My God They Breed/Tattoos/Tiles / Bookplates

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Click On Images To Enlarge-I got quite a few colorful tattoo related calling cards from one paper dealer in Kutztown

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I went to the opening day of something called the Kutztown Extravaganza on Thursday April 26. For those of you not familiar with the event, picture this: several acres of Pennsylvania farmland where about 1,000 antique and junk dealers set up tables and tents and wait for the buyers, who are eager to pay 15.00 each to be there as things are being unpacked.The days of finding treasures at every other table are long past but it's still exciting to participate.My best find was a polychrome Dutch tile circa 1640-75 (ref Dutch Tiles,Philadelphia Museum Of Art,p.88) Should I tell you how much I paid for it ? That would be gauche wouldn't it? I can't stop myself ,$12.00

The next Extravaganza will be on June 28Th-30 and you can get details at http://www.renningers.com/

In case you are wondering I did not get any bookplates but I did add some items to my tattoo collection.

Perhaps I should explain that as a seven year I bought penny ink transfer tattoos(Decalcomanias) at a local candy store in Brooklyn .Whenever I find remnants of old tattoos, I purchase them for my ephemera collection. There is a certain irony in the fact that I find most real tattoos repulsive.It was one thing to see tattooed waitresses when I used to travel to rough places in Kentucky and West Virginia but it's really frightening to see young people with grotesque images on their arms and necks pushing baby carriages in Rittenhouse Square. My God they breed.
I should add at least some bookplate information so let me direct you to the website for Dr. Wolfgang Rieger, a dealer who has a nice selection of German bookplates.

Http://www.antiquariat-rieger.de/neueexlibris.htm

See you next week.

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.

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I just got back from Washington DC. . The trip began with a tour of the Library Of Congress bookplate collection which had been arranged by fellow collector Dr. James M.Goode. If you would like to see the collection , arrangements can be made through Sara Duke, The Curator Of Applied Graphic Art. Her contact information is as follows: Sduk@loc.gov . A word of caution, the collection is quite large and you need to be very specific about the artist(s) or type of bookplates you wish to see.The image shown above is a souvenir bookmark of senate pages , in a gentler time,having a snowball fight on the Capitol plaza .

The Library of Congress has digitized thousands of historic and cultural images for your research and enjoyment. They run the gamut from baseball cards to the civil war. It is worth a visit and you will probably bookmark the site.

Http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html

At the book show and elsewhere , I purchased three unique items as follows:

An 1894 proof signed by E. D. French ( the engraver ) inviting Samuel W.Avery to the opening ceremonies of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.This item came from the Bella Landauer collection formed in the 1920's and is exceedingly rare.

A signed proof by the English engraver C. W. Sherborne done for Francis Folsom Cleveland.I only know of two other presidential wives who had their own bookplates, Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy.One would assume that Laura Bush might have a bookplate, having a library background but it is my understanding that she does not use one.

An Islamic bookplate which I would love to have translated. If someone out in cyber space can assist me I would be most appreciative.

I have a few more airplane images to add from a previous posting and will do so before the day is over.That's all for this week. My surprise retirement party is coming up and I will also be heading out to Arizona for a few days. If you are in Arizona and have bookplates to sell or trade please let me hear from you. I can be reached at Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

Will The Real Rev.Thomas Scott Step Forward ?Bookplate Meeting in Boston

Vachel Lindsay illustrated many of his poems and created at least one bookplate, for his friend Clark Walker Cummings. The following is an excerpt from Lindsay's obituary: " The funeral services for Nicholas Lindsay were held at the First Christian Church on December 8, 1931 , at 3 p.m.. The Reverend Clark Walter Cummings officiated the funeral."

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) the French poet,translator and literary critic is best known for Les Fleurs du mal. His bookplate is extremely rare.

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One of the privileges of getting older is forgetfulness. I forget which of the 1960's American TV game shows used the line will the real--step forward. I think it was " What's My Line ". That was my inspiration for this week's title.

I received a group of English bookplates this morning and was struck by the powerful imagery used by Reverend Thomas Scott. My first reaction was ,this is a man who does not take any prisoners in combat. Who was he?

The name is fairly common and I know there was more than one Reverend Thomas Scott, so it is wishful thinking on my part that the Thomas Scott I am about to mention was ,in fact, the owner of the bookplate in question.

Thomas Scott (1747-1821) was a founding member of The Church Missionary Society.He was the Rector of Aston Sanford, and Buck .He published a six volume Bible commentary and his published works were read and used by president Thomas Jefferson. More detailed and illustrated information about him can be seen at

WWW.geocities.com/tib1846/bible13.htm

Someone out there knows if the bookplate was from the library of the same person I have written about. I could use your input.

NEWSWORTHY

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A new search engine which combines web, blog,video, and image selections in one simple package can be seen at http://www.searchmash.com/ I looked up bookplate and was impressed.

COME JOIN US IN BOSTON

The American Bookplate Society will sponsor a regional meeting/ seminar/ where ideas can be shared and duplicates exchanged. Jim Keenan will make a presentation about "Storage and Presentation" of collections.

The meeting will be on Saturday March 24Th and will be held from 10:30 to 1:30 at the Boston Public Library. More details will be posted as they are received, but mark your calendar.

If you are near Boston and have gotten addicted to this blog , come join us. There is no charge for the event and you do not have to be a member of the Bookplate Society to attend.

That's all for this week. The February fourth posting will be about bookplates used by science fiction writers , artists and collectors. I would be delighted to include your submissions. Please send them to bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

THE MEERKATS HAVE LANDED/YEAR END SUMMARY

Let me start by thanking the folks at Google for creating this idiot proof system for reaching out to kindred spirits.
At the same time, I want to thank each and every one of you who visit each week. This is really a collaborative effort and I am delighted to receive your comments and scans of your own bookplates.

My Meerkat bookplate arrived yesterday and I have already pasted one in a treasured book and sent some out to collector friends. If you would like to exchange bookplates let me hear from you. My contact email for such things is Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

The Papermania show is coming up in Hartford Connecticut on January 6th and 7th. If you are in the area be sure to attend .It is one of the best east coast ephemera shows. You can get specific information at http://www.papermaniaplus.com/

As a direct result of the blog exposure I am in the early stages of negotiation with a British publisher for a book about the bookplates of famous people . My grandmother taught me the essence of a Yiddish word which I will Anglicize Kina Hurra. I think it means something like this :If you are too specific about an upcoming event you may prevent it from happening. It's sort of a precursor to quantum mechanics.

Here's to a happy healthy prosperous new year. See you in 2007

1/31/2006 Mr. Eli D. Goldstein was kind enough to send me the following information:

" The term you refer to as "Kina Hurra" in your blog is actually Kayn ayin hora (from the Hebrew Kayn Ayin Ha' Ra ) and refers to the evil eye (ayin hara) - it is usually used when one for example praises someone but does not want the evil eye to "spoil" the praise e.g. He is such a nice person -"kayn ayin hora". The pronunciation "hurra" instead of "hora" is usually used by Polish Jews"