William John Hardy

“ Of much the same date is the far less graceful representation of allegory, which appears on the book-plate of 'T. Gascoigne, Parlington, in Yorkshire.' Here we have a representation of what, we must presume, is the interior of the Parlington Library; but neither 'T. Gascoigne,' nor yet any other eighteenth century Yorkshire gentleman, is tasting the sweets of his literary collection; the library is tenanted by a couple of mythological females, of such substantial forms that Lord De Tabley thinks they must represent two Yorkshire damsels masquerading, one as a muse and the other as Apollo. ”

“ It is quite possible that we have here not only an interesting book-plate, but the book-plate of an interesting man. When Gainsborough, the painter, moved to Bath in 1760 he found that the 'Pickford' of the day, who had the carrying trade of the Bath road, was no ordinary carrier, but a man of taste and culture, and ready to do anything he could to help art and artists. ”

“ So much for landscapes having direct reference to the book-plates on which they appear. Often, however, the landscape is purely a fancy one, as that on the book-plate of Gregory Louis Way. A river flows through fields, and beside it sits an armour-coated knight, who is either wearied with the fight, or bowed down by the fickleness of his lady. His shield rests beside him, and on it are depicted the arms of Way. The moon sheds upon the scene what light she is able, but the sky is overcast and stormy. ”

“ The shield bearing the arms stands upon a platform, and is Jacobean in shape and ornamentation; the background is shaded. Clumsily drawn and clumsily posed female figures, partly draped, stand upon bracket-like excrescences that spring from the shield, whilst cupids recline below it and hold it aloft.
What happened to Skinner after 1753 I have failed to discover. He is certainly an interesting person from a book-plate collector's point of view, and it is to be hoped something more about him may some day be brought to light. ”

“ It is a very striking book-plate. A strangely large helmet, on which is placed an equally large crest, [118] surmounts a pair of shields. The dexter one bears the arms of Pirckheimer—a birke or birch-tree; whilst the sinister bears those of his wife, Margretha Rieterin—a crowned mermaid with two tails, each of which she holds in her hands. Pirckheimer's arms show the curious punning heraldry of the time, the birke being, no doubt, a playful allusion to the jurist's name. Clasping the helmet are two angels. ”

“ As I have said elsewhere, it has been no part of my object in writing my book to advocate indiscriminate collecting. But for those who are already collectors I have one word of advice on the subject of the arrangement of their treasures. Some enthusiasts advocate a chronological arrangement, others a genealogical, others a topographical: and the advocates of each theory paste down their specimens in scrap-books or other volumes in adherence to their own views. ”

“ The desire to possess a book-plate of one's own is in itself commendable enough, for in fixing the first copy into the first book the owner may surely be assumed to have registered a vow that he or she at least will not join the great army of book-persecutors—men and women who cannot touch a volume without maltreating it, and who, though they are often ready to describe the removal of a book-plate, even from a worthless volume, as an act of vandalism, do infinitely more harm to books in general by their ruthless handling of them. ”

“ The coat of arms of a man of position was almost as well known to those dwelling about him as were the features of his face; and if a volume, having within it an Armorial book-plate, happened to be found in wrongful custody, the finder might recognise the heraldry of the owner, even if he could not read the inscription recording that ownership. ”

“ For example, flowers—of which there are always many in this style of book-plate—can be represented as in nature; roses blossom on sprays or branches, instead of being woven closely together in conventional festoons, lilies are left to droop their heads, whilst bunches of grasses or leaves are bound so loosely together that they forfeit nothing of their natural elegance. Allegoric figures also find place in Chippendale book-plates, but they are of a much more attractive kind than those displayed in the Jacobean plates. ”

“ The would-be collector of to-day can, if he pleases, know something about the collection he is undertaking; he can tell when he meets with a good specimen; he knows the points which render any particular book-plate interesting; and he can, at [4] least approximately, affix a date to each example he obtains.
As to the morality of book-plate collecting, I suppose something ought to be said here. There is but one objection to it, but that is, undoubtedly, a serious one: taking a book-plate out of a book means the possible disfigurement and injury of the volume from which it is taken ”

“ Book-plates are found quite as often in the worthless literary productions of our ancestors as in the worthy; and it is puerile to cavil over the removal of a book-plate from a binding which holds together material by the destruction of which the world would certainly not be the poorer. So much for the book-plates in valueless books. As regards those in valuable or interesting ones, it is certainly unwise to remove them at all. This is a golden rule which cannot be too forcibly impressed upon collectors and booksellers. ”

“ On this book-plate a somewhat funereal effect is produced by the dark background, against which is the lozenge containing the arms Berkeley impaling Germain; but the ornamentation of the lozenge, of the name-scroll, and of the frame enclosing the design, is light and elegant. Poor Lady Betty! she had a good deal [195] to live down: her girlhood had not been so moral as it might have been, and the Duchess of Marlborough did her best to make her friend's misfortunes as public as possible. ”

“ Collectors are wont to reckon as the most interesting example of a view book-plate the vignette of Horace Walpole's house at Strawberry Hill, with his arms hanging on a shield from a withered tree. Mr. Wheatley, however, who is inclined to attribute the design to Walpole's friend, Bentley, has suggested (Bibliographica, vol. iii. p. 88) that the vignette was never used as a book-plate, but was exclusively reserved as a kind of printer's device for the adornment of the books printed at the Strawberry Hill Press. ”

“ Another early instance of the expression of the metals and tinctures occurs in the book-plate of Lord-Keeper Lyttelton, a plate which derives additional interest from the fact of its being the work of William Marshall, the famous frontispiece engraver. Sir Edward Lyttelton, the owner of the book-plate, was made Lord-Keeper in 1641, under the title of Baron Lyttelton of Mounslow. This book-plate, which shows us the arms of Lyttelton of Frankley, was evidently engraved before Sir Edward's elevation to the peerage. ”

“ How much more communicative, in the matter of personal particulars, are some people, upon their book-plate, than others! What a contrast, for instance, between the inscription on Walpole's book-plate—'Mr. Horatio Walpole'—and that on one of Pepys's, on which he styles himself 'Esquire,' and states that he is of Brampton in Huntingtonshire, 'Secretary of the Admiralty of his Maty King Charles the Second,' and 'Descended of ye ancient family of Pepys of Cottenham in Cambridgeshire.'
Of course Sam Pepys was a vain man—that we all know ”

“ I do not know if a series of 'Presidents'' book-plates could be shown to exist, but Washington's successor, John Adams, certainly used one, introducing into it a certain number of national emblems. The American eagle with outspread wings overshadows the whole design.
Of American women, in the early days of independence, only one is known to have used a book-plate. ”

“ Of course the plate is twenty years earlier than the commencement of Gainsborough's residence at Bath and of his friendship with Wiltshire; but what of that? Wiltshire had been, likely enough, a lover of things beautiful and the owner of books, long before; there is no necessity for imagining that his was a [83]
[84] sudden conversion to a self-sacrificing love for art, produced by intimacy with Gainsborough.
Another interesting English book-plate, in which allegory plays a part, is that, also by J. Skinner, of William Oliver, [8] doctor of medicine, philanthropist, and inventor of biscuits. ”

“ A gentleman in eighteenth century dress, who may, likely enough, be Herr Nack himself, addresses himself to the goddess, and explains—as he points to the outer scene, which shows us ships and merchandise—that, whilst following his trade as a merchant, he still has time to devote some attention to literature. In any case, these and the few other instances there may be of the inscription referring to the book-plate and not to the book, seem hardly sufficient to make ex libris a good name for book-plates in general. ”

“ Take, for instance, the really magnificent book-plate of Peter Vok, Ursinus, Count of Rosenberg, dated '1609.' It is engraved on copper, and measures 10 inches by 6. In a central circular medallion, 32/3 inches in diameter, is depicted the owner, arrayed in armour, and seated on a richly caparisoned war-horse, plumed, and going at full speed across a landscape of hillocks. On his breastplate is an escutcheon bearing his arms; a knight's sword is in his hand. Round the margin of the medallion runs a wreath of roses. ”

“ There seem to be really several good and logical reasons why we should separate, for consideration by themselves, the book-plates which have been used by ladies. To mention two: there are certain differences (such as the shape of the shield in which the arms are borne) which, by the rigid laws of heraldry, ought to appear on these book-plates when belonging to a maid or widow; moreover, ladies' book-plates, though sometimes mere printed labels, are generally more fanciful in design than the majority of those owned by the sterner sex. ”

“ Some idea as to whether or not an early armorial plate is really a book-plate may, however, be gained by taking its measurement. A very large engraving should be regarded with suspicion, though not necessarily rejected as a book-plate on account of its size. Sir Wollaston Franks possesses a magnificent book-plate, measuring no less than 14 × 10 inches, which is at this moment still fulfilling its original functions. This is certainly the largest example yet discovered. ”