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AMERICAN BOOKPLATES
[Illustration]
AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES
(EX-LIBRIS)
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
American Book-Plates
A Guide to their Study with Examples
By Charles Dexter Allen
Member Ex-Libris Society London · Member Grolier Club New York Member Connecticut Historical Society Hartford
With a Bibliography by Eben Newell Hewins
Member Ex-Libris Society
Illustrated with many reproductions of rare and interesting book-plates and in the finer editions with many prints from the original coppers both old and recent
[Illustration]
New York · Macmillan and Co. · London
Mdcccxciv
COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY MACMILLAN AND CO.
Norwood Press: J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith. Boston, Mass., U.S.A.
PREFACE.
[Illustration: I]n a few years Book-plate literature will have a place in the catalogues of the Libraries, as it now has in those of the dealers in books. The works of the Hon. J. Leicester Warren (Lord de Tabley), Mr. Egerton Castle, and Mr. W. J. Hardy on the English plates, Mr. Walter Hamilton, M. Henri Bouchot, and M. Poulet-Malassis on the French, Herr Warnecke on the German, and M. Carlander on the Swedish, are all the work of master hands, and are recognized as authorities. In our own country the lists and essays of Mr. Richard C. Lichtenstein and Mr. Laurence Hutton have long been of invaluable service, and occupy a position both at home and abroad of undisputed eminence.
A large number of articles has also been contributed to periodical literature by those well informed upon the subject, and numerous monographs testify to the growth of interest in this fascinating study, and by the names of their authors, to the class of scholars and students of antiquarian lore who deem the humble book-plate worthy of their attention.
In view of what has been and of what will be written, this present modest attempt to introduce more fully than has yet been done, the book-plates of America, needs to be understood as simply a pioneer work; a great deal of information will reward the patient and painstaking investigator of the future, which is now inaccessible, and without doubt, too, much will be found even within the present to supplement these pages.
This book could not have been undertaken nor carried to completion had the writer been denied the generous assistance and hearty sympathy of our collectors, to whom he desires to express his appreciation of the kindnesses shown him.
Especially to Mr. R. C. Lichtenstein, Mr. E. N. Hewins, and Mr. Fred J. Libbie of Boston, does he feel under deep obligation for the generous loan of their splendid collections, for ready advice and counsel, for cheerful assistance whenever asked for, and for that tangible sympathy and lively interest which are worth so much to one engaged in such work. To many others also is he indebted, both for the loan of plates and for kindly words of encouragement.
To Mr. S. P. Avery, Mr. Beverly Chew, Mr. E. H. Bierstadt, Mr. Henry Blackwell, Mr. D. McN. Stauffer, Mr. Edward D. Harris, Mr. Laurence Hutton, and Mr. E. W. Nash, of New York City; to Mr. W. G. Brown of Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Va.; Mr. H. E. Deats of Flemington, N.J.; Dr. C. E. Clark of Lynn; Hon. W. A. Courtnay of Charleston, S.C.; Miss Helen E. Brainerd of the Columbia College Library; Mr. Pickering Dodge of Washington, D.C.; Mr. Charles T. Martin, Mr. Frank B. Gay, Mr. A. C. Bates, and Mr. John C. Parsons, of Hartford; Dr. Henry C. Eno of Saugatuck; Dr. J. H. Dubbs of Lancaster, Penn., President of Franklin and Marshall College; Mr. D. V. R. Johnston of the State Library at Albany; Mr. Nathaniel Paine of Worcester; Mr. Daniel Ravenel of Charleston, S.C.; Mr. Howard Sill of Glendale, Md.; Mr. R. A. Brock of Richmond, Va.; Mr. Howard Edwards of Philadelphia; Dr. Swan M. Burnett of Washington, D.C.; Mr. Richard Wijnkoop of Brooklyn; Mr. Bisbee of Dartmouth College; Mr. William Kelby of the New York Historical Society; and to Mr. Lyon G. Tyler of Williamsburg, Va., President of William and Mary College, does he wish to make acknowledgment for the favors which have contributed so much to the value of the work. From over the sea, particularly kind assistance has come from Rev. T. W. Carson, the veteran collector and eminent authority of Dublin.
To all others who by letter, gift, or advice have assisted him, the writer wishes hereby to make suitable and hearty acknowledgment.
The writer’s thanks are also extended to those who have so kindly permitted him the use of their plates for the illustrating of the book.
A word more is due to Mr. E. N. Hewins, who very kindly, at the writer’s request, accepted the labor of preparing the excellent Bibliography which appears in the volume.
CHARLES DEXTER ALLEN.
HARTFORD, CONN., June, 1894.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
A LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS xi
INTRODUCTORY 1
NAME-LABELS AND MOTTOES 16
ARMORIAL BOOK-PLATES 35
PICTORIAL AND ALLEGORICAL BOOK-PLATES AND PLATES OF COLLEGES, LIBRARIES, AND SOCIETIES 57
BOOK-PLATES OF SPECIAL INTEREST 79
EARLY AMERICAN BOOK-PLATE ENGRAVERS, WITH LISTS OF THEIR WORK 104
AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF EARLY AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES 160
A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE DATED PLATES 313
AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE SIGNED PLATES, SHOWING THE EXACT MANNER OF SIGNING 314
A LIST OF MOTTOES FOUND UPON THE EARLY PLATES, WITH TRANSLATIONS 323
A FEW RECENT EXAMPLES 340
THE AMERICAN COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS 377
THE EX LIBRIS SOCIETIES 387
BIBLIOGRAPHY (AMERICAN, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH) 389
CONCLUSION 421
INDEX 423
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
COPPER-PLATES.
CHARLES DEXTER ALLEN, by _E. H. Garrett_ _Title-page_
_To face page_ EDWARD HALE BIERSTADT, by _E. D. French_ 90
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 98
ALEXANDER ANDERSON, by _Anderson_ 120
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, attributed to _Callender_ 126
GEORGE GOODWIN, attributed to _Doolittle_ 132
MARSHALL C. LEFFERTS, by _E. D. French_ 352
GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR, by _W. F. Hopson_ 370
FRANCIS WILSON, by _E. H. Garrett_ 376
FULL-PAGE REPRODUCTIONS.
JEREH. WADSWORTH 1
MORAL LIBRARY, YALE COLLEGE 6
JAMES EDDY MAURAN 16
EUGENE FIELD 35
JACOB SARGEANT, by _Jacob Sargeant_ 46
PETER MANIGAULT, by _Yates_ 52
JOHN WILLIAMS 54
RICHARD WYNKOOP 56
SOCIAL LAW LIBRARY 66
GEORGE ALEXANDER MACBETH 79
W. F. HOPSON, by _W. F. Hopson_ 104
WILLIAM ASHMEAD COURTENAY 122
EDMUND H. GARRETT, by _E. H. Garrett_ 138
H. E. DEATS 150
RICHARD C. LICHTENSTEIN, by _George Moore_ 160
LOUIS J. HABER 323
GEORGE H. ELLWANGER, by _Sidney L. Smith_ 340
JOHN E. RUSSELL, by _M. T. Callahan_ 357
DEAN SAGE 360
FRED C. SCHLAICK, by _Howard Sill_ 362
ARTHUR ROBINSON STONE, by _George M. White_ 364
F. W. HOYT 366
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
PAGE
George Lee Tuberville, Virginia 2
Timothy Newell, printed by _Isaiah Thomas_ 3
William Lord, East Haddam 5
Geo. C. M. Roberts, M.D., Baltimore 6
Elijah F. Reed 7
Jared Ingersoll, Esq., of New Haven, Conn. 8
John Walters Gibbs, Charleston, S.C., by _Abernethie_ 9
Peter Middleton, M.D., by _J. Lewis_ 10
Harrison Gray Otis 11
Lieut. E. Trenchard, U. S. Navy 12
Samuel Elam, Rhode Island 13
John Adams 15
Hannah Reynolds 17
E Libris Thomæ Holt 18
John Campbell, Charles County 19
Richard Sprigg, Jr., by _T. Sparrow_ 20
Thomas O. Selfridge, Boston, 1799 22
Worcester Circulating Library 23
Daniel Greenleaf 25
Timothy Mann, Walpole, Oct., 1810 27
A. L. Hollingsworth, Boston, Mass. 29
George Bancroft 31
William Prescott 32
Henry Blackwell, New York City 33
Edward Pennington, Philadelphia 34
Gabriel Jones, Attorney at Law, in Virginia 36
Joseph Dudley, 1754 38
Jer. Dummer, Anglus Americanus 39
Minot, Boston 40
Frederik Philipse, Esq. 42
William P. Smith, A.M., by _Thomas Johnston_ 45
Andrew Tyler, by _Hurd_ 46
John Durand, Esq. 47
Anthony Stewart, Annapolis, Md. 48
Myles Cooper, LL.D., etc. 49
Andrew Oliver, attributed to _Hurd_ 50
Benjamin Kissam, by _Dawkins_ 51
Samuel Vaughan, Esq. 53
W. Jackson 54
De Witt Clinton, by _Maverick_ 55
James Parker 58
Henry Andrews, by _Harris_ 59
New York Society Library, by _Maverick_ 60
New York Society Library, 1789, by _Maverick_ 61
Monthly Library in Farmington, Conn. 63
Village Library, Farmington, Conn. 65
Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts 66
Hasty Pudding Library, Harvard College 68
Linonian Library, Yale College 69
Linonian Library (_Yale College_) 70
Arnold Arboretum, 1892, by _Geo. Wharton Edwards_ 72
New York Society Library, by _Elisha Gallaudet_ 74
Phoenix Society 76
Brothers in Unity, Yale College, by _Pelton_ 77
Samuel Hill 78
Stephen Cleveland 80
Columbia College Library, New York, by _Anderson_ 81
Isaiah Thomas 83
Albany Society Library, 1759 84
John Quincy Adams 86
Josiah Quincy 87
Livius 88
Dr. John Jeffries, attributed to _Callender_ 89
Geo. Washington, _genuine_ 91
Geo. Washington, _fraudulent_ 94
Bushrod Washington 96
Daniel Webster 97
Brander Matthews, by _E. A. Abbey_ 99
Edmund Clarence Stedman 100
Laurence Hutton 102
Winfield Scott 103
Robert Hale, Esq., of Beverly, by _Hurd_ 107
John Chandler, Jr., Esq., by _Hurd_ 108
Lewis De Blois, by _Hurd_ 109
Joshua Spooner, by _Hurd_ 110
Harvard College, by _Hurd_ 112
John Vassall, Esq., by _Hurd_ 114
John Lowell, by _Hurd_ 115
Peter A. Browne, by _Akin_ 118
John Pintard, LL.D., by _Anderson_ 120
Apprentices’ Library, New York City, by _Anderson_ 121
Thomas Russell, by _Callender_ 125
Henry D. Gilpin, by _Childs_ 127
Whitehead Hicks, by _Dawkins_ 130
Social Library, Wethersfield, by _Doolittle_ 133
Eli Forbes, by _Furnass_ 135
John Chambers, by Elisha _Gallaudet_ 136
Anonymous, by _Maverick_ 141
Abraham Bancker, by _Maverick_ 143
Gardiner Chandler, by _Revere_ 146
William Wetmore, by _Revere_ 147
Paul Revere, by _Revere_ 148
John Lenthall, by _Thackara_ 153
Bloomfield, by _Trenchard_ 154
Luther Martin, attributed to _Trenchard_ 155
John Franklin, Boston, New Eng., by _Turner_ 156
Bloomfield McIlvaine, by _Seymour_ 157
G. A. Smith 159
Anonymous, by _Maverick_ 161
William Belcher, Savannah 171
Absalom Blackley, by _Maverick_ 173
Hon. William Carmichael, Esq. 181
Col. John Skey Eustace 199
Ewing 201
Andrew G. Fraunces, by _Maverick_ 205
John Goelet, attributed to _Maverick_ 209
Richard Harison 215
Barrack Hays, by _Hutt_ 219
Samuel Farmar Jarvis, D.D. 227
William Jauncey 229
Thomas Johnson, by _Maverick_ 231
Edward Livingston, by _Maverick_ 238
Abraham Lodge 240
Rev. John Murray 253
Francis Panton, Jr., by _Maverick_ 259
Samuel Parker 260
William Penn 263
James Power 270
Samuel Smith 283
J. B. Swett 289
John Tayloe 291
Richard Varick, by _Billings_ 295
Virginia Council Chamber 297
John C. Warren 299
W. Warren 301
William Duer 322
Malvians 339
Thomas Bailey Aldrich 343
Melvin H. Hapgood 344
Joseph Henry Dubbs, D.D. 345
James Phinney Baxter 348
Albert C. Bates 350
George Wharton Edwards 351
John Herbert Corning, by _H. Sandham_ 354
George L. Parmelee 355
Paul Lemperly, by _Bert K. Canfield_ 359
Joseph H. Wheeler 361
Chauncey Lawrence Williams, by _Geo. R. Halm_ 364
Samuel Wesley Marvin 366
Adam Van Allan 367
Marcus Benjamin 369
Henry S. Rowe 376
Julia Dexter Coffin 374
Jeremiah Evarts 386
John Andrew 388
Paul Lemperly, by _E. H. Garrett_ 421
[Illustration: Jere^{h}. Wadsworth.]
AMERICAN BOOK-PLATES.
INTRODUCTORY.
[Illustration: W]e cannot venture to guess which was the first book-plate made in America, nor to say with absolute certainty whence came the first plate used in our country; but undoubtedly the latter came over already pasted into some book of a Dutch or English settler.
The larger part of our books came from England, and very few plates are found with arms of other nationalities. The colonists who came from England bringing books, brought also the home ideas concerning books, and the book-plate was a natural piece of property to acquire. Their descendants, who continued the connection with the mother-country, used plates more generally, and the fashion spread naturally. It never became very general, but was confined to those of gentle birth; the clergy, the lawyers, and men of education. We shall see that it was not confined to the men alone, but that the women of literary accomplishments also used plates.
[Illustration: George Lee Turberville.
Virginia.]
By far the greater part of the plates are cut on copper, but there are some woodcuts as will be seen in an examination of the list; also, there are some which look as if cut in silver, which was an easier metal to work, or perhaps in type-metal. One example is known in which brass was used, and this old plate is now in the possession of the writer. The steel engravings are of rather recent date; and while there are a number of these, the new plates are mostly on copper. The simple labels are printed from type.
The larger part of our early plates are armorial in character; and while heraldry forms so prominent and important a feature, it is left practically untouched in the present volume. The number interested in the science is small, the authorities on coats-of-arms and on blazoning differ, and the present writer had not the time to make the thorough investigation necessary to a satisfactory treatment of this interesting branch. Upon consultation with other collectors, and with their advice, it was decided to leave this subject for a future volume should any call for it arise.
[Illustration: Timothy Newell.]
A decided difference is noticed between the book-plates of the Northern and the Southern Colonies. In the South, to which came men of wealth and leisure with cultivated tastes, we would expect to find the little superfluities and niceties of daily life sooner in vogue and more generally used. Bringing books and musical instruments with them, retaining their connection with the far-away home by correspondence and visits, sending their sons to the great Universities to be educated, and to the Law Schools for a finishing course, and ordering their clothes, books, furniture, and all of the luxuries of life from England, they would naturally be the first to use the book-plate. Very few of the Southern plates were engraved by American engravers. They were nearly all done in London, when some member of the family was over, or by order from the Colony; for this reason the Southern plates are better in heraldry, design, and execution than those of New England and New York. They were the product of men experienced in such work; they were all armorial and in the prevailing English mode.
The earliest comers to New England had a prejudice against coats-of-arms and trinkets of such-like character, which their descendants, however, soon forgot. Pride of ancestry and love of the display of aristocratic claims developed when the hard circumstances of the former years had worn off, and we find the prominent families of the North using book-plates, and having their arms upon their coaches. In one important feature, however, these Northern plates differ from the Southern,--they are mostly the work of our native engravers, very few being done in England.
The work of these native artisans, who were mostly self-taught in this art of engraving on copper, is confessedly inferior to that of the London experts found upon the Southern plates, both in drawing and execution, but their work is of more value to the collector from this very fact of their being American work. They furnish examples of native skill, both in engraving and in copper-plate printing.
The ornamentation of buttons, spoons, tableware, and other articles of silver was already practised when the demand for the book-plate arose, so that there were skilful men ready to turn their attention to this new branch of their art.
[Illustration: WILLIAM LORD]
The War of the Revolution naturally affected the native production of book-plates, but a few years after its close, when Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were active in publishing books, the engraver found work more plenty, and very many who were employed upon the plates for the illustration of books also produced book-plates.
Nathaniel Hurd was the principal engraver of book-plates in the North before the war, though Thomas Johnson, who was born before him and who also died before he did, made some plates, while Turner and Paul Revere were also working at this period.
Henry Dawkins, in Philadelphia, came over from England, and so did the elder Maverick, who made so many plates for the New Yorkers.
[Illustration: George C. M. Roberts, M.D.]
The literary plates are smaller in number than we could wish, and they do not show a wide range of ideas either. Very probably some of the designs were borrowed from English plates, and were produced over again for different customers, or were freely copied by other engravers who liked, or who found customers who liked, the design of others. The plate used by _George Goodwin_ is one of four of this same design. The shelf of books is also seen in the plate of _G. C. M. Roberts, M.D._, _Thomas Robbins_, and the
[Illustration: MORAL LIBRARY
YALE COLLEGE]
_Elijah F. Reed_, which is a direct reproduction of the _Robbins_. Piles of books, but not the regulation “Book-pile,” are seen in the _Brown_ and _Lewis_ plates, while the only real library interiors are the _Tayloe_ plate, the _Moral Library_ and the _Village Library_ (Farmington, Conn.). John Allan, the old-book lover of New York, used a plate with an open book against an anchor, and the plate of _Edmund Penn_ shows a love for books in the dainty volumes disposed about the frame.
[Illustration: Elijah F. Reed’s]
The patriotism of our book-lovers is shown in very many designs, which use the American flag or the eagle. The thirteen stars also, the motto of the United States, and various private mottoes of a very patriotic nature, are frequently used.
It is noticeable that as compared with the Southern plates there are but few of the Northern examples which give the address or residence of the owner; that is, speaking of the armorial plates, the printed name labels give these particulars quite often.
[Illustration: Jared Ingersoll Esq^{r}.
of New Haven Connecticut.]
The _Jared Ingersoll_ plate gives _New Haven_ as the residence of the owner, while _Rhode Island_ follows the name on the plate of _Samuel Elam_. Other Northern plates which are so engraved are the _Colonel Eustace of New York_, _Comptroller Elliston_ also _of New York_, _Lenox of Philadelphia_, _Atlee of Lancaster_, _John Franklin, Boston, New England_, and _Robert Hale of Beverly_. Of the Southern plates, _Wormeley_, _Waller_, _Tuberville_, _Tazewell_, _Skelton_, _Randolph_, and _Ludwell_
[Illustration: John Walters Gibbs.]
give _Virginia_ as their residence; _Drayton_ names _South Carolina_, the _Dr. Cabell_ plate names _Richmond_, and the _John Walters Gibbs_ names _Charleston, S.C._ The plates used in the West Indies also show the residence quite often. There, too, as well as in the Southern colonies, the profession or position of the owner, as well as the London law school in which he was educated, are often given. Thus we have _William Blanc, Middle Temple, Dominica_; _Chas. Pinfold, LL.D., Governor of Barbadoes_; _Peyton Randolph of the Middle Temple, London_; _Francis Page of the Inner Temple Esqr._; _William Assheton of Gray’s Inn_. In the Northern examples we find _John Gardiner of the Inner Temple_, and _Jonathan Belcher, E Societate Medij Templi_.
[Illustration: PETER MIDDLETON. M.D.]
We note also in running through the List that the occupations most often noted on the book-plates are those of the medical and the legal profession. Barristers, lawyers, and attorneys are often so named, and the initials _M.D._, or the full word _Doctor_, are seen.
The abbreviations of other degrees are found also, and the plates of clergymen are not uncommon.
Several plates remain unnoticed in the following pages, which are probably American, but which, for lack of positive information, it is thought best not to include. Among these is an early Dutch plate which, if it could be accurately traced to its original owner, might prove to be one of the earliest plates used in America.
[Illustration: Harrison Gray Otis.]
It seems that a word is needed in defence of the perfectly legitimate and gentle pursuit of collecting book-plates. A great deal of sarcasm and indignation have found their way into the columns of periodical literature, particularly in England, the especial purpose of which is to trouble the humble collector, and to discredit him in the eyes of the world. He is pointed out as a destroyer of valuable books, as an animal so greedy in the pursuit of his insignificant prey as to ruin elegant bindings that he may secure worthless bits of paper, and as actually so devoid of good sense as to remove such of these as are interesting--for it is reluctantly admitted that some interest does attach to the plates used by certain men of fame in historical annals--from their rightful place within the covers of the very books read and handled by these illustrious owners.
[Illustration: Lieut. E. Trenchard]
Let it be remembered that but a small part of the many books published have a permanent value, and that a book once eagerly sought may outlive its usefulness, and come to have a commercial value of so much a pound as old paper, instead of so much a copy in different styles of binding. Surely, no one can quarrel with the collector who removes the book-plate, found within it, from such a worn-out specimen, even if the removal necessitates the ruin of the cover. But to remove a book-plate does not necessarily mean to ruin the cover; it requires some skill and considerable patience to remove a valuable plate without injury to either itself or the cover upon which it was pasted, but it is done daily. Surely no one can find fault with this--a skilful operation resulting satisfactorily to the plate-collector and to the book-owner.
[Illustration: Samuel Elam.]
Again, no intelligent book-plate collector will separate the plate of a famous man from the book which has been its home for years, and which was once handled and read by its famous owner. Even a worthless book will thus be saved by the collector, which was fit but for the fire or the ash-heap, and which would have gone thither, plate and all, save for his discriminating eye, while a valuable book no one would think of despoiling. Would an intelligent collector, having a book from the library of George Washington, with his plate upon the cover and his autograph in its accustomed place, think of soaking off the plate and cutting out the signature? Not at all; no matter how worthless the book might chance to be, the fact that it was Washington’s is sufficient to insure it from any harm, while the presence of the autograph and the book-plate but adds to the value as establishing beyond peradventure the original ownership.
The book-plate collector is naturally a book-lover. He must not be accused or suspected of crimes against his own kith and kin. He is a harmless and useful specimen of the _genus_ collector, who with assiduity, perseverance, and intelligence seeks to preserve these memorials of past days, which in the rage for indiscriminate collecting were overlooked, and are but now beginning to receive the attention they are worthy of.