Bookplates were made to denote ownership and hopefully steer the volume back to the rightful shelf if borrowed. They often contained highly stylized writing, drawings, coat of arms, badges or other images of interest to the owner. Theearliest known form of a bookplate originates from roughly 1390 BCE, in Egypt. They became popular throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, and since have appeared throughout the world, being especially popular in larger personal libraries and book lending societies. William Goodrich Bowdoin (1860-1947) wrote passionately and a great deal on the art of books, including book plates. His works include American Bookbinders, published in 1902. He published frequently under his initials, W. G. Bowdoin. In this particular work, Bowdoin has collected a fascinating variety of bookplates from around the world to showcase different styles. This edition is dedicated to Larissa Watkins, librarian and bibliographer extraordinary, friend to countless authors.

This fascinating book explores the art and history of the book-plate, from its earliest origins to modern times. With detailed examples of book-plates and insightful commentary on their significance and relevance, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of book-making and design. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Rise of the Book-Plate: Being an Exemplification of the Art, Signified by Various Book-Plates, From Its Earliest to Its Most Recent Practice With AN introduction and chapter ON the study and arrangement OF book plates BY henry blackwell. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.