I had just discovered I held a bookplate of an ancestor from 1730 or so so thought
it was about time I collected together as many as I had and put them up for all to
see. The account of my bookplate includes the documents for the original search for
a designer.
Curiously none of these have "Ex Libris" on them. Why not, I wonder? In case anyone should wonder, I have cleaned up all these images to get rid of blemishes and marks on the paper surrounding the actual prints. To me it is remarkable how well these small prints enlarge to twice life-size; the craftsmanship of all the engravers is to be wondered at. Apart from the artist for my bookplate, I have no idea who were the designers of any of the others. I suspect they were mostly friendly neighbourhood printers. |