEXTER ALLEN.

HARTFORD, CONN., June, 1894.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

A LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS xi

INTRODUCTORY 1

NAME-LABELS AND MOTTOES 16

ARMORIAL BOOK-PLATES 35

PICTORIAL AND ALLEGORICAL BOOK-PLATES AND PLATES OF COLLEGES, LIBRARIES, AND SOCIETIES 57

BOOK-PLATES OF SPECIAL INTEREST 79

EARLY AMERICAN BOOK-PLATE ENGRAVERS, WITH LISTS OF THEIR WORK 104

AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF EARLY AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES 160

A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE DATED PLATES 313

AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE SIGNED PLATES, SHOWING THE EXACT MANNER OF SIGNING 314

A LIST OF MOTTOES FOUND UPON THE EARLY PLATES, WITH TRANSLATIONS 323

A FEW RECENT EXAMPLES 340

THE AMERICAN COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS 377

THE EX LIBRIS SOCIETIES 387

BIBLIOGRAPHY (AMERICAN, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH) 389

CONCLUSION 421

INDEX 423

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

COPPER-PLATES.

CHARLES DEXTER ALLEN, by _E. H. Garrett_ _Title-page_

_To face page_
EDWARD HALE BIERSTADT, by _E. D. French_ 90

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 98

ALEXANDER ANDERSON, by _Anderson_ 120

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, attributed to _Callender_ 126

GEORGE GOODWIN, attributed to _Doolittle_ 132

MARSHALL C. LEFFERTS, by _E. D. French_ 352

GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR, by _W. F. Hopson_ 370

FRANCIS WILSON, by _E. H. Garrett_ 376

FULL-PAGE REPRODUCTIONS.

JEREH. WADSWORTH 1

MORAL LIBRARY, YALE COLLEGE 6

JAMES EDDY MAURAN 16

EUGENE FIELD 35

JACOB SARGEANT, by _Jacob Sargeant_ 46

PETER MANIGAULT, by _Yates_ 52

JOHN WILLIAMS 54

RICHARD WYNKOOP 56

SOCIAL LAW LIBRARY 66

GEORGE ALEXANDER MACBETH 79

W. F. HOPSON, by _W. F. Hopson_ 104

WILLIAM ASHMEAD COURTENAY 122

EDMUND H. GARRETT, by _E. H. Garrett_ 138

H. E. DEATS 150

RICHARD C. LICHTENSTEIN, by _George Moore_ 160

LOUIS J. HABER 323

GEORGE H. ELLWANGER, by _Sidney L. Smith_ 340

JOHN E. RUSSELL, by _M. T. Callahan_ 357

DEAN SAGE 360

FRED C. SCHLAICK, by _Howard Sill_ 362

ARTHUR ROBINSON STONE, by _George M. White_ 364

F. W. HOYT 366

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.

PAGE

George Lee Tuberville, Virginia 2

Timothy Newell, printed by _Isaiah Thomas_ 3

William Lord, East Haddam 5

Geo. C. M. Roberts, M.D., Baltimore 6

Elijah F. Reed 7

Jared Ingersoll, Esq., of New Haven, Conn. 8

John Walters Gibbs, Charleston, S.C., by _Abernethie_ 9

Peter Middleton, M.D., by _J. Lewis_ 10

Harrison Gray Otis 11

Lieut. E. Trenchard, U. S. Navy 12

Samuel Elam, Rhode Island 13

John Adams 15

Hannah Reynolds 17

E Libris Thomæ Holt 18

John Campbell, Charles County 19

Richard Sprigg, Jr., by _T. Sparrow_ 20

Thomas O. Selfridge, Boston, 1799 22

Worcester Circulating Library 23

Daniel Greenleaf 25

Timothy Mann, Walpole, Oct., 1810 27

A. L. Hollingsworth, Boston, Mass. 29

George Bancroft 31

William Prescott 32

Henry Blackwell, New York City 33

Edward Pennington, Philadelphia 34

Gabriel Jones, Attorney at Law, in Virginia 36

Joseph Dudley, 1754 38

Jer. Dummer, Anglus Americanus 39

Minot, Boston 40

Frederik Philipse, Esq. 42

William P. Smith, A.M., by _Thomas Johnston_ 45

Andrew Tyler, by _Hurd_ 46

John Durand, Esq. 47

Anthony Stewart, Annapolis, Md. 48

Myles Cooper, LL.D., etc. 49

Andrew Oliver, attributed to _Hurd_ 50

Benjamin Kissam, by _Dawkins_ 51

Samuel Vaughan, Esq. 53

W. Jackson 54

De Witt Clinton, by _Maverick_ 55

James Parker 58

Henry Andrews, by _Harris_ 59

New York Society Library, by _Maverick_ 60

New York Society Library, 1789, by _Maverick_ 61

Monthly Library in Farmington, Conn. 63

Village Library, Farmington, Conn. 65

Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts 66

Hasty Pudding Library, Harvard College 68

Linonian Library, Yale College 69

Linonian Library (_Yale College_) 70

Arnold Arboretum, 1892, by _Geo. Wharton Edwards_ 72

New York Society Library, by _Elisha Gallaudet_ 74

Phoenix Society 76

Brothers in Unity, Yale College, by _Pelton_ 77

Samuel Hill 78

Stephen Cleveland 80

Columbia College Library, New York, by _Anderson_ 81

Isaiah Thomas 83

Albany Society Library, 1759 84

John Quincy Adams 86

Josiah Quincy 87

Livius 88

Dr. John Jeffries, attributed to _Callender_ 89

Geo. Washington, _genuine_ 91

Geo. Washington, _fraudulent_ 94

Bushrod Washington 96

Daniel Webster 97

Brander Matthews, by _E. A. Abbey_ 99

Edmund Clarence Stedman 100

Laurence Hutton 102

Winfield Scott 103

Robert Hale, Esq., of Beverly, by _Hurd_ 107

John Chandler, Jr., Esq., by _Hurd_ 108

Lewis De Blois, by _Hurd_ 109

Joshua Spooner, by _Hurd_ 110

Harvard College, by _Hurd_ 112

John Vassall, Esq., by _Hurd_ 114

John Lowell, by _Hurd_ 115

Peter A. Browne, by _Akin_ 118

John Pintard, LL.D., by _Anderson_ 120

Apprentices’ Library, New York City, by _Anderson_ 121

Thomas Russell, by _Callender_ 125

Henry D. Gilpin, by _Childs_ 127

Whitehead Hicks, by _Dawkins_ 130

Social Library, Wethersfield, by _Doolittle_ 133

Eli Forbes, by _Furnass_ 135

John Chambers, by Elisha _Gallaudet_ 136

Anonymous, by _Maverick_ 141

Abraham Bancker, by _Maverick_ 143

Gardiner Chandler, by _Revere_ 146

William Wetmore, by _Revere_ 147

Paul Revere, by _Revere_ 148

John Lenthall, by _Thackara_ 153

Bloomfield, by _Trenchard_ 154

Luther Martin, attributed to _Trenchard_ 155

John Franklin, Boston, New Eng., by _Turner_ 156

Bloomfield McIlvaine, by _Seymour_ 157

G. A. Smith 159

Anonymous, by _Maverick_ 161

William Belcher, Savannah 171

Absalom Blackley, by _Maverick_ 173

Hon. William Carmichael, Esq. 181

Col. John Skey Eustace 199

Ewing 201

Andrew G. Fraunces, by _Maverick_ 205

John Goelet, attributed to _Maverick_ 209

Richard Harison 215

Barrack Hays, by _Hutt_ 219

Samuel Farmar Jarvis, D.D. 227

William Jauncey 229

Thomas Johnson, by _Maverick_ 231

Edward Livingston, by _Maverick_ 238

Abraham Lodge 240

Rev. John Murray 253

Francis Panton, Jr., by _Maverick_ 259

Samuel Parker 260

William Penn 263

James Power 270

Samuel Smith 283

J. B. Swett 289

John Tayloe 291

Richard Varick, by _Billings_ 295

Virginia Council Chamber 297

John C. Warren 299

W. Warren 301

William Duer 322

Malvians 339

Thomas Bailey Aldrich 343

Melvin H. Hapgood 344

Joseph Henry Dubbs, D.D. 345

James Phinney Baxter 348

Albert C. Bates 350

George Wharton Edwards 351

John Herbert Corning, by _H. Sandham_ 354

George L. Parmelee 355

Paul Lemperly, by _Bert K. Canfield_ 359

Joseph H. Wheeler 361

Chauncey Lawrence Williams, by _Geo. R. Halm_ 364

Samuel Wesley Marvin 366

Adam Van Allan 367

Marcus Benjamin 369

Henry S. Rowe 376

Julia Dexter Coffin 374

Jeremiah Evarts 386

John Andrew 388

Paul Lemperly, by _E. H. Garrett_ 421

AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES.

INTRODUCTORY.

e cannot venture to guess which was the first book-plate made in America, nor to say with absolute certainty whence came the first plate used in our country; but undoubtedly the latter came over already pasted into some book of a Dutch or English settler.

The larger part of our books came from England, and very few plates are found with arms of other nationalities. The colonists who came from England bringing books, brought also the home ideas concerning books, and the book-plate was a natural piece of property to acquire. Their descendants, who continued the connection with the mother-country, used plates more generally, and the fashion spread naturally. It never became very general, but was confined to those of gentle birth; the clergy, the lawyers, and men of education. We shall see that it was not confined to the men alone, but that the women of literary accomplishments also used plates.

Virginia.]

By far the greater part of the plates are cut on copper, but there are some woodcuts as will be seen in an examination of the list; also, there are some which look as if cut in silver, which was an easier metal to work, or perhaps in type-metal. One example is known in which brass was used, and this old plate is now in the possession of the writer. The steel engravings are of rather recent date; and while there are a number of these, the new plates are mostly on copper. The simple labels are printed from type.

The larger part of our early plates are armorial in character; and while heraldry forms so prominent and important a feature, it is left practically untouched in the present volume. The number interested in the science is small, the authorities on coats-of-arms and on blazoning differ, and the present writer had not the time to make the thorough investigation necessary to a satisfactory treatment of this interesting branch. Upon consultation with other collectors, and with their advice, it was decided to leave this subject for a future volume should any call for it arise.

A decided difference is noticed between the book-plates of the Northern and the Southern Colonies. In the South, to which came men of wealth and leisure with cultivated tastes, we would expect to find the little superfluities and niceties of daily life sooner in vogue and more generally used. Bringing books and musical instruments with them, retaining their connection with the far-away home by correspondence and visits, sending their sons to the great Universities to be educated, and to the Law Schools for a finishing course, and ordering their clothes, books, furniture, and all of the luxuries of life from England, they would naturally be the first to use the book-plate. Very few of the Southern plates were engraved by American engravers. They were nearly all done in London, when some member of the family was over, or by order from the Colony; for this reason the Southern plates are better in heraldry, design, and execution than those of New England and New York. They were the product of men experienced in such work; they were all armorial and in the prevailing English mode.

The earliest comers to New England had a prejudice against coats-of-arms and trinkets of such-like character, which their descendants, however, soon forgot. Pride of ancestry and love of the display of aristocratic claims developed when the hard circumstances of the former years had worn off, and we find the prominent families of the North using book-plates, and having their arms upon their coaches. In one important feature, however, these Northern plates differ from the Southern,--they are mostly the work of our native engravers, very few being done in England.

The work of these native artisans, who were mostly self-taught in this art of engraving on copper, is confessedly inferior to that of the London experts found upon the Southern plates, both in drawing and execution, but their work is of more value to the collector from this very fact of their being American work. They furnish examples of native skill, both in engraving and in copper-plate printing.

The ornamentation of buttons, spoons, tableware, and other articles of silver was already practised when the demand for the book-plate arose, so that there were skilful men ready to turn their attention to this new branch of their art.

The War of the Revolution naturally affected the native production of book-plates, but a few years after its close, when Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were active in publishing books, the engraver found work more plenty, and very many who were employed upon the plates for the illustration of books also produced book-plates.

Nathaniel Hurd was the principal engraver of book-plates in the North before the war, though Thomas Johnson, who was born before him and who also died before he did, made some plates, while Turner and Paul Revere were also working at this period.

Henry Dawkins, in Philadelphia, came over from England, and so did the elder Maverick, who made so many plates for the New Yorkers.

The literary plates are smaller in number than we could wish, and they do not show a wide range of ideas either. Very probably some of the designs were borrowed from English plates, and were produced over again for different customers, or were freely copied by other engravers who liked, or who found customers who liked, the design of others. The plate used by _George Goodwin_ is one of four of this same design. The shelf of books is also seen in the plate of _G. C. M. Roberts, M.D._, _Thomas Robbins_, and the

YALE COLLEGE]

_Elijah F. Reed_, which is a direct reproduction of the _Robbins_. Piles of books, but not the regulation “Book-pile,” are seen in the _Brown_ and _Lewis_ plates, while the only real library interiors are the _Tayloe_ plate, the _Moral Library_ and the _Village Library_ (Farmington, Conn.). John Allan, the old-book lover of New York, used a plate with an open book against an anchor, and the plate of _Edmund Penn_ shows a love for books in the dainty volumes disposed about the frame.

The patriotism of our book-lovers is shown in very many designs, which use the American flag or the eagle. The thirteen stars also, the motto of the United States, and various private mottoes of a very patriotic nature, are frequently used.

It is noticeable that as compared with the Southern plates there are but few of the Northern examples which give the address or residence of the owner; that is, speaking of the armorial plates, the printed name labels give these particulars quite often.

of New Haven Connecticut.]

The _Jared Ingersoll_ plate gives _New Haven_ as the residence of the owner, while _Rhode Island_ follows the name on the plate of _Samuel Elam_. Other Northern plates which are so engraved are the _Colonel Eustace of New York_, _Comptroller Elliston_ also _of New York_, _Lenox of Philadelphia_, _Atlee of Lancaster_, _John Franklin, Boston, New England_, and _Robert Hale of Beverly_. Of the Southern plates, _Wormeley_, _Waller_, _Tuberville_, _Tazewell_, _Skelton_, _Randolph_, and _Ludwell_

give _Virginia_ as their residence; _Drayton_ names _South Carolina_, the _Dr. Cabell_ plate names _Richmond_, and the _John Walters Gibbs_ names _Charleston, S.C._ The plates used in the West Indies also show the residence quite often. There, too, as well as in the Southern colonies, the profession or position of the owner, as well as the London law school in which he was educated, are often given. Thus we have _William Blanc, Middle Temple, Dominica_; _Chas. Pinfold, LL.D., Governor of Barbadoes_; _Peyton Randolph of the Middle Temple, London_; _Francis Page of the Inner Temple Esqr._; _William Assheton of Gray’s Inn_. In the Northern examples we find _John Gardiner of the Inner Temple_, and _Jonathan Belcher, E Societate Medij Templi_.

We note also in running through the List that the occupations most often noted on the book-plates are those of the medical and the legal profession. Barristers, lawyers, and attorneys are often so named, and the initials _M.D._, or the full word _Doctor_, are seen.

The abbreviations of other degrees are found also, and the plates of clergymen are not uncommon.

Several plates remain unnoticed in the following pages, which are probably American, but which, for lack of positive information, it is thought best not to include. Among these is an early Dutch plate which, if it could be accurately traced to its original owner, might prove to be one of the earliest plates used in America.

It seems that a word is needed in defence of the perfectly legitimate and gentle pursuit of collecting book-plates. A great deal of sarcasm and indignation have found their way into the columns of periodical literature, particularly in England, the especial purpose of which is to trouble the humble collector, and to discredit him in the eyes of the world. He is pointed out as a destroyer of valuable books, as an animal so greedy in the pursuit of his insignificant prey as to ruin elegant bindings that he may secure worthless bits of paper, and as actually so devoid of good sense as to remove such of these as are interesting--for it is reluctantly admitted that some interest does attach to the plates used by certain men of fame in historical annals--from their rightful place within the covers of the very books read and handled by these illustrious owners.

Let it be remembered that but a small part of the many books published have a permanent value, and that a book once eagerly sought may outlive its usefulness, and come to have a commercial value of so much a pound as old paper, instead of so much a copy in different styles of binding. Surely, no one can quarrel with the collector who removes the book-plate, found within it, from such a worn-out specimen, even if the removal necessitates the ruin of the cover. But to remove a book-plate does not necessarily mean to ruin the cover; it requires some skill and considerable patience to remove a valuable plate without injury to either itself or the cover upon which it was pasted, but it is done daily. Surely no one can find fault with this--a skilful operation resulting satisfactorily to the plate-collector and to the book-owner.

Again, no intelligent book-plate collector will separate the plate of a famous man from the book which has been its home for years, and which was once handled and read by its famous owner. Even a worthless book will thus be saved by the collector, which was fit but for the fire or the ash-heap, and which would have gone thither, plate and all, save for his discriminating eye, while a valuable book no one would think of despoiling. Would an intelligent collector, having a book from the library of George Washington, with his plate upon the cover and his autograph in its accustomed place, think of soaking off the plate and cutting out the signature? Not at all; no matter how worthless the book might chance to be, the fact that it was Washington’s is sufficient to insure it from any harm, while the presence of the autograph and the book-plate but adds to the value as establishing beyond peradventure the original ownership.

The book-plate collector is naturally a book-lover. He must not be accused or suspected of crimes against his own kith and kin. He is a harmless and useful specimen of the _genus_ collector, who with assiduity, perseverance, and intelligence seeks to preserve these memorials of past days, which in the rage for indiscriminate collecting were overlooked, and are but now beginning to receive the attention they are worthy of.

It is, however, to be admitted that at first glance, the general reader who has not developed a special liking for the things of the past in history, art, or biography, may see no especial interest in book-plates. But let him examine a collection of good plates with their intelligent owner, who can point out to him the facts worthy of note; let him once understand that celebrated artists like Albrecht Durer, Jost Amman, William Hogarth, William Marshall, George Vertue, Bewick, Bartolozzi, and even Raphael Morghen were willing to devote time and taste to the designing or engraving of the book-plate; let him handle some of their work, and reflect upon the effort the master considered so small a design worthy of; let him see the plates of some of the noted names in history, art, letters, medicine, the sciences, and the professions; let him take in his hands the plates of William Penn, the friend of the Indian and benefactor of his race, of Laurence Sterne, of David Garrick, of Horace Walpole, of Samuel Rogers, of Charles Dickens, or of George Washington, of John Adams, and Charles Carroll, signers of the Declaration; let him see a plate engraved by Paul Revere whose services in the Revolution he has known of from his schooldays;--let him see these and scores more of similar interest, and he cannot fail to respond to the enthusiasm of their owner. But indeed it is a pursuit, the delights of which are discernible to those only who bring to it the capacity for such pleasures.

NAME-LABELS AND MOTTOES.

f all forms of book-plates the simplest possible is the printed name of the owner, unaccompanied by either motto, device, or ornamentation of any kind. Such a plate had _Philip Hone_, one of the founders of the Mercantile Library, and in the early twenties a mayor of the city of New York. His plate is merely a bit of paper with his name in bold script printed upon it from an engraved copper-plate.

This style of plate is not chronologically the earliest, but is taken as our starting-point because of its unrelieved simplicity; this fulfils the mission of the book-plate,--it proclaims the ownership of the book in which it is seen; not in delicate language, to be sure, not with any invitation to dip into the volume in hand, not with any evidence of the owner’s taste in reading, but with a directness not to be misunderstood.

The essential part of the book-plate is the name of the owner; and while this is sufficient of itself, it is found profitable and pleasant to accompany it with an apt quotation from a favorite author, with a caution against the improper

handling of books, with a warning of the sad result of declining Wisdom’s guidance, or with an invitation to enjoy the beauties of literature and to share the benefits of careful reading. In addition to these mere typographical adjuncts an opportunity is offered for the display of those more decorative garnishments which have led to the development of the handsomer styles of plates.

_Alexander Stedman’s: Thomas Thaxter’s, 1791: William W. Potter’s Book: Aaron Woolworth’s, Ex Dono Rev. S. Buell, D.D._ These plates use the possessive case, are embellished with borders of ornamental type, and supply some further information by showing the date of their being used, or by naming the giver of the volumes. Other styles of expressing book-ownership are afforded by the following: _Nicolas Pike His Book 1768_: _Hannah Adams, Medfield 179-_: _The Property of John Clap, Roxbury 1791_: _Davidis Dickinson Liber, A.D. 1796_: _Lieut. E. Trenchard, U. S. Navy_: _Simeon Baldwin, Owner_: _Ex Libris I. G. Thomas_: _Library T. W. Curtis, No._: _Belonging to the Library of Thomas Forrest Betton, Germantown Pa._: _The Property of John Weld native of Pomfret, Conn. Resident of Pomfret, Bo’t of Mr. James Steele of Hartford, January 12, 1796_: _W. Lewis, Ejus Liber_: _Johann Christoph Kunze, Prediger in Philadelphia_: _Emmanuel Jones e Coll; Gul; et Ma: 1756_.

These old type-set labels with their quaint borders of ornamental type,--scrolls, flourishes, stars, vines, and even grammatical signs,--are usually found to be printed on good white handmade paper, which was seldom trimmed with care; occasionally a tinted paper is found,--yellow more often than any other, but sometimes a blue or green; these served the less pretentious of our ancestors in lieu of the coats-of-arms and family mottoes of those of higher lineage, and are found in quantities throughout the New England and Middle States: even farther south they are not uncommon, but are not so numerous.

Charles County.]

In making up these ornamental borders the type was usually set in the form of a parallelogram, occasionally in a square, oval, circle, or diamond, and seldom in fanciful shapes. The most ambitious plate of this kind which has come under my observation is that which once graced the books of Mary McGinley; this is a rather large plate, and the type is set in the form of an urn, within the lines of which are given the motto and the owner’s name.

A step in advance of these wholly typographical examples are those which employ a woodcut border to surround the name, and instances can be given of such a border enclosing the name printed from type; festoons of flowers or of cord, and draperies of cloth, were also used as a simple setting for the owner’s name. In this connection mention may be made of the work of T. Sparrow, an obscure engraver of Maryland; no heraldic or pictorial examples of his workmanship have been identified, and he probably confined himself to the simple woodcut designs of which but a small number are known. Always using a border of floriated scrolls, he never omitted an original contrivance which is the characteristic mark of his work,--a group of thirteen stars surrounded often by a wreath. This is always found in a prominent place, and is an indication of his patriotism as well as that of the owner of the plate.

It must not be supposed that the heraldic book-plate was an outgrowth or development of the name-label: not at all; they were contemporaneous and were both used in England long before they were here.

Coming now to the subject of mottoes, we find a wide field to travel over, many languages to read, many quotations to recognize, with hints and warnings, and even threatenings, by the score, from jealous book-lovers. Mottoes readily fall into two classes: those which are chosen by the owner for some personal reason, and those which are family mottoes, and which are used without thought because they are a family inheritance, or with a commendable pride in such legacies from an honorable ancestry. Latin is the language most often used probably, though English is a strong rival, while German, French, Greek, and even Hebrew and Welsh are also found upon our book-plates. Sentiments opposing the habit of book-borrowing are of frequent occurrence, and in some instances are of such severity as to leave no doubt of their effectiveness. For brevity and pointedness the following example can hardly be exceeded:--

_This book was bought and paid for by_
_D. C. Colesworthy._
_Borrowing neighbors are recommended_
_to supply themselves in the same manner._
_Price seventy-five cents._

On the book-plate of _D. W. Jayne_ the following verse from the Bible is used:--

_Go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. Matt. Chap.
xxv. ver. 9._

_BOSTON_,

1799.]

Verses from Holy Writ are quite frequently used on plates, and the style of expression found in the Psalms and Proverbs is borrowed as adding an authoritative emphasis to the words of caution and advice,--

_The wicked borrow, and returneth not: do thou not like unto them._

_Return what thou borroweth with the most sacred punctuality, and
withhold it not._

On the plate of a book-lover in Charleston, S.C.,--

_And ye shall keep me until the fourteenth day. And it shall be
when thou hast made an end of reading this book. Send me away unto
my master. Ex. xii. 6: Jer. li. 63: Gen. xxiv. 54._

Worcester Circulating Library Company.]

Every one has suffered from book-borrowers, even from school-day times, when the rude doggerel,--

_Steal not this book for fear of shame,_
_For here you see the owner’s name_,

or its variant,

_Steal not this book for fear of strife,_
_For its owner carries a huge jack-knife_,

was printed in coarse letters across the cover of the books most likely to go astray. How irritating it is to find the very volume one needs at the moment, missing from its accustomed place on the shelf; if anything is lacking to complete the torment of the discovery, let it be impossible to find out who has taken the desired volume, or to get any clew as to when it went or where!

_Private Library of J. N. Candee Cole, This book is not loaned.
Matt. xxv. 9._

_Read not books alone: but men, and be careful to read thyself. The
property of John Lambert, South Reading._

_To Borrowers of Books._
YOU _remember, my friend, I freely comply’d
With the favour you asked me, and fully relied
On a favour from you, which, tho’ promised, I find,
As it hasn’t been granted, is out of your mind,
To return in due time what I’ve wanted to see,
The Book, which ’tis long since you borrow’d of me.
Another I now with reluctance implore,
’Tis only to ask that you borrow no more._

_Stolen from J. W. Houx_,

_Book-keeping taught in three words,
Never lend them._

The would-be borrower who finds these sentiments in the book he was about to ask for will scarcely be encouraged to do so, and for directness they are exceeded by only one example, in which the owner’s name is followed by the simple declaration, _He does not lend books_. The motto on the plate of the late _George Ticknor_--_Suum cuique, To every man his own_--was also calculated to discourage the borrower.

But some people do lend books, and have them returned too,--in good second-hand condition. And so it comes about that the proper use of books is made the subject of another class of mottoes.

_My Friend! Should you this book peruse,_
_Please to protect it from abuse:_
_Nor soil, nor stain, nor mark its page,_
_Nor give it premature old age:_
_And, when it has effected all,_
_Please to return it ere I call._

The following verse is common property and is found on several plates:--

_If thou art borrowed by a friend,_
_Right welcome shall he be_
_To read, to study, not to lend,_
_And to return to me._

_Not that imparted learning doth_
_Diminish learning’s store,_
_But books, I find, if often lent,_
_Return to me no more._

_Read slowly,_
_Pause frequently,_
_Think seriously,_
_Return duly with the corners of the leaves not turned down._

_Neither blemish this book, nor the leaves double down,_
_Nor lend it to each idle friend in the town:_
_Return it when read,--or if lost please supply_
_Another, as good to the mind and the eye._
_With right and with reason you need but be friends_
_And each book in my study your pleasure attends._

_If through respect or love I lend_
_This book unto my worthy friend,_
_He must not soil, abuse, nor tear,_
_But read with diligence and care;_
_And when its contents you have learned,_
_Remember, it must be_ RETURNED.

On the plate of _Samuel W. Francis_ appear the following lines:--

_Any one may borrow,_
_But a gentleman returns._

* * * * *

_The property_
_of_
_Thomas C. Cowan._

_Borrower,_
_read, mark, and_ AVOID
_the former part_
_of_
_Psalm xxxvii. 21_.

* * * * *

IF _you borrow, freely use it,_
_Take great care and don’t abuse it:_
_Read, but neither lose nor lend it,_
_Then unto the owner send it_.

_Never open a book farther than to bring both sides of the cover on
to the same plane. Never lend a borrowed book, but return it as
soon as you are through with it, so that the owner may not be
deprived of its use. You may think this a strange request, but I
find that although many of my friends are poor arithmeticians, they
are nearly all of them good book-keepers._

In strong contrast to all the preceding are those mottoes of generous souls who find no pleasure in withholding their treasures, but who wish to have it understood that they are for the use of all; not very many are bold enough to thus advertise their willingness to lend, but a few do so, and generally by the use of the Latin, _Sibi et amicis_, or _et amicorum_.

Sentiments in praise of books and reading are not uncommon, and quotations from classic writers both in prose and poetry do good service on book-plates. Pope’s well-known lines--

_A little learning is a dangerous thing,_
_Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring;_
_Where shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,_
_But drinking largely sobers us again._

are found on an old American plate.

On a recent New York plate,--

_Far more seemly were it for thee to have thy Study full of Books
than thy purse full of money. Lilly._

On a Maine plate,--

_Who learns and learns but does not what he learns,_
_Is one who plows and plows but never sows._

* * * * *

_Weigh well each thought, each sentence freely scan,_
_In Reason’s balance try the works of man._
_Be bias’d not by those who praise or blame,_
_Nor, Servile, Yield opinion to a name._

On a recent Boston plate,--

_Un bon livre est un bon ami._

On a recent Western plate,--

_A jolly goode booke,_
_Whereon to looke,_
_Is better to me than golde._

On a recent Washington plate,--

_A trusty villain, sir, that very oft when I am dull with care and
melancholy lightens my humour._

The mottoes on the plates of those who have achieved distinction have a peculiar interest, especially when chosen by the owners themselves. The plate of _Henry W. Longfellow_ bears the following line:--

_Non clamor sed amor_,

which is from an unknown author and is found in the following verse:--

_Non vox sed votum,_
_Non chordas sed cor,_
_Non clamor sed amor,_
_Sonat in aure Dei._

_Not voice but vow,_
_Not harp-string, but heart-string,_
_Not loudness but love,_
_Sound in the ear of God._

The motto of _George Washington_,--_Exitus acta probat_, is not given in the accepted lists as the family motto of his ancestors, but it may have been such. The meaning of it has brought out criticism recently because of its Jesuitical sound,--“_The end shows the deed_.” But this may also be taken as a patriotic utterance in view of the part of the illustrious owner of this plate in the Revolution.

On the plate of _William Penn_ we see a motto most fitting for the character he sustained, _Dum clavum rectum teneam_--“_While I hold to glory, let me hold to right_.” In the plate the third word is omitted, as the engraver found the motto too long for the space reserved, and through some

blunder the _r_ in _clarum_ is changed to a _v_, which makes no sense at all.

On the plate of _George Bancroft_, the late historian, a chubby cherub bears a panel on which is the motto, _Sursum corda_. Another plate was also used by Mr. Bancroft which was in all respects like the above, except that the motto was changed to ΕΙΣ ΦΑΟΣ.

The plate of the late _Mr. George W. Childs_ has the following motto whose appropriateness is evident at once,--_The pen is mightier than the sword_. Above this a second motto of equal appropriateness is given,--_Nihil sine labore_.

On the plate of _Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes_, _Per ampliora ad altiora_ is given upon a ribbon under a beautiful drawing of the “chambered nautilus.”

Instances of mottoes which are cleverly made to carry some meaning, or some word, which will be seen at a glance to be taken from the name of the owner, are found often.

On the plate of _Harold Clarence Ernst_ this motto is given, _Ernst ist das Leben_.

On the plate of _George Curry, D.D._,--_Sic curre capias_.

On the plate of _Edward Spencer Dix_,--_Quod dixi id feci_.

In concluding this list of mottoes two from the Welsh can be instanced, one on the plate of a New York collector of Welshiana, which is _Cared Doeth Yr Encilic_, meaning, “_The learned love the things of the past_.” The other is on a Washington plate, and reads thus, _A fynno Dwy y Fydd_, meaning, “_What God wills, will be_.”

In the list of languages used on book-plates, we must now include the Volapük, for we have the first instance of its use already in a New York plate; the motto reading, _Menad bal pukbal_, and meaning, “_One humanity, one language_.”

ARMORIAL BOOK-PLATES.

ook-plates admit of many kinds of extraneous ornamentation, and wholly apart from the special function of recording the ownership of books, they serve as expressions of artistic taste; they lend themselves readily to many forms of design, and have passed through several changes or “styles” in the three hundred years of their existence; they can be dignified or flippant, serious or punning, of artistic beauty or positive deformity; they can express the owner’s choice of reading and can preserve lines from his favorite authors; can convey warning or invitation, and can, in short, be made a very personal affair.

The first book-plates were heraldic. In those early and, in some senses, good old days, before the schoolmaster was abroad in the land, when learning was the possession of the aristocrats and the churchmen only, and consequently when handwriting was not in use among the people, families were distinguished by emblems which were known of all. These heraldic devices were painted on their shields, carved upon their walls, engraved upon their breast-plates, woven upon their banners and their tapestries, displayed upon their own persons, upon those of their dependents, and even upon their animals and the furniture and books of their homes; even the purely ornamental and ephemeral luxuries came to be adorned with the family coat-of-arms.

The armorial bearings, stamped upon the back or sides of a book, or printed upon paper and pasted within the cover, were sufficient, without a name, to identify the family to which it belonged. Libraries descended from father to son, and were kept intact for generations; and the family arms and motto were the most appropriate label possible.

Warren, one of the first to study book-plates and to give to others the benefit of his researches, has divided the armorial plates into general classes, and has given them suitable names, which are accepted the world over. A considerable number of subdivisions has been made; and while they may be serviceable where book-plates are plentiful, they are but an incumbrance to the collector of the early plates of America, for our examples are few in number, and are quite sufficiently distinguished--for the purpose of the present work, at least--by the following styles: Early English, Jacobean, Chippendale, Ribbon, and Wreath. Distinctive, easily remembered characteristics pertain to each of these, and fairly accurate dates of their adoption and continuance can be given.

Adopting then the nomenclature of Warren, and following his lead, we come now to consider the meaning of the different styles and the diversity of their designs.

The very earliest class is the Early English, in which the shield of arms is present with all its accessories. In these plates the mantling is very profuse, and in large full-rounded curves surrounds three, and often all four, sides of the shield. This is the only ornamentation, nothing incidental being added as yet; the name of the owner is usually or often accompanied by a title and address, and quite frequently also by the date.

1754]

We have but few examples of this style; perhaps the most satisfactory as an example of the class will be the plate of _Joseph Dudley_, dated 1754. (This plate was really engraved much earlier than this. Hurd erased the original name, and cut the present one with the date in its place.) In this the mantling, running out beyond the edges of the shield, curls both upward and downward, and completely envelops three sides; the design takes on a strong resemblance to oak leaves, and a single leaf of this is engraved upon the helmet: the background, or space enclosed within the scroll-work, is filled in with perpendicular lines which might be taken for the tincture _gules_; in the name-bracket, the oak-leaf pattern is again made use of, forming a neat finish to the ends.

Anglus Americanus]

In the plate of _The Honourable Wm. Carmichael, Esqr._, the mantling is not so completely transformed into the oak-leaf design, although the latter is here apparent. The plate of _Jer. Dummer, Anglus Americanus_ is peculiar in that the space enclosed by the scroll-work is lined with the solid brick wall of the later Jacobean style; in this the

mantling is less striking than in the _Dudley_, but it surrounds the shield well, and curves upward about the crest. In the _Minot_ plate, which is very peculiar and rather difficult to classify, the mantling is very unworthy of the name; it does not proceed from the helmet, nor indeed from anywhere in particular, but in wild and very eccentric fashion, envelops the crest and most of the shield; the field of the shield is tinctured _azure_, and it is enclosed within a border or moulding which nearly surrounds it, but leaves a portion at the base unprotected; a further peculiarity of this moulding is that it is an integral part of the helmet, for it curves over at the top of the shield and actually proceeds from the helmet.

A very fine example of this style is the _Francis Page_ plate.

The next style is the Jacobean, commonly spoken of as existing from about 1700 to about 1745; the styles overlap naturally, and no hard-and-fast period can be established within which only one particular style of plate was used. Examples of the Jacobean plate are found in England which would date later than 1745, and the style which succeeded this was used somewhat before the year which begins its accepted period: the dates of the periods, then, are approximate. The names by which the different styles are known have all a good reason for their acceptance, although each one was suggested by differing circumstances.

The style of book-plate in vogue at the time of the last James is designated as Jacobean; and, while it continued in use long after the death of the deposed monarch who gave it its name, any change in its designation would be misleading. The principal features of this style are its heavy, carved appearance, the evenly balanced proportions, and the exact coincidence of the two sides of the design. The shield, always of regular outline, is usually placed upon an ornamental frame whose background, or lining, is either filled in

with a fish-scale pattern, diapered into the lozenge form or built up solidly with a wall of brick. This lining shows at both sides of the shield, below, and, less often, above it; its sides are convoluted; they run out in foldings and scrolls resembling the carving on wood, and are often worked into elaborate patterns: sometimes, too, the design is surrounded by a carved moulding which makes a heavy frame of rectangular form and massive appearance. This style of plate, well-handled, is exceedingly handsome, and is capable of more repose and dignity than any other. Very forbidding indeed, and over-solemn, are some examples, but in the main the purely Jacobean plates are very pleasing. Among the accessories usually found are a scallop-shell with the concave side turned towards the observer, and placed either below the shield to support it, or above it to set it off: this shell is always looked for in the Jacobean plates, and indeed a shelly motive is apparent throughout very many examples. The helmet and mantling are conspicuous, especially the latter, as it is often enlarged and emphasized by being drawn into the general scheme of decoration; very full, reaching far down the sides of the shield-frame, and indeed often curiously woven into the convolutions of the frame itself, it at times loses its significance: grotesque faces sometimes peer from the ornamentation, and heads of satyrs and demons are frequently used to rest the base of the shield upon. In some instances the name is placed upon a bracket similar to the upper part of the plate in decoration, or, again, it may be seen upon a small curtain or lambrequin caught up at the ends with string. Very often, too, no setting is provided for the name, and it is simply engraved beneath the design. Eagles, lions, termini, cherubs, and sometimes cornucopiæ of fruit or flowers, angels blowing upon trumpets, and stiff stalks of flowers are introduced into the ornamentation. But these do not succeed in enlivening the style of the plate materially, for it is essentially heavy, conservative, and formal in design and spirit. No graceful airiness rests upon it, and it provokes no joyous sentiment, but rather rouses respect and enforces stateliness. The general appearance of the Jacobean plate is as if carved from wood. We do not expect old carving to be anything but solid and immobile, and these characteristics are present in this style of book-plate. Indeed, Warren, in his chapter on the Jacobean style, says that no antiquary can fail to note the strong similarity of treatment and design between the wood-carving preserved in the churches of the time of Charles the Second and the mouldings on the monuments of the same period, and the book-plates of the style we have considered. Our finest example of the Jacobean book-plate is found in the work of Thomas Johnston, who made the plate of _William P. Smith, A.M._ This is a typical example of the later Jacobean style, and is worthy of particular study. The Elizabethan shield is set against a frame which is very elaborately carved and ornamented; the lining is covered with the fish-scale pattern, and this extends also to the arms and convolutions upon the sides. At the base of the shield the scallop-shell is in position as prescribed, and is surrounded by a little frame of its own; the mantling is very slight indeed, breaking out from the wreath and also from the lower part of the helmet, in short and simple spirals. The motto is found on a ribbon which is gracefully strung upon the scrolls at the bottom of the design.

In the _Spooner_ plate, by Hurd, the shield, also of Elizabethan pattern, is set against a diapered background; beneath the shield, within a little frame, the head of a sphinx is seen; term-figures are placed in the scroll-work at either side, and from their hands depend bouquets of flowers;

the crest is overarched with a bit of old scallop-shell, and the motto is given on a plain ribbon which, wholly unsupported, maintains a curved position under the whole design. In the _Andrew Tyler_ plate, also by Hurd, a grotesque face supports the shield, the lining is elaborately diapered, and a festoon of cloth depends from the lower scrolls of the frame. In the small-sized plate of _John Allen_, the lining is embellished with the simple lattice-work, in two patterns.

Closely succeeding the Jacobean, and indeed coming into use before the latter was wholly discarded, the Chippendale style of book-plate may be regarded as in a way an evolution from the Jacobean. If the parent was dignified and conservative, the offspring was dainty and progressive; the Jacobean style maintained its dignity and decorous nicety to the end, but the Chippendale, which started in with a taking air of modest and light gracefulness, in strong and pleasing contrast to the solidity of its predecessor, rapidly assumed a most elaborate and ornate manner, and finally sank into a wild, riotous, and well-nigh sensuous profusion of decorative expression, which being too heavy for it to sustain, bore it down to its end. The character of the Chippendale plate, while attractive and beautiful in its pure form, had essential elements of weakness, which, hardly able to resist development, were certain to cause its downfall.

Annapolis Maryland]

As is natural to suppose, the name was bestowed upon this style because of its assimilation of the ornate and flowery spirit which the famous T. Chippendale at this period introduced into wood-carving and upholstery. As compared with its immediate predecessor, the differences in this style of plate are seen to be principally the liberating of the decorative features from the stiffness which thralled them in the Jacobean. Not now resembling ponderous carvings in oak and mahogany, but rising free and unrestrained, the rose branches and sprigs seem to be copied from Nature herself; not arranged with careful nicety and labored uniformity as formerly, but springing from any convenient niche, they add grace and delicacy to the whole design. The helmet is seldom

seen in this style of plate, the mantling is consequently absent, and the bracket supporting the shield of arms undergoes a transformation; the convolutions and scrolls on the sides become finer, freer, and less imposing; the shield is never found of any set rectangular pattern, but often is pear-shaped, shell-like in form, or indeed not unlike the oyster or the human ear in general outline; the scallop shell which formerly served as a base for the shield to rest on, is now broken into dainty fragments with the pectinated edges disposed about the shield itself; the name-frame is no longer a cloth curtain, but is a scroll with indented edges and curling outlines.