Kitabı oku: «American Book-Plates», sayfa 14

a 1754 edition of Matthew Merian’s work, this plate which seemed no part of the series but an impromptu addition, he adopted it for his book-plate. Mr. W. J. Linton engraved the block, reducing considerably from the original. This plate is used only in the books relating to the topic it suggests. In this plate the skull is placed upon an open book, between a lighted candle and a few flowers in a vase. A wreath encircles the smooth pate, and an hour-glass rests upon it, with the hovering wings of Time, and the scales, just above. The lower half of the plate has a very dark background, while the upper is filled with light.

Henry Blackwell, of New York City, uses a plate in his collection of Welshiana which was designed for the purpose. In this plate we see the sturdy oak raised in the centre of the scene. Upon the right side, the bearded Druid is lopping off the branches of the mistletoe, which seem to be growing with the oak. Opposite to him, the early Briton with his harp makes wild music. A circular medallion upon the tree represents the peak of Snowden, the highest mountain in Wales, and the motto, Cared doeth yr encilion, is given upon the frame. This plate, like that of Mr. Sears, was suggested by an illustration in an old book. A second plate is used for the literature upon the famous voyage of Madoc to our shores in A.D. 1170. In this plate we see the old-fashioned, high-sided ship, with its bellying sails, plunging through the rolling waves, as it passes out to sea with the hardy adventurer and his crew.

As examples of plates representative of the hobby of their owners, we have the following: Dean Sage; an angling plate, very simple in design and very fine in execution, with a large trout, and the rod and the landing net crossed behind it: an enthusiastic fisherman, and the author of a sumptuous volume on salmon-fishing in some of the Canadian rivers, Mr. Sage uses this plate only in the books of his library which relate to the gentle pursuit favored of Walton; —Howland; An angling plate of very handsome design: the shield of arms is surrounded with the implements of the fisherman, with evidences of his success and with the weeds which grow by the water side: the motto Piscator non solum piscator floats on a ribbon above; —Lucius Poole; the masks of Comedy and of Tragedy are brought together in this plate, as indicative of the books collected by Mr. Poole; —Arthur Robinson Stone: a folio volume of music is open to the Largo of the second part of the “Messiah,” by Handel, and is copied from the original score preserved in the British Museum: – in the plate of Martin Hayden two Cupids bear a shield on which the name is given: each little Cupid also manages to hold a mask: the motto, Upward, Onward.

Fred C. Schlaick: in this we see the uppermost part of a column and its Corinthian capital. A little Cupid flies away from the finished piece of work, carrying the veil which had concealed it from view. This design hardly needs the word Architect, which is added just after the name, to express the profession of the owner.

Edward Stratton Holloway: in this design, the owl is perched upon a limb, with the palette, brushes, sketch-book, and pencils of the illustrator within his clutch.

A most happy plate is that of Mr. Richard Hoe Lawrence, which is designed for use only in the library housed at his country seat, “Oscaleta Lodge,” and which is mainly botanical. In this plate the partridge-vine, Mitchella repens, is shown in its proper colors, and is surrounded by a double border of red lines, within which the motto, from

Rabelais, Fay ce que vouldras, is given in yellow. The plate was designed by Miss Mary S. Lawrence.

For a Philatelical library, the plate of Mr. John K. Tiffany is exceedingly appropriate, the design being enlarged from the old and rare St. Louis Postmaster’s stamp of 1845. The book-plate was cut on wood by the same man who designed the original stamp. It is an exact fac-simile of the old stamp, giving the two bears holding between them the circular frame which encloses the arms.

A very good example of the Allegorical book-plate is that of George H. Ellwanger, of Rochester. This is designed to illustrate the LXX sonnet of the Amoretti, of Spenser. With all the charming freshness of the early vernal season about her, we see Spring, in graceful drapery, carrying buds and blossoms in her hands, and crowned with a wreath of flowers, approaching us. The garlands, the numerous birds, the new leaves upon the trees, and the sense of warmth in the scene, clearly depict the meaning of the artist.

Turning, now, to the pictorial plates, we find their number rather small. Decorative features, bits of landscape and of interiors are found in many plates; but these little ornamentations do not constitute a real pictorial plate. One of the finest examples is the plate of E. G. Asay, of Chicago. In this we find ourselves intruding upon the councils of the Muses; for we see Art seated upon a throne, with the palette and brushes idle in her lap, while about her, in graceful manner, recline History, Music, and Literature. The lyre of Music is quiet, as, with her hand affectionately placed upon the shoulder of History, she listens to the reading of the just-inscribed record. Art likewise gives interested attention to the recital; and Literature, with her book closed, leans upon the convenient globe, and listens.

Wholly different is the plate of Allen Wallace. In this, one of the Naiadæ reclines upon the

over-turned urn, from which the never-ceasing flow of water falls over the rock, and slips away in a widening stream. With one hand she caresses the limpid flow, as it emerges from the urn. At either side, below her, two dolphins discharge quantities of water from their mouths into an immense shell which receives the stream from the urn as well. Tall sheaves of wheat rise above them, and directly behind the head of the Naiad is the motto, Nil clarius aquis.

Mr. H. E. Deats, of Flemington, N.J., has a most beautiful specimen of steel engraving which he uses in his numismatic library. In this, we see a female figure clad in classic costume, with a diadem on her brow, sitting on the clouds, and having at her side an oval shield, on which a very important peacock is depicted as using the globe for his perch. On either side, cornucopiæ of fruit and flowers barely hold their quantities of produce. The motto, Instauratio saeculi felicis, is placed upon the edge of the shield.

The plate of Frances Louise and Charles Dexter Allen represents a female figure in classic robes seated upon a stone bench at the foot of tall trees. It is twilight, and the glint of the weakening light is seen through the leaves. Books, manuscript, and scrolls are strewn around the solitary figure. The motto, Sapientiam veram petimus, is carved along the top of the wall behind. One arm of the figure is thrown across the top of an open book, on which the names of the owners are given. This plate was suppressed at the request of the publishers of a magazine in New York City, as it so closely resembled the design on their cover.

A very effective plate is that of F. W. Hoyt, of Albany, N.Y. In this an Ionic column forms the whole design. Very beautifully engraved: the lamp of Knowledge is continually burning, and continually fed on the top of the capital, while the names of the “Immortals” are bound around the shaft on a ribbon, —Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Shelley. The name of the owner is carved upon the base.

In the plate of Samuel Wesley Marvin, is depicted the sleeping knight, to whom come

Pleasure and Knowledge, each with her offer of satisfaction and reward. The motto, Courage le diable est mort, is seen on the broad ribbon which is laid about the picture.

The plate of Adam Van Allen, of Albany, is copied from the plate of the brothers Goncourt, and represents the left hand with a pair of dividers held by the third and fourth fingers, while the first and second are placed upon a sheet of paper bearing the initials V A.

Several peculiar plates remain to be mentioned, which belong to no style, but are examples of the individual taste of the owners, which is now so marked a feature of book-plate designing. Not, as formerly, are we controlled as to the style which we shall adopt, but each book-lover can, without appearing eccentric, place whatever design he chooses within his book-covers.

The plate of the well-known litterateur, W. Irving Way, of Chicago, is simply a very small bit of paper with his initials in cipher upon it. The plate of Fred J. Libbie, of Boston, one of the largest collectors of plates, is a cryptogrammic arrangement of the letters forming his name.

An old plate of Richard Hoe Lawrence caricatures each of his three names: the first, by the “dickey bird”; the second, by the agricultural implement suggested by the middle name: and the third, by a picture of the emaciated Saint Lawrence frying over a fire of flaming fagots. As he fries, he reads from a book entitled, Lawrence on Gridiron.

The plate of Marcus Benjamin, of New York City, is a punning plate, and represents the gentleman himself riding his hobby-horse, which is in the form of a big folio. With a long quill for a lance, and wearing a crucible for a hat, he rides his horse, full merrily. The plate of J. Hiestand Hartman, of Lancaster, Pa., is very curious. In this, the shield is borne by a skeleton, who stands erect, with the lance resting in the right arm. A banner floats from the lance-head, ribbons rise in profusion on either side, and the grinning sentinel is enclosed in the fluttering ends. E. A. Hitchcock, of the United States Army, has a plate of peculiar and hidden meaning. In this, the prominent feature is a huge dragon, winged, scaly, with forked tail and snakelike head. With the end of his tail in his mouth, he forms a frame of oval form, and repulsive kind, for a picture of a little girl, who seems to be sitting upon a honeycomb, and who holds a necklace in her left hand. The motto, Non nisi Parvulis, must contain some reference to the event recorded in the book-plate.

The plate of George Dudley Seymour has the unusual feature of a large representation of an old door, with its carved posts, and pediment of high-boy style. In the centre of the design, above this, at the right, a small view is given of the whole house from which the door is taken, and in the opposite corner a scroll bears the words: Captain Charles Churchill, hys house at Weathersfield in the Colony of Connecticut in Newe England, 1754-1885. This plate is by W. F. Hopson, of New Haven, Conn., and is very effective. Mr. Hopson’s own plate is also a very beautiful specimen of his skill. In this, the central panel is filled with three old folios in aged condition, tumbled together upon the table. In the upper corners, a press for plate work and a painting on an easel are seen. Below the central space, a closed portfolio affords space for the record of the number of the volume. About all, are elaborate scrolls of rustic design. Over the space, a small kettle holds a number of fine brushes, and the motto is on a ribbon which is well carried through the scrolled sides. The motto is an adaptation of one of older date, and reads as follows: Old books to read, old prints to scan, old wood to carve, old friends to greet.

As yet, we have but one example of the work of C. W. Sherborn, the celebrated engraver, of London, among our American book-plates. This is the beautiful plate of Mr. S. P. Avery, of New York City. This is not heraldic, but of a decidedly personal bent, and very indicative of the special lines of collecting to which the owner is devoted. The upper part of the plate is filled with a conventionalized tulip design, which is extremely rich in appearance and graceful in disposition. A ribbon bearing the name, Samuel Putnam Avery, flutters in and out among the curves of the tulip stems and leaves. Grouped at the lower edge of the plate are a number of books, in artistic bindings, one being noticeable as having a Grolieresque design. The titles of most of the books can be read, and among them

are De Bury, Shakespeare, Goethe, Emerson, Montaigne, Ruskin, Bewick, and Washington Irving. Rembrandt’s “Three Trees,” also found among the accessories at the foot, is indicative of the collector of etchings. The graver, eye-piece, cushion, and block on which the portrait of Washington is cut, denote the art of engraving, and the head of Minerva, which rests proudly upon the volume of Ruskin, represents the patron of Art. This plate is a fine example of the peculiar personal flavor which Sherborn has infused into his revival of this particular kind of German work. The grouping of the books at the bottom is excellent, and the graceful sweeps of the tulip pattern, as it fills the upper two-thirds of the plate, are very pleasing. The motto, Far more seemly were it for thee to have thy Study full of Bookes than thy purse full of money (Lilly), is placed beneath the design.

Two specimens of the work of Paul Avril, for American owners, are of exceeding daintiness and delicacy in design and execution. The plate of Clarence H. Clark represents Venus in gauzy drapery, with a looking-glass in her hand, reclining upon a pile of books, some of which are closed. A fragment of the scroll of a Chippendale frame, with one or two roses about, complete the decoration. The motto, Amat victoria curam, is seen upon the open page of a folio volume. The plate is very light and pretty.

In the plate of George B. De Forest, by the same artist, we are ushered into the library of the owner. Here a cherub draws back the curtain, and affords a view of the treasures upon the well-filled shelves, not only to the beholder, but also to a scantily clad female who, with one foot upon the step of the shelf-ladder, appears to halt in an ecstasy of delight. An open book on the floor, and a portfolio standing near the shelves, complete the accessories. The whole is surrounded by a frame of foliated scrolls.

In the plates of Dr. Henry C. Eno we have examples of the owner’s personal skill as an etcher. In one design, a lighted candle is placed upon a closed book, which is labelled Ex Libris Volume, and is presumably filled with rare treasures among our very early American plates. The second plate represents a lighthouse, with rolling waves at its foot. The broad bands of light stream from the lighted lantern, across the black night. The scene is enclosed within a circular frame. This is set upon a background, which may represent a fish-net, and is finally enclosed by a border of rope. A bit of rope tied in a sailor’s knot lies under the lighthouse picture, and supports the name, Ex Libris H. C. Eno.

Among collectors, there has been of recent years a strong desire to secure specimens of the plates of the ladies. In England, where the heraldic features of a lady’s plate are required to be in some respects very different from those of the gentleman, they may be said to constitute a class by themselves. But with us, while of equal interest, they do not show any marked difference in their design from the gentlemen’s. Indeed, most of them, if not all, would serve just as well for one as for the other. The plate of Charlotte Cushman, which is heraldic, is incorrect, if judged by the rules of the art. The arms are not in a lozenge, the crest is given, and the motto is displayed. But the plate has none the less a deep interest to the American collector, who indeed can well afford to overlook any trifling irregularities which may be pointed out by a student of a science not in vogue with us. Habeo pro jus fasque is the motto on the plate. Two other heraldic plates are now used by American ladies. The plate of Mrs. E. H. L. Barker, of Warren, R.I., is designed by Mr. J. McN. Stauffer, and is heraldically correct, in that no crest is given, and that the frame enclosing the arms is of the required form. However, the motto is given, and the animal of the crest is made to do service as a supporter of the rod on which the shield rests. The plate is small, and very neat in appearance. The plate of Miss Jessie Brewster, of Shelton, Conn., is a plain armorial, displaying the arms claimed by the descendants of Elder William Brewster of Massachusetts. Another Rhode Island plate, and one which is representative of the hobbies of the owner, is that of Mrs. Alonzo Flint, of Providence. This is a large plate, in the centre of which is an arrow-head of flint, in reference to the name of the owner. In the corners are displayed books, easel and palette, violin, music and ‘cello, and two cathedral spires, – all indicative of the likings and pursuits of the user of the plate. A wreath of ragged chrysanthemums and ivy leaves surrounds the central design, on which a beehive is placed, among hollyhocks. This is, as was intended, a plate whose every part is illustrative of the interests of the owner, who was also its designer.

The plate of Mrs. Julia Dexter Coffin, of Windsor Locks, Conn., was designed and is used wholly for books of music, or in her library of musical literature. The scene is within the choir of some temple. A flood of light enters the lofty apartment from the open door at the far end of the wall, and the small diamond panes of the large window reveal nothing of the outside world. Seated upon the stone bench, in the foreground, clad in classic robes, a member of the chorus, inspired by some longing, has come alone, to pour forth her feelings in song. The lyre in her hands is of old and ornamental design. Behind her, upon the wall, runs a dado on which the sacred dance is pictured; and above this a large mural painting can be seen. In the niche by the door stands a statue of Terpischore. The sound of the music seems to fill the room.

Purely decorative, and having no particular meaning beyond illustrating the motto, is the plate of Ophelia Fowler Duhme. The motto, Inter folia fructas, is given at the top of the plate, and the strawberry plant, bearing both flower and fruit, fills the whole space below.

Two Cupids disport themselves among sweet roses, in the plate of Frances Louise Allen.

In the plate of Margaret M. Miller, a cherub, with the hair in a Psyche knot, sits upon a closed book, and inscribes the names of the “Immortals” upon a scroll.

In the plate of Miss Ada Stewart Shelton, of Derby, Conn., the motto, Plus penser que dire, is given with the name and a single pansy blossom within a rectangular frame which has pansies at each corner.

In the plate of Mary Bayliss, we have a frame of Chippendale tendency. The scrolls are edged with shell-work, and the flowers are free and natural.

Very interesting and successful work in designing and engraving book-plates is now being done by Mr. E. D. French, of New York City, Mr. E. H. Garrett, of Winchester, Mass., and by Mr. W. F. Hopson, of New Haven, Conn., all of whom are represented in this volume by prints from the original coppers.

AMERICAN COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS

COLLECTORS of book-plates are not very numerous in the United States; but, small as their number is, it has reached the present figure almost at a bound, for we now count about seventy, who are collecting, while, four years ago, there were scarcely a score.

A survey of our collections shows that all are particularly interested to collect American plates. The early American examples are few, and daily becoming scarcer, as the search for them grows hotter, and the competition between prospective owners increases.

The scarcity and value of our early specimens are not appreciated fully by our brother-collectors over the sea, nor is our national pride in keeping them within our borders realized. Having so few, we cannot be lavish with the rare examples we are able to find; and so it comes about that the demand for our plates is not met as it once was. The book-plates of our ancestors are not so easily found as are those of the past generation in the older countries. Books were fewer here, devastation by fire and pillage has ruined much that we lament over, and the good old plates turn up but rarely now.

Our collections are not large as compared with the gigantic aggregations which we hear of as being made in England. Think of one collector having one hundred thousand specimens! The largest collection here will not exceed six thousand, and those next nearest to that fall some two thousand behind it. Our collections are good, representative of the best foreign styles and dates, and do not include much that is valueless. “Small, if need be, in numbers, but excellent in quality,” would seem to be the maxim of those who collect over here. German plates, particularly of the oldest engravers, French plates, and the English plates of men of prominence, are well represented. Plain heraldic plates are not held in high esteem, while the Pictorial, Literary, Library Interior, and Ladies’ plates are all sought for.

Among the very first to enter the field as a collector of book-plates in the United States was the late James Eddy Mauran, of Newport, R.I.

Mr. Mauran was a New Yorker by birth, the son of a West India merchant. He was a painstaking collector, a close student, and a man fully acquainted with the foreign languages, and the literature of the times he felt an especial interest in. While deeply interested in other lines of research and collecting, he found time to gather a good collection of American and foreign book-plates, which were mounted with the nicety and taste shown in all branches of his collecting.

At the time of his death, in 1888, he had about 3500 plates in all, and they were appraised by Mr. Hewins, a friend of Mr. Mauran, at three hundred dollars, and were sold to a Philadelphia gentleman. Mr. Mauran had a way of mounting his plates which was original and unique. He pasted them down on pieces of marbled paper, and other kinds of paper used in the ornamental binding of books. He was at pains to obtain from binders, stationers, and booksellers all the pieces of paper of this kind that could be found, in order to have as many different mounts as possible. These papers were all mounted on stiffer white paper, and formed a good substantial ground for the final mounting.

His titled plates were mounted on gold and silver paper; and the ladies’ plates on bits of silk, damask, satin, or old pieces of brocade and other things pertaining to ladies’ wear. The American plates were mounted on the older styles of marbled papers, and on fancy patterns and colors in use years ago. They were numbered on the back, and were kept in alphabetical order. Very often the back of the mount was covered with notes about the owner of the plate. Portraits, autographs, views of houses, and sketches of the owners from newspapers, were also mounted and placed with the plate they were identified with. The plates were kept in old book-covers of fine, polished calf, beautifully tooled on the back and edges. An interesting history is connected with these covers. Mr. John Austin Stevens, of New York, had made a fine collection of the poetry, ballads, and romances of the mediæval ages, which was bound in the sumptuous style mentioned. Upon the occasion of a visit to Europe, Mr. Mauran, who was a friend of Mr. Stevens, saw them carefully packed in boxes, which were deposited in the vaults of the Chamber of Commerce building in New York, and insured for ten thousand dollars. During the absence of the owner, the negro janitor of the building broke open the boxes, and, tearing out the insides of the treasured volumes, sold them for waste paper! Portions were recovered; but the covers were of no further use as originally intended, and they fell to Mr. Mauran, who used them to hold his book-plates. This collection was quite rich in the early plates of America; for Mr. Mauran, being well-nigh the first in the field, had the cream of collecting for some time, and was able to secure plates which now are not to be had.

Not very long ago, this collection changed hands again, as the first purchaser, having no time to make use of the plates, was willing to sell them to some collector who could make them of greater use among others interested in the same topic. In some way the collection became disrupted, and parts of it are owned by different collectors.

Mr. E. N. Hewins is one of the older collectors among us. Mr. Hewins has a very interesting album of American plates, in which a goodly number of the rarer specimens find a resting-place. Other albums are used for the foreign examples, and the number of plates in the collection places it well up towards the head of the list of large and valuable collections. The plates are classified by styles.

Mr. Richard C. Lichtenstein, of Boston, has a large collection of book-plates. A part of his collection is arranged alphabetically in a large quarto bound in brown morocco, with gold tooling, and made especially for the purpose with leaves of very thin tinted paper. Individual mounts are also used. This collection is one of the largest and probably the best, as regards Americana, of all in the United States.

Another Boston collector who has been collecting for some time, and who has a valuable collection, is Mr. Fred J. Libbie. Mr. Libbie has a copy of Warren, most beautifully bound in crushed levant, which is extra-illustrated by the insertion of rare original plates, autograph letters, portraits, and views. The volume is extended to fully three times its original thickness, and is an elegant specimen of the book-binders’ art, as well as a most valuable storehouse of fine book-plates. Other works on the subject of book-plates are in process of extra-illustration by Mr. Libbie, who is an enthusiastic collector, confining himself to no specialties, but making an excellent collection in all lines.

The largest collection of plates is that belonging to Mr. H. E. Deats, of Flemington, N.J. This industrious collector, while a rather new comer, has distanced all the older men, and, being the owner of the bulk of the Mauran collection, has some very fine examples, as well as large numbers, to boast of.

Dr. Henry C. Eno, of Saugatuck, Conn., has a large and valuable collection mounted in volumes bound in full levant.

We number among our collectors several ladies, and it is earnestly to be hoped that here, as in England, we may have plates designed by lady artists. Probably the earliest lady collector is Mrs. Richard J. Barker, of Warren, R.I., who has several albums filled with good plates, and who has contributed an interesting article on the subject of early American plates to the literature of our topic. Other ladies who are collecting are Miss Helen E. Brainerd, of Columbia College Library; Mrs. C. H. Duhme, of Cincinnati; Mrs. E. M. Gallaudet, of Washington; and Miss Louise Fitz, of Newton Centre, Mass.

The mounting and arrangement of plates are vexed questions among collectors. The really satisfactory method has not yet been discovered. Many ways are tried; and experience shows that while one may at different times think he has found the very best way, its disadvantages are sure to appear, and a new method will be looked for.

Mr. E. H. Bierstadt, of New York, keeps his collection in large albums constructed for the purpose. The leaves are of double thicknesses of heavy calendered manilla paper. The plates are pasted down on mounts of a stiff white ledger paper, and are then placed in the book, four to the page, by slipping the corners of the mounts into slits cut for the purpose in the page. This allows the easy readjustment, the easy exchange of a poor specimen for a better one, the re-placing of a plate wrongly classed, and the extension of alphabetical arrangement ad infinitum. The appearance of the volume is handsome.

Mr. Henry Blackwell, of New York, is mounting all his plates on rather large sheets of a stiff paper, of a dark tint, which shows off the plates to good advantage. They are arranged in alphabetical order, and are kept in neat wooden boxes.

The plates of Mr. Pickering Dodge, of Washington, D.C., are mounted on a dove-colored mount, which is an advantageous tint. The plates are arranged according to styles. This collector, however, is about to change to albums.

Mr. Nathaniel Paine, of Worcester, Mass., has his plates mounted directly upon the pages of an album made for them. Portraits, views, etc., are also interspersed.

The present writer used originally the individual mount; but becoming dissatisfied with that method, because of injury by careless handling, adopted the albums, using in both instances the “hinges” of the stamp collector to fasten the plates down with. He is now changing back to the individual-mount plan, as it admits of more freedom in comparison, easy changes, and the better display of the collection, either to a few, or to an audience.

The larger part of our collectors do not mount their plates at all, or have any system of arranging them. They are kept in odd envelopes, boxes, between the leaves of books, or in a desk-drawer, and there await the new arrival, or the shaking up incident to the search for a particular specimen. This is ruinous.

The larger part of our collectors are members of the Ex Libris Society, of England, while many have also joined the societies in France and Germany. No American Society has as yet been seriously proposed.

Others who have collections, or who are interested in book-plates, but are not members of the societies, are: —