Science Fiction/ What ever happened to Stuie Steinkritz ?

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I do not know for certain that each and every one of this group are for science fiction collectors.The Algot Erikson bookplate was done in Sweden in 1940 .The Vepstas bookplate has a comic book theme.It was designed by Henrietta Vepstas for her brother.The Morehouse bookplate amuses me so I included it.
The Sallume plate was designed for Antioch Bookplate by Ed Emsh.

I do not know if Ray Bradbury uses a bookplate in his own books.When I wrote to him in 2001 and asked him to send me his own bookplate , this is what he sent.I have a very special fondness for Ray Bradbury as he was the very first Science fiction writer I recall reading.Taking a trip down memory lane I also recall a fellow student in my public school in Brooklyn, whose name was Stuart Steinkritz ? He was, as I recall a nephew of Leslie Nielson , the actor. Using a pen name, he actually got published in one of the Science Fiction pulp magazines.I think that's pretty impressive for a 12 year old.
Although I can't be sure about the exact spelling of his last name I do recall the acronym he taught me B.E. M. (Bugged Eyed Monsters)
The late John Brunner used a bookplate designed by Jim Barker.The designer's name is hard to make out but you can click on the image for enlargement. Porcupine books in England
websales@porcupine.demon.co.uk has a number of books from Mr. Brunner's library with his bookplate, priced at $20.00 + They are nice people to deal with.
Edgar Rice Burroughs' bookplate does not come up for sale very often.About ten years ago, I tracked down his grandson and was able to purchase my copy from him. If a copy is offered to you from a reputable source, buy it.
Arthur C. Clarke's bookplates show up from time to time on Ebay. They seem to sell in the $25.00 + range.
L.Sprague de Camp used this very distinctive triangular bookplate.I purchased it from Tom Boss, a bookseller in Wellesley , Mass. several years ago.He may possibly have more copies.
Harlan Ellison uses a bookplate printed at Gnome press from a design by Ed Cartier.The late Andre Norton used a similar bookplate.
H.P.Lovecraft- A word of caution if offered an association copy with a Lovecraft bookplate. Mr. Lovecraft's cousin ,Wilfred B. Talman originally designed the bookplate. Several years ago The Necronomicon Press reproduced the plate and distributed it.I see them from time to time on Ebay. There is no easy way that I know of to distinguish these reproductions from the originals. Let the buyer beware.
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It is Monday February 5th. I had hoped to complete this posting yesterday but real life interfered. I want to thank all of you who participated in my Ebay bookplate auction.The bidding was frantic and 24 of the 25 items listed were sold. I think this blog contributed to the many new bidders who participated. I plan to have my next bookplate auction sometime in March.If you would like to be notified just send me an Email :
Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com






H.G.Wells- He had at least two bookplates.The one he definitely used is item #44 in London Bookplates by Brian North Lee "From the library of H.G.Wells at 13 Hanover Terrace Regent's Park London (with facsimile signature). Label within an ornamental border"

The one illustrated above is from my collection and was designed by Robert Saldo. I do not know is whether the Saldo plate was ever affixed to any books in H.G. Wells' library.Some bookplate designers created "honorarium " plates without the knowledge or consent of the owner. It gave them a certain amount of prestige to claim they had designed a bookplate for a well known person. As can be seen from the Saldo advertisement, he promoted the fact that several celebrities of the 1930's were his clients.

A final note-This has nothing to do with the science fiction theme. Quite by chance I discovered several interesting bookplate groups on the Flickr photo sharing site.If you click on the words Science Fiction in the title, at the beginning of this posting it will lead you to the Flickr search engine.
See you next week.

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

Poets, Science Fiction

If you search the Internet, you can probably find several "association copies" with Hart Crane's bookplate. A word of caution: After his death in 1932 Hart Crane's mother gave (or sold) some of his personal papers including a pile of Crane's bookplates to a bookseller in New York City. The dealer then pasted the bookplates in books chosen at random from his stock and misrepresented them as being from Crane's library. Not only was the dealer a crook , he was not too swift, as some of the bookplates were pasted in books published after Crane's death.

When rummaging through used and antiquarian book stores one of the first areas I go to is the poetry section. My observation has been that poetry readers, in general, tend to use bookplates more often than other readers. Poets also tend to use bookplates more often than other writers. Harold Witter Bynner (1881-1968) used at least two bookplates .

The image shown above has nothing to do with Sci-Fi or Poets, although the expression"Crow Not, Croak Not" is truly poetic .I am assuming this is either Canadian or English and it may be a printer's or booksellers label but really do not know for sure.The company it was designed for is B or E Rankin Ellis . Do any of you have additional information to share with us?

The universal (off the shelf) bookplate shown below was sold by the Antioch Bookplate Company in the early 1960's. The late Robert Anton Wilson was in their employ at that time. Click On Images To Enlarge

Last week, I mentioned that in February there will be a posting about the bookplates used by science fiction writers and collectors. If you use a science fiction bookplate please send a scan to bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

Ken Sanders , a rare book dealer in Salt Lake City Utah sent me the science fiction bookplate used by Elizabeth D. Pope. In his email he states that : " Betty or Elizabeth Pope attended many worldcons in her day, mainly in the 1950s through the 80s and the 90s and met and became friendly with numerous sci fi authors of the day.Through Brigham Young University she was able to arrange for many of them to come through and over the years accumulated a vast collection of f & sf books.I purchased approximately 2500 books from her collection ,out of more than 10,000 books."

Since one good turn deserves another, I have added a link to Ken Sander's web site. Just click on the orange words (Poets, Science Fiction) up on top and wait a few seconds for the Internet to do it's magic.

Part Of My Brain Is Stuck In World War Two

This is a 328 year old bookplate , which I purchased at Papermania.It is the oldest dated bookplate in my collection. From our friends at Wikipedia I learned the following about it's original owner : Sir Robert Clayton (1629-1707) was born in Northamptonshire,England. He became an apprentice to his uncle and along with a fellow apprentice, eventually established the bank, Clayton & Morris Co. He prospered and by 1697 was lending money to the king to pay for the army. For more details go to Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Clayton

Last week I showed the front of an aluminum owl bookmark. Two people wrote to me inquiring about the message on the reverse side. Here it is. Click on the image to enlarge it.

I was at Papermania in Hartford, Connecticut yesterday . The selection of bookplates available was impressive and I will be busy for several weeks sorting through them. Of the approximately 200 bookplates I purchased , the one that intrigued me the most is shown below.Nothing fancy, but it sets my mind in motion. It came from a Mr. Althouse whose collection was formed in the 1920's and 30's. He corresponded extensively with librarians and kept meticulous notes. This plate came from Miss Mary P. Pringle , librarian. A Google search indicates that she was the librarian at the University of Hawaii from 1928 through 1943. So, she was active during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I wonder if these plates were torn up or pasted over by the library administration after the attack. ? Did the members of this organization get swept up in the mass arrests at the time and get sent to concentration camps? Some one out there maybe able to answer these questions for me . As I say in the headline, part of my brain is stuck in World War ll. Some time in February, I plan to write about the bookplates used in the libraries of science fiction writers and collectors.I have a fairly impressive group of writer's plates but not very many from collectors . Your scans for possible inclusion would be appreciated.Send them to Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com