Part 2

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.

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.

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

_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.

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.

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_

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_.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It is, however, to be admitted that at first glance, the general reader who has not developed a special liking for the things of the past in history, art, or biography, may see no especial interest in book-plates. But let him examine a collection of good plates with their intelligent owner, who can point out to him the facts worthy of note; let him once understand that celebrated artists like Albrecht Durer, Jost Amman, William Hogarth, William Marshall, George Vertue, Bewick, Bartolozzi, and even Raphael Morghen were willing to devote time and taste to the designing or engraving of the book-plate; let him handle some of their work, and reflect upon the effort the master considered so small a design worthy of; let him see the plates of some of the noted names in history, art, letters, medicine, the sciences, and the professions; let him take in his hands the plates of William Penn, the friend of the Indian and benefactor of his race, of Laurence Sterne, of David Garrick, of Horace Walpole, of Samuel Rogers, of Charles Dickens, or of George Washington, of John Adams, and Charles Carroll, signers of the Declaration; let him see a plate engraved by Paul Revere whose services in the Revolution he has known of from his schooldays;--let him see these and scores more of similar interest, and he cannot fail to respond to the enthusiasm of their owner. But indeed it is a pursuit, the delights of which are discernible to those only who bring to it the capacity for such pleasures.

NAME-LABELS AND MOTTOES.

handling of books, with a warning of the sad result of declining Wisdom’s guidance, or with an invitation to enjoy the beauties of literature and to share the benefits of careful reading. In addition to these mere typographical adjuncts an opportunity is offered for the display of those more decorative garnishments which have led to the development of the handsomer styles of plates.

_Alexander Stedman’s: Thomas Thaxter’s, 1791: William W. Potter’s Book: Aaron Woolworth’s, Ex Dono Rev. S. Buell, D.D._ These plates use the possessive case, are embellished with borders of ornamental type, and supply some further information by showing the date of their being used, or by naming the giver of the volumes. Other styles of expressing book-ownership are afforded by the following: _Nicolas Pike His Book 1768_: _Hannah Adams, Medfield 179-_: _The Property of John Clap, Roxbury 1791_: _Davidis Dickinson Liber, A.D. 1796_: _Lieut. E. Trenchard, U. S. Navy_: _Simeon Baldwin, Owner_: _Ex Libris I. G. Thomas_: _Library T. W. Curtis, No._: _Belonging to the Library of Thomas Forrest Betton, Germantown Pa._: _The Property of John Weld native of Pomfret, Conn. Resident of Pomfret, Bo’t of Mr. James Steele of Hartford, January 12, 1796_: _W. Lewis, Ejus Liber_: _Johann Christoph Kunze, Prediger in Philadelphia_: _Emmanuel Jones e Coll; Gul; et Ma: 1756_.

These old type-set labels with their quaint borders of ornamental type,--scrolls, flourishes, stars, vines, and even grammatical signs,--are usually found to be printed on good white handmade paper, which was seldom trimmed with care; occasionally a tinted paper is found,--yellow more often than any other, but sometimes a blue or green; these served the less pretentious of our ancestors in lieu of the coats-of-arms and family mottoes of those of higher lineage, and are found in quantities throughout the New England and Middle States: even farther south they are not uncommon, but are not so numerous.

In making up these ornamental borders the type was usually set in the form of a parallelogram, occasionally in a square, oval, circle, or diamond, and seldom in fanciful shapes. The most ambitious plate of this kind which has come under my observation is that which once graced the books of Mary McGinley; this is a rather large plate, and the type is set in the form of an urn, within the lines of which are given the motto and the owner’s name.

A step in advance of these wholly typographical examples are those which employ a woodcut border to surround the name, and instances can be given of such a border enclosing the name printed from type; festoons of flowers or of cord, and draperies of cloth, were also used as a simple setting for the owner’s name. In this connection mention may be made of the work of T. Sparrow, an obscure engraver of Maryland; no heraldic or pictorial examples of his workmanship have been identified, and he probably confined himself to the simple woodcut designs of which but a small number are known. Always using a border of floriated scrolls, he never omitted an original contrivance which is the characteristic mark of his work,--a group of thirteen stars surrounded often by a wreath. This is always found in a prominent place, and is an indication of his patriotism as well as that of the owner of the plate.

It must not be supposed that the heraldic book-plate was an outgrowth or development of the name-label: not at all; they were contemporaneous and were both used in England long before they were here.

Coming now to the subject of mottoes, we find a wide field to travel over, many languages to read, many quotations to recognize, with hints and warnings, and even threatenings, by the score, from jealous book-lovers. Mottoes readily fall into two classes: those which are chosen by the owner for some personal reason, and those which are family mottoes, and which are used without thought because they are a family inheritance, or with a commendable pride in such legacies from an honorable ancestry. Latin is the language most often used probably, though English is a strong rival, while German, French, Greek, and even Hebrew and Welsh are also found upon our book-plates. Sentiments opposing the habit of book-borrowing are of frequent occurrence, and in some instances are of such severity as to leave no doubt of their effectiveness. For brevity and pointedness the following example can hardly be exceeded:--

_This book was bought and paid for by_ _D. C. Colesworthy._ _Borrowing neighbors are recommended_ _to supply themselves in the same manner._ _Price seventy-five cents._

On the book-plate of _D. W. Jayne_ the following verse from the Bible is used:--

_Go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. Matt. Chap. xxv. ver. 9._

Verses from Holy Writ are quite frequently used on plates, and the style of expression found in the Psalms and Proverbs is borrowed as adding an authoritative emphasis to the words of caution and advice,--

_The wicked borrow, and returneth not: do thou not like unto them._

_Return what thou borroweth with the most sacred punctuality, and withhold it not._

On the plate of a book-lover in Charleston, S.C.,--

_And ye shall keep me until the fourteenth day. And it shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this book. Send me away unto my master. Ex. xii. 6: Jer. li. 63: Gen. xxiv. 54._

Every one has suffered from book-borrowers, even from school-day times, when the rude doggerel,--

_Steal not this book for fear of shame,_ _For here you see the owner’s name_,

or its variant,

_Steal not this book for fear of strife,_ _For its owner carries a huge jack-knife_,

was printed in coarse letters across the cover of the books most likely to go astray. How irritating it is to find the very volume one needs at the moment, missing from its accustomed place on the shelf; if anything is lacking to complete the torment of the discovery, let it be impossible to find out who has taken the desired volume, or to get any clew as to when it went or where!

_Private Library of J. N. Candee Cole, This book is not loaned. Matt. xxv. 9._

_Read not books alone: but men, and be careful to read thyself. The property of John Lambert, South Reading._

_To Borrowers of Books._ YOU _remember, my friend, I freely comply’d With the favour you asked me, and fully relied On a favour from you, which, tho’ promised, I find, As it hasn’t been granted, is out of your mind, To return in due time what I’ve wanted to see, The Book, which ’tis long since you borrow’d of me. Another I now with reluctance implore, ’Tis only to ask that you borrow no more._

_Stolen from J. W. Houx_,

_Book-keeping taught in three words, Never lend them._

The would-be borrower who finds these sentiments in the book he was about to ask for will scarcely be encouraged to do so, and for directness they are exceeded by only one example, in which the owner’s name is followed by the simple declaration, _He does not lend books_. The motto on the plate of the late _George Ticknor_--_Suum cuique, To every man his own_--was also calculated to discourage the borrower.

But some people do lend books, and have them returned too,--in good second-hand condition. And so it comes about that the proper use of books is made the subject of another class of mottoes.

_My Friend! Should you this book peruse,_ _Please to protect it from abuse:_ _Nor soil, nor stain, nor mark its page,_ _Nor give it premature old age:_ _And, when it has effected all,_ _Please to return it ere I call._

The following verse is common property and is found on several plates:--

_If thou art borrowed by a friend,_ _Right welcome shall he be_ _To read, to study, not to lend,_ _And to return to me._

_Not that imparted learning doth_ _Diminish learning’s store,_ _But books, I find, if often lent,_ _Return to me no more._

_Read slowly,_ _Pause frequently,_ _Think seriously,_ _Return duly with the corners of the leaves not turned down._

_Neither blemish this book, nor the leaves double down,_ _Nor lend it to each idle friend in the town:_ _Return it when read,--or if lost please supply_ _Another, as good to the mind and the eye._ _With right and with reason you need but be friends_ _And each book in my study your pleasure attends._

_If through respect or love I lend_ _This book unto my worthy friend,_ _He must not soil, abuse, nor tear,_ _But read with diligence and care;_ _And when its contents you have learned,_ _Remember, it must be_ RETURNED.

On the plate of _Samuel W. Francis_ appear the following lines:--

_Any one may borrow,_ _But a gentleman returns._

* * * * *

_The property_ _of_ _Thomas C. Cowan._

_Borrower,_ _read, mark, and_ AVOID _the former part_ _of_ _Psalm xxxvii. 21_.

* * * * *

IF _you borrow, freely use it,_ _Take great care and don’t abuse it:_ _Read, but neither lose nor lend it,_ _Then unto the owner send it_.

_Never open a book farther than to bring both sides of the cover on to the same plane. Never lend a borrowed book, but return it as soon as you are through with it, so that the owner may not be deprived of its use. You may think this a strange request, but I find that although many of my friends are poor arithmeticians, they are nearly all of them good book-keepers._

In strong contrast to all the preceding are those mottoes of generous souls who find no pleasure in withholding their treasures, but who wish to have it understood that they are for the use of all; not very many are bold enough to thus advertise their willingness to lend, but a few do so, and generally by the use of the Latin, _Sibi et amicis_, or _et amicorum_.

Sentiments in praise of books and reading are not uncommon, and quotations from classic writers both in prose and poetry do good service on book-plates. Pope’s well-known lines--

_A little learning is a dangerous thing,_ _Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring;_ _Where shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,_ _But drinking largely sobers us again._

are found on an old American plate.

On a recent New York plate,--

_Far more seemly were it for thee to have thy Study full of Books than thy purse full of money. Lilly._

On a Maine plate,--

_Who learns and learns but does not what he learns,_ _Is one who plows and plows but never sows._

* * * * *

_Weigh well each thought, each sentence freely scan,_ _In Reason’s balance try the works of man._ _Be bias’d not by those who praise or blame,_ _Nor, Servile, Yield opinion to a name._

On a recent Boston plate,--

_Un bon livre est un bon ami._

On a recent Western plate,--

_A jolly goode booke,_ _Whereon to looke,_ _Is better to me than golde._

On a recent Washington plate,--

_A trusty villain, sir, that very oft when I am dull with care and melancholy lightens my humour._

The mottoes on the plates of those who have achieved distinction have a peculiar interest, especially when chosen by the owners themselves. The plate of _Henry W. Longfellow_ bears the following line:--

_Non clamor sed amor_,

which is from an unknown author and is found in the following verse:--

_Non vox sed votum,_ _Non chordas sed cor,_ _Non clamor sed amor,_ _Sonat in aure Dei._

_Not voice but vow,_ _Not harp-string, but heart-string,_ _Not loudness but love,_ _Sound in the ear of God._

The motto of _George Washington_,--_Exitus acta probat_, is not given in the accepted lists as the family motto of his ancestors, but it may have been such. The meaning of it has brought out criticism recently because of its Jesuitical sound,--“_The end shows the deed_.” But this may also be taken as a patriotic utterance in view of the part of the illustrious owner of this plate in the Revolution.

On the plate of _William Penn_ we see a motto most fitting for the character he sustained, _Dum clavum rectum teneam_--“_While I hold to glory, let me hold to right_.” In the plate the third word is omitted, as the engraver found the motto too long for the space reserved, and through some

blunder the _r_ in _clarum_ is changed to a _v_, which makes no sense at all.