Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Newsworthy Bookplate Events/Liverpool Manure Company


I look forward to receiving my copy of Fine Books & Collections every other month and make a point of reading it from cover to cover. The striking photo above is on page 4 of the March/April issue. The owner of this "permanent exlibris" writes " I am extremely passionate about books" and "reading, collecting, talking about,buying, and searching for books consumes my days" Thursday, March 22, 2007
You 've Got To See This Site To Believe It.
Click on the link above.
Some very thoughtful people at Coudal Partners have scoured the Internet to list all sorts of unusual hobby related sites to amuse , and delight you while I am away on a bookplate safari.
Be prepared to be overwhelmed.
I will return on Sunday March 25th
Friday, March 16, 2007
Egyptian Cockroach Spell/ Boston Meeting
People often ask me how many bookplates I have and my stock answer is, ALOT.
I am not trying to be secretive or coy . It just seems like a waste of time to count bookplates. Having said that , I know that I have 29 bookplates with Egyptian symbols or motifs.One of them is not shown as I know the owner is alive and I want to get his permission before posting it .
During the 1920s there was an Egyptian revival in the decorative arts and it is reflected in some of these plates. I know something about several of the owners and artists shown and will add information throughout the week. If you recognize an owner's name and wish to send me some biographical or background information I would be most appreciative.My email address is Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com
BOSTON MEETING
On Saturday March 24th the American Bookplate Society will have an open meeting at the Boston Public Library , 700 Boylston St. , Mezzanine Conference Room.
It will begin at 10:30 A.M. When I was in Tucson last week Jim Keenan gave me a brief overview of his talk about the storage, display and presentation of bookplates. If you collect any sort of small ephemeral items you will find his talk to be most helpful. Bring along any bookplates you want to sell , trade or show us.
King Farouk used the green bookplate shown above. It is not currently in my collection but I am on a quest to obtain one. In pursuit of the bookplate I called John William Pye, a bookseller whose specialty is Egypt. In the course of the conversation I recalled an impulse item which I purchased from him several years ago. How can you resist a ceramic trivet with an ancient Egyptian spell to drive away cockroaches. He still has one or two left so if you want one he can be reached at Pyebooks@tiac.net
Mr. Evert Veldhuizen (with friendly greetings from the Netherlands) was kind enough to write me about a well illustrated book in German on the subject of bookplates with an Egyptian theme. It is Aegypten im Exlibris by Dr.Gernot Blum. I have just ordered a copy on line at www.abebooks.com and there are three or four copies still available.
Click On Images To Enlarge

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Another Fake George Washington Bookplate
The bookplate illustrated above was created for an auction held in Washington around 1863. It is such a poorly executed fake that it should not fool anyone who takes a moment to study and examine it. The lettering is amateurish , it is not on laid paper and the burin mark discussed in yesterday's posting in missing.A more detailed history of this plate can be seen on pages 93-5 in Charles Dexter Allen's American Bookplates.
As I said in yesterday's posting if you are offered a "Genuine Original" George Washington bookplate , be on guard , it is probably a fake.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Washington's Bookplate, Let The Buyer Beware
Re strike Above Click on Image to Enlarge
If you are offered a "genuine original " bookplate from George Washington's library be very skeptical . Here are some simple rules to follow when examining such plates.Hold the plate up to the light and see if the paper has chain-lines. If it does not then it is not an original plate from Washington's library.In the illustration above a genuine plate has been back lighted and enlarged so that you can see the 18th century paper more clearly.Sunday, March 11, 2007
Sunday, This Must be Phoenix
I am not a sports jacket wearer but since this trip was part business I wore my favorite one. It is a bold plaid and perhaps it makes me look like a used car salesman. In any event, yesterday I was in a taxi cab and the driver asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a salesman and he said , " I thought you was a pimp" I laughed at the time but now I am not so sure it was so funny.
Any pimps out there who want to buy a slightly used sports jacket?
See you on Tuesday.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Washington BookShow / Library of Congress
Several weeks ago I wrote about airplanes on bookplates.Here are two additional images which were omitted. Curtis -Wright Corporation was the manufacturer of the P40 Warhawk during the second world war and Eric Henning Nelson was a pilot who in 1924 flew a Douglas DWC-2 cruiser around the world. If you have additional images of airplane bookplates ,please send a scan and they will be included in a future posting.
Click On Images To Enlarge










