Ex-Libris Book Plates

Whilst googling pen and ink art, I came across some Ex-Libris book plates.  I'd been aware of them but hadn't really looked at them...assuming they were a thing of the past.  In case you're not familiar with the term, they are plates (paper) to denote the owner of a book, apparently extensively used by book collectors.  Here's one that was used by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of the Tarzan books... ...you'll have noticed that many books have a blank page inside the front cover.  That's where these go. It reminded me of the only true book collector I've known.  He also made super 8 movies (documentaries), this was a big thing up to the 1980's before video came in and killed the old super 8 format.  The amateur scene held many Festivals across the UK, and the world, it was at one of these that I met this chap.  (I made super 8 films myself...cartoon films...surprise, surprise.) He lived in an old Victorian house that had been made into flats.  The large, high ceilinged, living  room was not furnished conventionally.  It was furnished with book shelves.  Most were very tall, at least 8 foot high.  Sensibly, it contained one of the antique chairs that ingeniously converts into a library ladder.  By the large open fire (remember those?) stood a big leather wing-backed chair.  Beside it were two tables.  One contained his pipe-rack and pipe smokers paraphernalia, the other was in the shape of a 1920's maid.  A sturdy wooden plank sawn into the shape of a maid, and then painted as a maid, her arms supported a shelf that held his wine or coffee.  I could imagine him sitting there reading his beloved books.  He saw me looking at the maid/table and said, 'Kitsch, I'm afraid.  I got it at an antique fair.  The collector's bug has me in it's grip, if I had a larger place I'd collect that too.'  It did look odd in his library of a living room, but I liked it. The man himself was dressed like an old time bank manager, he looked similar to Captain Mainwaring from the TV series 'Dad's Army', but he was a much more jovial character.  He said he'd promised himself he wouldn't let his book collection invade his kitchen and bedroom, but had failed on both counts. His other love was book  plates.  Framed originals were pigeon-holed into any available space on his walls.  He'd had his own book-plate made, he changed it periodically, but there was one in each of his thousands of book.  The purpose of these plates is to show the book owner's name, they'd also have the words 'Ex-Libris' somewhere.  I couldn't see it on his at first.  He explained that there was a 'style' with some book-plates to almost hide these two essentials...and he preferred that idea. Here's a book plate by a modern designer.  It does have the words Ex-Libris, and the book-owners name...but...almost hidden.  Can you spot them? Can you spot them....... ..... ..... ...Ex-Libris is on the side of the mountain, and the book-collector's name forms part of the tight-rope. Here's another more straightforward example by the same artist... Many famous people had their own book-plates created. Mussolini...severing the Gordian Knot... A few more famous people's plates... Artists obviously created their own, here Patrick Woodruffe (a fantasy artist) makes one for his daughter... As I said, I'd imagined those had died out, but it's still going strong.  A few more by Julian Jordanova, a modern book-plate designer. They still  have an archaic look about them which I like, but no doubt they come in all styles. So...book-plates...a cottage industry??

Yes Dixie, that's a good idea.  I too have books that I'll keep, maybe I should do some plates for those. A nice selection above.  Here's a few more plates, some contemporary, others vintage...

Tessa, I suppose it depends on how many books you have.  When I moved into a smaller house, I had to greatly reduce the number of books I owned, these days I suppose I have a fairly average number...maybe 200 books...so, NO I wouldn't have a different design for each.  The chap I spoke of at the beginning of this thread had a few thousand books. Not a bad idea though.  I have some books I'd NEVER part with...perhaps 30 or so...even then I wouldn't want to do that many individual plates.  The true book collectors would need a largeish print run I guess.