More 19th Century Bookplates

My two favourite things

The pile seems endless. As I sit here at stare at coat of arms after coat of arms, I must admit that I did not realize there was so much heraldry in nineteenth century Canada. Morley, Ayearst, and Harrod actually noted in their introduction in Prescott's catalogue that much of the nineteenth century Canadian ex Libris consisted of die sink armorials. Perhaps they were right after all.

These are the type of bookplate I often see sitting in shoe boxes at book fairs. Somewhat abandoned to be bought for a dollar or two each because, frankly, no one has a clue who these people were or what their shields and crests mean. Mottos are proudly displayed in cryptic Latin, a language of sophistication all but lost on most folks today. Thankfully, in Canada at least, the language provides a convenience for most - no need to write things twice in English and French when it could be presented once in Latin.

And behind each bookplate is a story. A library. A person. And as a result I continue to sift through the pile, looking for clues that lets me unlock the biographies of their owners and designers. Unfortunately, most armorials lack a designers initials or mark, and as such, one is left to consult other sources to determine their origin. I've had some luck in looking through advertisers of the period in question.

Below, as promised, are a few mentioned in Prescott that I'm currently researching further. If you anything about the owners of these plates or their designers, please feel free to comment. Otherwise, enjoy, and I'll write more about them once the research has progressed a but further.

Until next time...

Frederic William Cumberland Bookplate

Frederic William Cumberland (1820-1881)
Library and Archives Canada/MIKAN 3214491 

Last winter I started sorting through the rather massive pile of nineteenth century bookplates that were patiently waiting my attention here in the library. I separated out from the rest of the box the many crests and armorial plates that, while full of interest from a heraldic point of view, are often considered unappealing by the general collector who tends to prefer pictorials executed by well-known artists. Armorial plates are therefore often passed over at sales and auctions, however, this is a good thing for those of us who know our history and can spot notable names easily before someone else can google them.

I've included this week an example of an armorial bookplate that I acquired a long time ago for very a small sum. The real joy of collecting these is twofold. First, they present great studies in Canadian heraldry, a field that thanks to the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada continues to enjoy a large following devoted to learning about and increasing our knowledge of this valuable subject. Second, they present great opportunities to learn about Canadian history through biography.

The bookplate to Frederic William Cumberland is a good example of a typical armorial plate that tends to get passed over. Not listed in Franks or Allen, without initials to narrow the name search or easy access to Canadian references foreign dealers tend to let such plates go for very little. Both the heraldry and name seemed familiar to me, however, and a quick check in Prescott's catalogue confirmed my suspicion.

Born in London in 1820, Frederic Cumberland studied engineering, survey, and architecture before emigrating to Canada in 1847 after marrying into an influential Toronto family. He worked as a surveyor laying out the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets and was later the county engineer for York and Peel.

Returning to architecture, Cumberland designed a number of important Toronto landmarks including St. James Cathedral, the Normal and Model Schools of Toronto, York County Court House, Toronto Mechanics Institute (in 1883 this became the Toronto Public Library), the Magentical Observatory, the centre portion of Osgoode Hall, and also University College at the University of Toronto. In addition, he designed several prominent Toronto family homes, including Thomas Ridout, John Ross, and others. Cumberland's own spacious home, Pendarves, was designed and built c.1860.

Period drawing of St. James Cathedral, Toronto

This apparently unused bookplate was intended for a book in Cumberland's private library at Pendarves. Though I haven't investigated yet whether there is any information on the size, scope, or fate of this library I certainly have a number of buildings to revisit on my next trip into Toronto now that I know who designed them. This is perhaps the third joy of collecting bookplates. Having learned something new about Canada's history through biography, I can now go look at these places again and appreciate them in a new light armed with this new knowledge and insight.

Until next time....

Finding and Buying Collections

My most  recent acquisition

I'm always looking for new bookplates to add to my collection, and although my main interest is the research of Canadian bookplates and their designers, I enjoy collecting a wide range of American and British ex libris as well.   As such I'm always happy to consider any offers to buy old collections if you've got one you want to part with.

Buying old collections always brings excitement both in the find and then afterwards during the sort.  This past weekend, for example, I bought an old collection of about 1700 bookplates for a very fair price.  And though so far I've only been able to briefly skim through the boxes, some excellent bookplates have already surfaced.  In addition to a number of seventeenth and eighteen century British and American bookplates, I found ex libris for Charles Dickens, E.F. Hutton, Evelyn Waugh, and other notable figures.  The collection also included a number of ED French plates including a few rarer ones I've been pursuing for some time. There were many great plates I'll have to research further, and needless to say, I can already see what I'll be doing with my free time over the holidays.

Finding large collections like these is becoming harder these days given the hobby's modest appeal, but they do continue to surface from time to time.  Buying such collections, however, can be a bit of a daunting task for some people.  Not everyone has the means or the time to collect, catalogue, and research large collections.  Putting a fair value on such collections is likewise a very difficult task.  Old doesn't necessarily equal expensive, and condition is everything to a serious collector.  I often feel that bookplates are a prime example of one man's trash being another man's treasure.  I'm also wary of anyone selling bookplates who is reluctant to answer a few basic questions about the item.  Caveat emptor definitely applies in this hobby.

Anyway, I'd love to spend more time blogging but I've got some serious sorting and cataloguing to do.  Until next time...

Hoarders, Snobs, and the Endangerment of a Hobby

Given the title of this blog I need a bit more space than usual to cover the rant that follows.  It's a subject, however, that's been on my mind over the past couple of years as I've delved into library and book history, not to mention as I continue my pursuit of Canadian bookplates and the stories of their sellers and owners.

Having come from a long line of antiquarians, dealers, and collectors, I've been exposed to just about every known hobby as well as the characters they attract.  And while every hobby has its ups and downs, nothing endangers the longevity of one's enjoyment of collecting something more than having to deal with two particularly troublesome folks in the collecting business - the hoarder and the snob.

We've all met them in our travels.  The hoarders often like to style themselves as 'acquisitors'; they treat everyone as competition; they're knowledgeable enough of the hobby to be dangerous; they're shameless in their pursuit of new material often using subtle shoving, poor manners, and a lack of bathing as weapons to move others out of their way at shows.  They often derive a guilty pleasure from the feeling that another collector might covet what they've already hoovered into their own basements.  They care little for the objects they possess other than to own them.  They do nothing to enrich their artifacts through research, show no interest in sharing any knowledge of their finds with others unless it makes you jealous of course, and they actively encourage you to give up collecting the same things as they declare a corner on the market.  In essence, they want you to go away.

At the other end of the spectrum are the snobs.  They style themselves as 'experts'; they treat everyone else as idiots; they're knowledgeable enough of the hobby so why aren't people impressed by this?  They're shameless in their disdain for others who apparently are unaware that the said collectible is in fact a type E version only issued in July of said year, not the B version issued in much smaller numbers in February of said year and therefore much rarer (idiot!).  They often derive a guilty pleasure from pointing out things you've missed in the most condescending manner possible.  That said, they usually care little for taking the time to answer questions about their hobby at all, show no interest in getting others excited about it or cultivating new generations of collectors, and actively discourage you from trying to retain your interest in the hobby since you obviously don't know what you're doing anyway. And you're bothering them. Again. Sigh.  In essence, they also want you to go away.

This past week I've run into both of these archetypes.  One guy shoved in next to me at a show and seeing the bookplates I had found, actually tried to outbid me with the dealer right as I was paying for my purchase.  He then announced his claim to first refusal on any other bookplates at that table.  When sending another guy an email asking a question about the provenance of a particular bookplate, I was condescendingly informed that as he was the only "serious" dealer in his entire country of over 300 million people how dare I challenge his opinion and bother him with such trivial queries.  And then these people wonder why everyone thinks their hobby is lame and marked for extinction.

I've had a couple of friends who took up bookplate collecting, only to leave the hobby after their encounters with the hoarder and the snob, and it's a shame really.  Given that even the most organized bookplate societies have only a couple hundred members worldwide at best, if people are discouraged from joining the hobby by such folks or treated with disdain when they show a genuine interest, more bookplates will end up in the bin than in albums.  Worst of all, no one will really care.  Food for thought.  Until next time...

2012 Ottawa Antiquarian Book Fair

Time to break out the debit card!

I stumbled upon this event last year and highly recommend it if you're in the area.  The Ottawa Antiquarian Book Fair is Canada’s oldest book fair. This year it will include over 40,000 items, dating from the 15th century to the present day, displayed for sale by 40 dealers from across Canada and the United States. The fair will be held on Sunday, 4 November, at Tudor Hall, 3750 North Bowesville Rd.  10:30am – 5:30pm Admission: $5.00  Free Parking.

There is a great range of subjects covered at this show, some great book dealers, and obviously something for all manner of interests and budgets.  I am certainly looking forward to what might turn up here.

Have a great Halloween everyone and I'll report back on this event next week!  Until next time...