WILBUR IV oa5 ITILE L rii y J / i 4 *0 V J> & I ■ WOMEN DESIGNERS OF BOOK-PLATES 2 ..: WOMEN DESIGNERS OF BOOK-PLATES By Wilbur Macey Stone Published for The Triptych By Randolph R. Beam New York : : : 1902 Copyright by Randolph R. Beam i 902 jjjftfc, Gls fY CEN i t.K LIBRARY - To ADELAIDE HELEN PAGE The Younpest ct Woman Designer” 3 . . f ■ 'This is a list of the prints to be found in this book : Frontispiece. Egerton Castle by Mrs. Agnes Castle Amos Bonsall by Mary W. Bonsall Cranston Brenton by Mrs. Eliz. C. Brenton Semper Bonis Artibus by Mrs. Lina Burger Vivien Brown by Minna Brown Mitchell by Mrs. Beulah M. Clute John O. Roe by Margaret Elwood John Jay Farnsworth by Ethel N. Farnsworth Margery Lattimer by May Chatteris Fisher William Neish by Mrs. Georgia F. Gaskin Louise M. Glazier by Louise M. Glazier Lucy H. Booth by Mary F. Hackley The Plastic Club by Elisabeth M. Hallowell Mary K. Wheatland by Olive Lothrop Grover Margarethe Heisser by Margarethe Heisser Martha Scott Anderson by Margarethe Heisser Irene Hardy by Mrs. Annie B. Hooper John Francis Harris by the Kalo Shop Marjorie Curtiss by Mabel Key Florence Levetus by Celia Levetus Florence Cornelia Ellwanger by Mrs. Mary D. Little William Augustus Babcock by Florence Estelle Little Presentation Plate by Mrs. Blanche McM. Mansfield A. Helen Page by Adelaide Helen Page Henry J. Patten by Mary L. Prin divide Frank M. Elliot by Christia M. Reade Eugene Gerald Fassett by Mary M. Reid Walter Dana Swan by Amy Sacker Ernest Olmstead Saltmarsh by Bertha E. Saltmarsh Sarah Marguerite Scribner by S. Marguerite Scribner Frank Tyars by Pamela Colman Smith Joyce Woolmer by Helen Stratton Bhalu and Jackson by Helen Stratton Sarah Bradford Williams by Emma J. Totten Fairfax Henry Wheelan by Mrs. Albertine R. Wheelan Eunice Morgan Schenck bv Grace Wright WOMEN DESIGNERS OF BOOK-PLATES E ver since the birth of Art in the dim past, women have been producers of embroid- eries and the daintier forms of decoration, and in the world of bibli- olatry some of our most cherished examples of old bindings are the embroidered covers done by dainty mediaeval hands. The book-plate is essentially a bit of embroidery or decoration embodying the person- ality of the owner. So it seems fit- ting that the women should have at least some share in its production. Writers on this subject and collectors, have paid scant courtesy to woman as a designer of book-plates, although as an owner and user she has had her full share of attention. This essay is not one of history or criticism but rather of appreciation of the work of the women of to-day in this field of design, although in the last century there were some excellent book-plates made by women. Prom- inent in the richer collections of the present are a couple of designs by Agnes Berry, made in 1793 for Anna Darner of England ; while in France, Louise le Daulceur, Therese Broch- ery, Madame Jourdan and others are known to have signed ex libris. Ger- many also has a few eighteenth cen- tury designs to her credit. The most celebrated woman of the past (and with a past) to do a book- plate is Madame Pompadour who not only designed the little label for her library at Crecy but also etched it. Ordinary and ill-made book-plates are largely in evidence among men designers and we regret to admit that the women who have essayed in this field are also, at times, afflicted with dearth of ideas and weakness of exe- cution, but even the least skilled seem to have had some happy thoughts and to have been able to express them pleasingly. In gathering the material for this little book it has been surprising to note the large number of women who have designed book-plates; some of course in an amateurish and dilettante way but many seriously and with ability. It is always interesting to note the extremes in our pursuits, so, starting at infancy, the credit of being the youngest “woman designer” un- questionably belongs to Miss Ade- laide Page of Boston, who, at the age of four and one-half years, drew for herself a book-plate that is re- freshingly delightful. After impor- tuning her mother, who is also a designer, for a book-plate, until her patience was exhausted, Miss Helen took up the pencil on her own ac- count. The result was reproduced in exact fac-simile and prints of it are to be found among the treasures of many large collections. Miss Mar- guerite Elwood, daughter of an ardent collector of Rochester is perhaps second in point of youth. At the age of twelve she made for herself a plate, punning both her names. This design is well-drawn and is in every way creditable. Miss Elwood has since devoted serious study to draw- ing and there are now some half-dozen book-plates bearing her signature. Very few women have used the engraver's burin or the etcher's needle; they have usually been con- tent to stop with the making of the design. There are, however, a few who have carried their work through to the printing plate. Mrs. Benthall and Miss Helard in England and Miss Little in this country are the only ones in this class that it has been my fortune to find. Mrs. Benthall etches her designs, which are usually pictorial. Several of these are for children. Miss Helard’s are nearly all armorial designs, engraved on copper or steel, and are rich in con- ception and skillfully executed. Miss Little, of Cleveland, has made about a dozen designs some five or six of them being etched by herself. The others are reproduced by photo- process. A number of women who have attained more or less literary celebrity have turned their hands to book- plate designing. Mrs. Agnes Castle, whose novels, in collaboration with her talented husband, have been on the high wave of popularity of late, has made several book-plates. Those designed for her husband are the best known. Mrs. Arthur Gaskin, who has written and illustrated a number of books for children, has made several book-plates in her pleasing style. On this side of the water, Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis Brenton, whose rendering of the Rubaiyat has brought her enduring fame, has done two excellent book-plates, one for herself and one for her husband. The natural love pf women for children shows itself in the subject we are considering. A large pro- portion of the designers in our list have done one or more plates for children. Miss Kate Greenaway is doubtless the best known illustrator who has made children's book-plates. Several of her designs have been re- produced in the various works on book-plates. Miss Fisher of Man- chester and Miss Levetus of Bir- mingham have been particularly happy in book-plates for the nur- sery. Mention must also be made of the designs by Miss Stratton, another English artist, who has made book- plates for two small boys and one for two small dogs. In one of these designs she uses the Mother Goose and Fairyland folk in most graceful style. Miss Levetus has made more plates than any other woman designer that I have been able to find. At last accounts she had reached twenty-five. They are of high merit and many of them have been reproduced in book- plate volumes and periodicals. A panel design by Miss Bonsall, of the Plastic Club of Philadelphia, is commemorative of the famous Arctic expedition of Dr. Kane, in which her father, Amos Bonsall, took part. The design shows their staunch vessel ice-bound in the north. Another design by a Plastic Club member is the one for the Club's library, and was chosen in competition. It is by Miss Hallowell, who has done several other designs of merit. In this country, Mrs. Beulah Mitchell Clute stands at the head for number of designs and also, among a very few, near the top in quality. Mrs. Clute has made about twenty designs of most dainty conception and well-nigh perfectly drawn. An- other Chicago designer, or rather group of designers, is known under the name of the Kalo Shop and is composed of five young women who do a variety of artistic stuff* They have done several book-plate designs of which the stand of corn, for Mr. Harris, is a good example. Chicago seems to have her full share of women designers of book-plates. Miss Mary Reid and Miss Christia Reade have both done excellent work in the city by the lake. Miss Reid draws many of her motifs from the wild flowers and woods, and treats them in a highly decorative manner. One con- ventional design, based on the dande- lion leaf, is especially good. Miss Reade goes to the same inexhaustible source for motifs, her favorite subject being the oak, whose leaves and acorns she has used in a pleasing manner in several plates. The Pacific coast is represented by some interesting designs by Mrs. Wheelan of San Francisco. In New York, Mrs. Annie Hooper, a well-known illustrator and decora- tive designer, has made a few book- plates that are a potent element in raising the general average of women’s work in this field. A short time ago Mrs. Hooper was the prize winner in a book-plate competition insti- tuted by the Buffalo Society of Artists. This design was for the Society’s library and was reproduced in the New York Tribune — an un- usual honor. Miss Amy Sacker of Boston, whose book-cover designs all lovers of dec- oration know and admire, has also made a number of book-plates. The best known is the one for the Loring Reading Room. This shows a fine old ship full of action, and rich in decorative feeling. Miss Sacker’s mediaeval students, in their pictur- esque garments are always interesting. The plate for Mr. Swan pleasingly typifies the owner’s profession. “Widdecombe Fair” by Miss Pa- mela Colman Smith, published in colors some year or more ago, gave a new and delightful sensation to lovers of decorative illustration and intro- duced us to a new personality in the art world. Miss Smith has since done other work of a similar kind and a few book-plates. These latter are bits of thorough impressionism and are very delightful to those of us who like that kind, but must really be thorns to the realist. Miss Totten is doing wonderfully telling work in the simple manner of the Japanese. Her sprays of flowers, almost in silhouette, and her butter- flies and lanterns are most effective and refreshing, and a good foil to the prevailing involved designs. The book-plate is enjoying a well- deserved popularity at present, though doubtless, in true American fashion, it will be overdone; never- theless the range of design is so broad and the manner of treatment so varied, that we can stand a lot of it without tiring. It has been encourag- ing to find so large an interest in book-plate work among the women designers of this country. And while many have done plates in rather an experimental way, they all seem to appreciate the possibilities of the field and the returns in pleasure and profit to those who work it conscientiously. And so almost each month finds new hands and heads experimenting and the older ones gaining a surer balance and firmer touch. CHECK LIST OF WOMEN DESIGNERS A few words of explanation will be of assistance to those using the fol- lowing list. The nationality of the designer is indicated by a letter pre- ceding name, as A for Austria, B for Great Bhtain, C for Canada, F for France, G for Germany, S for United States, Sw for Sweden. Contemporaries have no dates in- dicated. Designers of the past have dates appended. Where the number of plates de- signed by an artist is known it is given in brackets, following name. S Abbot, Mrs. Eleanore Plaisted B Adams, Mrs. H. Isabel (3) B Alday, B Allen, Olive B Amsden, Henriette S Armstrong, Margaret B Armytage, Cecilia (5) S Atwood, Clara E. (5) G Bagge, Bertha (5) S Baillie, Mrs. Grace M. B Balfour, Kathleen F. B Bathurst, Countess Lilias G Becker, Anna (2) B Benthall, Mrs. Annie (6) G Berkham, Emma G Bernhard, Sophie (2) B Berry, Agnes (2). 1793 G Biedermann, Mrs. C. von B Birch, G Bois-Raymond, Lucy du (7) S Bonsall, Mary W. (3) B Bonus, Isabel B Bramley- Moore, Millicent (6) S Brenton, Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis B Brickdale, E. F. (z) S Brown, Minna (2) G Bulow, Mrs. Elizabeth von (6) G Burger, Mrs. Lina B Burgess/Ethel Kate B Byfield, Mary B Castle, Mrs. Agnes (8) S Center, Mrs. Millie Hyde S Chamberlain, Mary E. S Cheney, Mary Moulton G Clason, Luise B Clennell, Beatrice E. S Clute, Mrs. Bulah Mitchell (18) B Cook, Mrs. Jane Elizabeth (5) G Coudenhove, Countess von (2) B Dearmer, Mrs. Mabel (3) G Densinger, Mollie B Dixon, Anna B Dobbin, Ethel M. C Donly, Mrs. Emma Brook S Eddy, Mrs. Mary S Eggleston, Allegra G Elskamp, May S Elwood, Margaret (6) G Engel, Mrs. Amalie (11) B Este, Margaret (6) S Farnsworth, Ethel N. (2) S Farr, Sophia Sword B Fisher, May Chatteris (10) B Florence, Mary Sargent S Fuller, Grace S Gage, Mabel C. B Gaskin, Mrs. Georgia France (6) S Gerow, Grace D. B Glazier, Louise M. G Gotz, Margarethe (3) B Green, Edith Anne (16) B Greenaway, Kate (6) B Grosvernor, Lady Caroline (5) B Grosvernor, Lady Dorothy H. B Grosvernor, Mrs. Thomas S Grover, Olive Lothrop (3) S Hackley, Mary Frances (11) B Hall, Helena S Hollowed, Elisabeth Moore (5) B Hallward, Mrs. Ella E. G. (2) S H eisser, Margarethe E. (8) B Helard, C. (15) G Hirsch, Elli, (4) B Holden, Violet M. (2) S Hooper, Mrs. Annie B. (6) B Hughes, Mrs. Swinnerton (5) B Hunt, Muriel, (2) S Hurlburt, B Jackson, Enid M. G Jacounchikoff, Marie S Johnston, Camille D, E. F Jourdan, Mrs., 1788 S Judson, Mrs. Stiles (2) G Kannengiesser, Mrs. Anna H. (2) S Kaucher, Harriett (8) G Kessler, Anna S Key, Mabel (2) G Kichler, Auguste G Knapp, Maranne G Koerting, Hedwig B Larcombe, Ethel S Lawrence, Margaretta S Lawrence, Mary Say B Levetus, Celia (25) G Lippert, Adele (6) G Lister, Hamel (3) S Little, Florence Estelle (13) S Little, Mrs. Mary Dodds (2) G Lodeman, Hilda (2) S Lundborg, Florence B Macdonald, Frances B Macdonald, Margaret S McDonald, Hope B Mann, Catherine M. S Mansfield, Mrs. Blanche Mc- Manus S Marsh, Mrs. Arthur Richmond B Martyn, Ethel K. (4) G May, Anna (3) B Mayo, Geraldine, Countess of (5) S Mercer, Mrs. Florence Pettee B Milne, Janie S Morse, Kate B Newcome, May (5) S Nosworthy, Mrs. Florence Eng- land G Ochs-Sh!enker, Mrs.Kathinka(4) B Orde, Margaret L. (6) S Ostertag, Blanche G O’Swald, Mrs. Toni (2) G Otolia, Countess Kraszewska S Page, Mrs. Georgia W. (4) S Page, Adelaide Helen S Pease, Bessie C. (4) B Phelps, S. K. B Pitman, Rosie M. M. G Pommell-Deutz, Mrs. Th. von F Pompadour, Madame, 1750 S Prindiville, Mary L. (15) S Raymond, Ruth S Reade, Christia M. (10) G Reichlin-Meldegg, Irene Freiin B Reid, Marion (5) S Reid, Mary M. (9) G Reimers, Mrs. Engel B Richardson, M. B Roberts, Katherine M. G Roderstein, Ottilie S Rouillion, Mrs. Mary B Rush, Olive B Russell, Kate S Sacker, Amy M. (5) S Saltmarsh, Bertha E. (5) B Sandheim, May G Schonberger, Kathe (5) G Schramm, Mrs. Olga (3) A Schreder Marianne (7) S Scribner, Sarah Marguerite (6) Sw Sjoberg, Anne-Charlotte B Skilton, Mary (2) S Smith, Pamela Colman (6) B Spokes, Mrs. Russell B Stratton, Helen (3) G Stuler-Walde, Marie (4) S Totten, Emma J. (8) G Varges, Helene (9) G Versel, Annette (3) F Vivier, Louise du, 1737 S Walker, Mrs. Williston G Wahl, Anna von (7) B Webb, Marie P. B Welsberg, Countess von (2) G Werner, Mrs. W. 1 8th Century S Wesson, Grace Edwards S Wheelan, Mrs. Albertine Ran- dall (9) S Whitehouse, Mrs. Margaret B Whittaker, Gwladys G Willey Elli (5) S Winterbotham, Ruth B Woodward, Alice B. (4) B Worsfold, Maud B. S Wright, Grace Latimer (5) G Wyon, Maria Elizabeth, 18th Century By Mary W. Bon sail By Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis Brenton By Mrs. Lina Burger VIVIENJiBROmi HERlSBOOR Bv Minna Brown f :*• ■ 4 i ' JOHNOROE HIS BOOK- By Margaret El wood JAY *4 raRttSWoRTl 09 Ex-Libris By Ethel N. Farnsworth Bv Mav Chatteris Fisher By Mrs. Georgia France Gaskin By Mary F. Hackley By Elisabeth M. Hallowell m By Margarethe Heisser By Margarethe Heisser By Mrs. Annie B Hooper By the Kalo Shop MARJORIE •CURTISS* By Mabel Key By Celia Levetus By Mrs. Mary Dodds Little Bv Florence Estelle Little Srowntfbttto II ««of 4^japtD-®orft*s* iW-©-C-C*C-cj® ‘f! lit tp i '/f dl I By Mrs. Blanche McManus Mansfield 'fat. Bv Marv L. Prindiville By Mary M. Reid By Amy Sacker By Bertha E, Saltmarsh By Sarah Marguerite Scribner i QR1MSH1LL . FWWK TYAftS . By Pamela Colman Smith e:>c libris '.• ‘.-Helen .vV STRATTON JOYCE WOOLMER By Helen Stratton By Helen Stratton SAfTAK BftADFOKP WILLIAMS By EmmaJ. Totten By Mrs. Albertine Randall Wheelan By Grace Wright Of WOMEN DESIGNERS of BOOK-PLATES there has been printed four hun- dred copies in the month of February, 1902. Numbers i to 100 are on Japanese vellum and numbers toi to 400 are on Enfield deckle-edge paper. This is number ^crC^JLcj- ^590 U_1 THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY THE RECORD BELOW MUST NOT BE ALTERED BY THE BORROWER. JL 9 'OB $ /) f S'- U XT' Xir t4 2?Wt \ 1 v r - 7 1 ^ ' i _3_r/ "l '/«' ‘ 1 i \ -'-’I ill 7 __ J§