Bookplates: Does Anybody Still Sign Their Books?
So, I'm currently reading George Washington: A Life in Books, by Kevin Hayes, and already I have questions.
The first couple of chapters talk about what it meant in the 18th century to own books, let alone a personal library, and how people would inscribe each book they owned. They might have only signed their name, recorded the date they received/purchased the book, or like Washington's father, included where the book was purchased and exactly how much they paid for it.
Some people even made a joke out of it:
This practice of bookplating (i.e. - writing or attaching a bookplate into a book) actually dates back to ancient Egypt, and it makes sense, considering how valuable the materials needed to create a book or other documentation were at the time. In Washington's day, many books would have whole pages taken up by the signatures of the different people who'd owned the book over the years.
I remember my mom encouraging me to scrawl my own name on the inside covers of my books as a kid, more to prevent them from getting left at a friend's house than anything else, I think. My grandmother, while she didn't own too many books, would stick the return-address labels she used for Christmas cards on the back of each one. When I asked her why, I remember her looking at me as if the answer should have been obvious. She put her name on her books because...that's just what you did.
When did the idea that we should, as a general rule, bookplate our personal literary collections start to fall off? Even in places similar to where I grew up, (where people will literally monogram anything, and I mean anything) I still don't see many names or details in the books that I borrow. I'm sure the production of cheaper printing materials, and later on the popularity of ebooks, had a lot to do with it. But is there another factor that I'm not seeing? Are we able to so easily replace most books, either physically or electronically, that marking our ownership of them isn't necessary anymore?
I'm not saying there aren't book enthusiasts out there who still inscribe their names or paste labels into the books they own. Hell, you can find some seriously cute bookplates on sites like Etsy. I'm more curious as to how many people still practice bookplating versus those who don't.
What about you, Writing Desk Readers? Did you grow up with the understanding that you should always personalize the books you own, or was this something you never really saw outside of the library?
The first couple of chapters talk about what it meant in the 18th century to own books, let alone a personal library, and how people would inscribe each book they owned. They might have only signed their name, recorded the date they received/purchased the book, or like Washington's father, included where the book was purchased and exactly how much they paid for it.
Some people even made a joke out of it:
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| I think I need to put this in my own books! (Excerpt from George Washington: A Life in Books) |
This practice of bookplating (i.e. - writing or attaching a bookplate into a book) actually dates back to ancient Egypt, and it makes sense, considering how valuable the materials needed to create a book or other documentation were at the time. In Washington's day, many books would have whole pages taken up by the signatures of the different people who'd owned the book over the years.
 |
| A replica of George Washington's personal bookplate. Sold by Mt. Vernon gift shop. |
When did the idea that we should, as a general rule, bookplate our personal literary collections start to fall off? Even in places similar to where I grew up, (where people will literally monogram anything, and I mean anything) I still don't see many names or details in the books that I borrow. I'm sure the production of cheaper printing materials, and later on the popularity of ebooks, had a lot to do with it. But is there another factor that I'm not seeing? Are we able to so easily replace most books, either physically or electronically, that marking our ownership of them isn't necessary anymore?
I'm not saying there aren't book enthusiasts out there who still inscribe their names or paste labels into the books they own. Hell, you can find some seriously cute bookplates on sites like Etsy. I'm more curious as to how many people still practice bookplating versus those who don't.
What about you, Writing Desk Readers? Did you grow up with the understanding that you should always personalize the books you own, or was this something you never really saw outside of the library?
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