Remarques on Bookplates

Here are two wonderful bookplates recently designed by Daniel Mitsui.

You can see a good many more at his website
http://www.danielmitsui.com/

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Bookplates By J.W. Jameson

* John William Jameson (1882-1939) used remarques more than any of the other American bookplate designers. They helped him to make a living during the economic turbulence of the 1930's

* Ref. p.90 American Bookplates by William E. Butler

I never realized until I examined this proof that Elizabeth Diamond not only collected bookplates but also was a talented artist.

Definition:
(noun) - A remarque is a small, personalized drawing or symbol that an artist adds (near his or her signature) on a print. The presence of a remarque increases the print's value.
Originally, remarques were remarks made, in pencil, that identified the various stages a printing plate went through while in the process of being finalized. Whistler seems to have pioneered making remarques desirable to collectors, particularly in the case of his "butterfly" mark.
Nowadays, a remarque is primarily a "value-added" option for print collectors - meaning: You can have an artist's remarque added to your graphic edition, if you care to shell out some more money. (Unless, of course, the artist is a personal friend, or owes you a favor.)

The bookplate for The American Library in Manila was designed by Mary E. Rath Merrill and engraved by William Fowler Hopson, Many copies were made and this is probably the most widely distributed of all Hopson plates. What makes this working proof so special is that Hopson not only took the time to have it hand colored , he also drew , signed and dated a pencil sketch .

Papermania in Hartford Connecticut will be held on August 28th and August 29th.

Here is a link http://www.papermaniaplus.com/

Here is a another link that I found interesting :

It is about objects found in books

http://www.forgottenbookmarks.com/

See you next Sunday.

Arthur Szyk Bookplates & Ephemera by Robert Weinberg

Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) emigrated from his birthplace in Poland ,to art school in France, and then to the United States of America. He was one of the most memorable political caricaturists during the Second World War. He was also a master book illustrator , designing such books as The Book of Ruth, Tales of Chaucer and The Haggadah. He was noted for his American postcards of George Washington and the Revolutionary War and produced many stamps for many nations.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

With his art he fought against the National Socialist (Nazi) regime and its axis partners.Hitler had placed a $1,000,000 reward on his head.The first lady Eleanor Roosevelt referred to him as "a one man army" Though his political art was acerbic and barbed his illustrative works were the antithesis of his politics.
Although bookplates were not his major forte, he did design about twelve.His early bookplates presented the views of his patrons , while his later ones portrayed his viewpoints on life and religion.

Here , he chose to portray his reverence for life, learning and religious beliefs. Note from Lew Jaffe- For more information about the signed plate shown above go to:

http://www.szyk.com/shop-szyk/product.php?id=130

If you have Szyk bookplates or ephemera for sale or trade I would like to hear from you.

Bookplatebob@aol.com

I want to thank Bob Weinberg for submitting this article.

If you would like to write an article for the blog please contact me Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

See you next Sunday.

This Week in Bookplates July 4th Weekend 2010

Here are five etched mystery bookplates by Paul H. Smith of Boston.They belong to Tom Boss. He would be most appreciative if any of you out there have other examples by Paul Smith or biographical information to share. Tom can be reached Tgboss@gmail.com
If you are looking for bookplates to start or add to your collection Tom is an excellent resource.
Here is a link to his website
http://www.bossbooks.com/

I have been contacting artists who were associated with the Antioch Bookplate Company and gathering information which I hope to post on the blog in several weeks. Tom Boss also sent me this 1943 directory of bookplate artists published by The Antioch Bookplate Company.This is an all inclusive directory . Many of those listed were not directly connected with Antioch which is why it is such an useful reference. I have found several artists listed ,whose bookplates I own and for whom I had not been able to find any information .

Click Twice on The Images to Enlarge

Click Twice On The Images To Enlarge

Click On The Images to Enlarge Long before face book , Ipads, smart phones, the X Box and television there was another
after school diversion, RADIO. One of the many radio shows I listened to was Can You Top This

The way the show worked was that the moderator told a joke and the panelists tried to tell a funnier joke about the same subject. The laughter was measured by an applause meter.

Here is a link to The Radio Hall of Fame with more information about the show:

http://www.radiohof.org/musicvariety/canyoutopthis.html

One of the panelists was Joe Laurie Jr. and true to form he created a comical bookplate.

Next week's posting will be about Arthur Szyk.

Bookplate Exchanges, Judaica Bookplates

I found the 2005 pie chart below fascinating.

If you accept my estimate that there are no more than than 200 bookplate collectors in the U.S and maybe 1,500 in the entire world you can see why it is challenging to find other collectors who are interested in exchanging Judaica bookplates. It is a niche within a niche

Having said that I recently sold three different Judaica bookplates on Ebay. One went to China,one to Poland and one to Russia. There are collectors of Judaica ExLibris scattered around the globe . I hope this listing of my duplicate Judaica bookplates will reach some of them
and that we can exchange duplicates.
Lew Jaffe Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

The plate below has a peel off backing. It was designed by fellow collector Bernard Goldblum's son David.

The plate below was designed by H.Schwarz

George E. Sokolsky was a conservative columnist who lived in China for many years.

The plate below was designed ny James Hayes

Robert Henry Pfeiffer was a Hebrew teacher at Harvard

The plate below was engraved by J.B. Abrahams

Benno Lewinson was a New York City attorney and a trustee of City College

The plate below was designed by A. Fastove

The plate below was designed by A. Rappaport

The plate below came in many colors and sizes.This one is printed with silver ink. The scanner does not reproduce it very well.

The plate below was designed by J. Jackson

The plate below was designed by Albertine Randall Wheelan

The plate below was designed by Ismael Smith

The plate below was designed by Leonid Kuris

I have been in touch with several more artists who worked at The Antioch Bookplate Company and they in turn have referred me to some of their former colleagues. Some scans have already arrived and others are forthcoming.I hope to post something about the Antioch artists in two to three weeks.See you next Sunday.

Antioch Bookplate Company Artists

Antioch Style 7y53 Antioch Style7y51

Antioch Style7y52 Antioch Style7y54

Antioch Style7y55 Antioch Style 7656

Antioch Style7y58 Antioch Style 7y59

The six bookplates shown above were designed by Rockwell Kent and sold by the Antioch Bookplate Company.

Not that long ago you could walk into almost any bookshop and buy a boxed set of Antioch bookplates.They were tasteful and inexpensive. Over the years Antioch commissioned many artists including Rockwell Kent and Lynd Ward. Those bookplates are now part of our cultural history. There are many unrecognized forgotten artists who also contributed to Antioch's inventory and I hope to write about them them as they are unearthed. Let's start with Ilene Ledere .

She designed several Antioch bookplates in the 1970's . I wrote to her inquiring about them and her fee for bookplate design. Her replies are noted below.

"I managed to locate the old art for those bookplates which were done for Antioch Press in 1973.
I have since gone on to do illustration in many different venues from editorial to books and writing.
One file shows concepts submitted; the other shows the original art and printed bookplate for
the one design AP finally chose. There's not much to say except that it took quite some time for me to secure the commission, many portfolio exchanges and conversations.
It was a project I'd wanted to try my hand at and would love to do others if
the opportunity presents."

In response to my question about the cost of designing a bookplate the response was as follows:

"Thanks Lew.
Setting a price on a bookplate design of course depends on the variables involved. Will the design be rendered in full color, black+white? I must consider the level of detail being rendered and use of font; does the client wish to use an existing one or one that I would design to suit the illustration? An additional factor is size of the edition; would my design be required for a private or public library and would any reproduction rights beyond the bookplate itself be involved? There is also the issue of ownership of the design itself which may be negotiable and the turn-around time schedule for delivery of artwork.
My agents, Sally Heflin of Heflinreps in the US and Kit Killington of Killington Arts in the UK/Europe handle my assignments and these are questions they would likely wish answered before engaging my services. Their contact information are included in the links below that you may post at your blog:
************************
Ilene Winn-Lederer Illustration
Contact:
USA: Heflinreps: (201) 944.6058
UK: Killington Arts: (020) 8464 3695
Portfolios:
http://www.heflinreps.com
http://www.killingtonarts.com
http://www.winnlederer.com
Weblog: http://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/
New Books: http://www.pomegranate.com/a166.html
http://www.winnlederer.com/zoodiacbook/default.htm
Best.
Ilene "

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If you are a former Antioch bookplate artist or know of one please contact me.Thanks.

Lew Jaffe Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

See you next Sunday

Three Centuries of the American Bookplate, Exhibit

Click on Images to Enlarge

http://uvamagazine.org/video/

James M. Goode has assembled one of the finest private collections of American and English bookplates I have ever seen. If you click on the link above you will see a most informative video about his collection.

If you can get to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia before July 31st. be sure to visit Three Centuries of the American Bookplate a representative exhibit of the Goode collection . It will be on view at both the Alderman and Harrison -Small Libraries. For summer hours check the following website:

Http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/hours

On Wednesday June 16th at 5:30 P.M. Mr. Goode will also be a guest lecturer in the Clemmons library at the University of Virginia. The bookplate lecture is open to the public.

All the images in this posting are from the exhibit catalog.It is an exceptional reference tool , 24 pages with many enlarged full color reproductions and much useful information. This is a day for superlatives. You will probably never see a better bookplate exhibit catalog .

The swimming pool beckons, see you next Sunday.