Bookplates,
also known as ex-libris, have since the 15th century been placed
in books to declare ownership. Many artists, some famous such as
William Hogarth, Aubrey Beardsley and John Piper, have designed
bookplates, and many significant people
(e.g. Samuel Pepys and Rudyard Kipling) have used them, but a personal
bookplate has been available to anyone owning a library and wishing
to place in the books a printed design as a mark of possession.
Founded in 1972, The Bookplate Society is the direct descendant
of the world's first such organisation, the Ex Libris Society, 1891-1908,
and its creation and successor, the Bookplate Exchange Club. Our
purpose is to encourage the production, use, collecting, and study
of bookplates. We achieve this through our publications, lectures,
visits to collections, members' auctions, social meetings, and exhibitions.
BRIAN NORTH LEE (1936-2007)
A year has passed since the death of our Past-President, Brian North Lee FSA, who died on Saturday, 24 February 2007 as a
result of bowel cancer. He was 70 on 27 December 2006.
HIS OBITUARY NOTICE OF 5 MARCH 2007
is reproduced here by kind permission of The Independent.
On the FISAE website are some further memories.
Renowned for his knowledge of British bookplates and for his extensive output of
books and articles on the subject over more than thirty-five years, he was pre-eminent in this field, signally eclipsing Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks and
Julian Marshall, both leading collectors over a century ago, as well as George Heath Viner (1866-1955), none of whom wrote much on the subject.
His last book, SCOTTISH BOOKPLATES, written jointly with Sir Ilay Campbell, Bt. was published by the Society in 2007. Further memories of him are given in the September 2007 issue of Bookplate Journal.
BRIAN NORTH LEE'S BOOKPLATES
Bonhams of New Bond Street, London auctioned the residue of Brian Lee's bookplates on 13 November, 2007. So very much of his collection was sold off to favoured friends during his
last years that the (well picked-over) residue and its method of lotting were largely a disappointment to most collectors. An alphabetical sequence of some 4,900 British bookplates realised a total
of £9,600. Collections of Indian and West Indian fetched £1,800 and £2,200 respectively. A unique silver Charles II Bible Plate sold for £1,200, and seventeen albums
of material (including photos and letters) of British and Foreign Royalty achieved £6,200. With other lots, a total of nearly 9,000 bookplates sold for £29,180 (all figures before adding 23.5% buyer's premium).
Some of the bookplates bequeathed by Brian Lee to The Bookplate Society were sold on 1 December, 2007, and more will be on offer in December 2008 when the year will again see a third auction.
RECENT CHANGES TO THIS WEBSITE
A list of items offered for sale to members in the first auction of 2008 is posted in the Members Area of this website. It is also to be found in the December 2007
Newsletter, which has been mailed to members, together with a Directory of Members. A new link on our Resources page is to a recently launched American website
The Collectors Weekly which deals with antique bookplates and carries links to items currently on offer on eBay.
Members will be interested to know that there exists a vibrant market in bookplates on eBay.
Our 2006 book, SCOTTISH BOOKPLATES, is described on the Publications page. In August 2006 an International
Exlibris Congress took place in Switzerland, and it is still worth visiting Benoît Junod's FISAE website , where
details are are also given of past Congresses, and where there is a comprehensive set of links to other ex-libris societies and
websites of interest. Anthony Pincott's illustrated talk entitled Creating an ex-libris database: the example of the Franks Collection at the British Museum
is available at FISAE Talks.Our indefatigable bookplate enthusiast Lewis Jaffé has established a
blog spot page.
Members now have access through this website
to several hundred bookplates for sale (for access details see notice on page 26 of the Directory of Members, or write to the Membership Secretary).
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