Canadian Bookplates 2012 Wrap Up

It'll be a few more years before my library looks like this!

As another year of the Canadian bookplates blog draws to a close, I took a bit of time this morning to look back through the 2012 posts as well as my bookplate hobby in general.  Like any pastime, there were ebbs and flows throughout the year as time permitted more or less collecting, cataloguing, and research.  Overall, however, I was very pleased with how things went and have derived a great pleasure so far from this pursuit.

As always, if you have questions about bookplates in your collection, or have something you wish to sell or trade, please do not hesitate to get in touch at the email above.  I'm always keen to hear from other collectors as well as those with a general interest in Canadian book culture, ephemera, ex libris, and library history.

I'd like to thank everyone who has visited the blog this year (we squeaked past 40000 views before year's end) and especially those who took time to leave a comment or two.  If you've enjoyed what you've seen so far, please consider becoming a follower of the site or take a moment or two to click on some of the links posted on the right.  Here you'll find a mix of resources and ads, both of which help support the site over the long term.

Coming in 2013

Thinking of some new year's resolutions, my main plan for 2013 is to simply keep the blog healthy with at least 4 posts a month.  Time permitting, I'd like to add more to the other pages on designers, bibliography, and libraries, but I also invite you to contribute anything you think may be of interest to everyone reading this blog.  Just email me your info and I'll edit and post it.  As for book reviews, the offer still stands if you have a publication you'd like to give wider attention to.

Since there hasn't been very many posts concerning ephemera lately I will also endeavour to include this more often in the coming year.  I actually have a good little collection of book and bookplate related ephemera, documents, correspondence, etc., and my first post of the new year will highlight some interesting correspondence I acquired this fall.

My other two main ex libris projects are 1) the design of my own bookplates, and 2) my ongoing research and writing of a new book on Canadian Ex Libris.  Both are progressing well and I expect to have some results to share in the coming year.

I hope everyone has had a safe holiday and has a Happy New Year.  Best wishes for success in 2013.  Until next year....

Ontario Library History

Uxbridge Public Library - late 1900s

Beyond the books and bookplates of private libraries, are those ex libris associated with public libraries.  Now, some collectors won’t bother with the bookplates of public libraries as they consider them not to be “true” ex libris; Canadian bookplates especially tend to be functional rather than artistic.  Usually they're just labels, or worse, lists detailing lending rules instead of displaying interesting scenes, and in many cases they lack the pictorial attractiveness and detail often observed in British and American public library bookplates.  Regardless, personally I like our public library bookplates.  Not only are they very collectible in my opinion, they also provide a tangible material artifact from which more can be learned about how public libraries performed their primary function – lending books.

Hosted by Lorne Bruce

Naturally, as my “addiction” (or affliction as my kinder companions call it) for collecting and researching all things associated with Canadian books and ex Libris continued to evolve, so to did my interest in learning more about the history of Canada’s public libraries.  Digging around for more information on the history of these institutions in my own province, I came across a wonderful website and blog named Libraries Today.  Hosted by Lorne Bruce, this site contains great photographs, capsule histories of public libraries, the biographies of several historical librarians, as well as links to several interesting and important historical primary source documents related to the evolution of libraries in the province of Ontario.

George H. Locke (1870-1937)

Surfing this site I was especially interested to learn more about various librarians such as George H. Locke (1870-1937), who served as the chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library during the early 20^th century and was also at one time president of the American Library Association .  During his presidency, he even organized the ALA’s annual meeting to be held in Toronto (June 1927).

There’s actually a lot of interesting history to uncover in our public libraries, and needless to say, many unique bookplates as well.  In an upcoming blog I’ll look at Canadian public library bookplates in a bit more detail, but for now I simply wanted to share Lorne Bruce’s great website and blog with you.  Be sure to check it out.