What is exlibris? Modern history of the bookmark

25.01.2021

Bookplate (from Latin ex libris - from books) is a small artistically designed label indicating that a book belongs to a certain person or library. Usually the ex-libris was pasted on the inside of the top cover of the binding.

All bookplates are monuments of their time, and their study is very important. It allows us to trace the fate of private libraries, find out their composition and place in the culture of Russia.

The first Russian ex-libris, drawn by hand, belongs to Dosifey, hegumen of the Solovetsky library. It is uncomplicated: a large letter C, inside of which there is an inscription: "Priest Monk Dositheus." At that time, there were few libraries, and there were no prerequisites for the development of bookplates.

The printed book sign appeared in Russia only at the beginning of the 18th century. At first, it was also a stamp, but soon plot bookplates appeared. A drawing and a short motto characterized the interests of the library owner.

The rapid growth of book publishing, book trade with European countries led to the creation of a large number of personal libraries. Very large for that time, well-chosen book collections were the associates of Peter I: D.M. Golitsyn, Ya.V. Bruce, A.A. Matveev. These were enlightened figures of the Petrine era. It was on their books that the first printed bookplates in Russia appeared - miniature woodcuts.

The library of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1665-1737) - a full member of the Supreme Privy Council - was at that time the largest and consisted of about 6,000 volumes. It was kept in his family estate - the famous village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow. On the books of his collection there is a font ex-libris in Latin: "Ex Bibliotheca Archecellina" - "From the Library of Arkhangelsk". This sign was made at the beginning of the 18th century.

Count Yakov Vilimovich Bruce (1670-1735) - Field Marshal, Senator, Berg and Manufactory Collegium President, participant in campaigns, organizer of the Navigation School in Moscow, one of the creators of Russian artillery - was the son of a native of Scotland, was born in Moscow, received an excellent education, was the academic secretary of Peter the Great. In the battle of Poltava he commanded artillery and was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. For outstanding services, he was granted the title of count, and the engraved book sign depicts a coat of arms surrounded by a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, on which we read the words; For Faith and Loyalty.

The library of J. Bruce consisted of 1500 volumes and had an encyclopedic character. It includes books on the natural sciences, military art, philosophy, history, and medicine. According to the will, the entire library was transferred to the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1785, and the first engraved book sign in Russia was pasted on the books, representing a complex heraldic composition, characteristic of most of the armorial bookplates of the 18th century.

It was at this time that book-collecting flourished in Russia. The whole of Europe knows the excellent book collections of Russian bibliophiles - A.K. Razumovsky, F.G. Golitsyna, N.P. Buturlina, N.P. Rumyantsev and others. Collecting books was considered the most important patriotic cause. Count Rumyantsev, for example, bequeathed his huge library (about 300,000 volumes and more than 700 manuscripts) to the people "for the benefit of the Fatherland and good education." It formed the basis of the book fund of the famous Rumyantsev Public Library.

In the 19th century, monograms, type labels and stamps replaced the emblematic bookmarks.

The monogram ex-libris (from the Polish "Wezel" - "knot") is the intertwined initial letters of the owner's first and last name. Such, for example, is the sign of Prince Viktor Nikolayevich Gagarin (1844-1912), in which the owner's initials are intertwined in a rather complex ornament, topped with a princely crown.

The change in the social composition of library owners contributed to the emergence of a large number of type book signs. They indicated only the name, patronymic and surname of the owner, sometimes even without the words "Ex libris". Such bookplates marked books in the libraries of writers N.S. Leskova, A.P. Chekhov, Count A.K. Tolstoy and others. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy had a modest sign in the form of a ring with the text "Library of Yasnaya Polyana". On books from the collection of V.Ya. Bryusov - an imprint of the stamp "Valery Bryusov".

The most common type of book signs is the plot ex-libris. It depicts everyday and genre scenes, elements of architectural structures, interior view libraries, individual books and objects.

The first Russian plot ex-libris was a book sign, created more than 200 years ago by the famous engraver of that time G.I. Skorodumov (1755-1792) for the library of the State Chancellor of Russia Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (1747-1799). It depicts a tree intertwined with a garland of flowers, and in the center of the composition is engraved in a beautiful font the text with the title and surname of the owner.

More than a hundred years ago, artists paid little attention to the subject ex-libris. But at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, artists began to work on it, united around the magazine "World of Art" - A.N. Benois, L.S. Bakst, I.Ya. Bilibin, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, B.M. Kustodiev, E.E. Lansere, D.I. Mitrokhin, G.I. Narbut, K.A. Somov, SV. Chekhonin and others. They created many highly artistic ex-libris stories.

In the 1920s, amazing bookplates were created in woodcuts by V.A. Favorsky, A.I. Kravchenko, N.I. Piskareva, N.P. Dmitrovsky. In the late 50s - early 60s. bookplates of the most famous woodcuts of our time appeared: N. Kalita, A. Kalashnikov, D. Bisti.

But how many bookplates have been created in the entire history of their development? About a million book signs are known in the world. More than a hundred thousand of them were created in Russia.

You open the book and see a small picture on the inside of the cover. it bookplate(ex libris) - the personal owner's mark of the owner of the book. It not only confirms the owner's rights to this book, but is also something more than just a security mark. It's like a piece of the owner's inner world, transferred to the book. From the drawing of an ex-libris, you can tell a lot about its owner - what kind of person he is, what he thinks about, what he is interested in. Even after many years, the ex-libris and the book will keep this information for many generations of the family.

Previously, bookplates had a purely protective function. The first bookplates were inscriptions on handwritten books made by their owners. This inscription confirmed who was the owner of the book, and was called the "owner's inscription": "This is the book of the priest Rodion Sidorov's son, sinful and unworthy"(XVI century). Wanting to make a donation "for the atonement of sins", the owners of books sometimes donated them to the church and indicated on the book the purpose of their donation. Such a record was called a "contribution record" and was usually placed on the first page of the manuscript, which indicated the date and year of the donation, the name of the church, the name of the donor and the purpose of the contribution.
“Summer 7124 April on the 1st day put this book, which is said by the Apostle, in the house of God to the resurrection of Christ, the pious and Christ-loving servant of God Vasily Yaroshevich Zenkevich, a tradesman and inhabitant of Romanov with his wife Evdokia Zenkevicheva, for the remission of their sins and into eternal life. Amen."

Who Vasily Zenkevich was is now unknown, but his very name has lived for several centuries, thanks to such an original bookplate on the donated book. What a powerful mark on the pages of history left a simple man in the street! I wonder who from now famous people can boast that their name has survived so many generations?

The author of the very first Russian drawn bookplate is also known. This is a certain hegumen Dositheus, who in the 15th century founded a library at the Solovetsky Monastery. On some books of this library, he drew by hand his ex-libris - a round, almost closed letter "C", inside which the continuation of the owner's name - "Priest Monk Dositheus" was written out in a complex beautiful ligature.

The first printed ex-libris in Russia appeared in the early 18th century, thanks to the famous Ivan Fedorov, a Russian pioneer printer. At first, books were decorated only with armorial bookplates, but later beautiful plot drawings appeared - as a rule, with a short motto characterizing the owner of the library.

From about that time, with the light hand of Peter I, who laid the foundation for the wide distribution of secular publications, bookplates become an integral part of private libraries. The drawing of an ex-libris becomes a subject of heated discussion and becomes almost as important as a personal coat of arms. He gains publicity.

As time has shown, the library owners were absolutely right in paying such careful attention to the ex-libris. Their books have survived many generations and now, having reached our days, they can tell a lot about the culture and custom of the time of their creation, about the personality of their owners. It is easy to trace the continuity of generations by ex-libris – a tradition was born next to the ex-libris of the previous owner of the book to leave your book mark.

Now bookplates are not only faithful guardians of books, but also collectibles that can tell a lot about the culture of a given era and trace the fate of private libraries. They have become an independent genre of graphics, with their own peculiarities and nuances.

Do you want to leave your mark on history and keep your name in the memory of many generations of descendants? Then you definitely need an ex-libris! And its development must be approached in the most careful way. This is the face of your library. Just imagine, after all, in fact, an ex-libris print is an imprint in history. How will you appear to posterity? Considering the bookplate drawing, what will your great-great-great...grandchildren think of you in a few generations?

Creation and production of bookplates

Our Workshop employs wonderful graphic artists who can create amazing little masterpieces. It is not an easy task to reflect the huge inner world person in the subject miniature bookplate. We have been doing this for many years. Each ex-libris created and made in our workshop is individual… and very beautiful. However, you can see for yourself by viewing samples of our work :)

Imagine what a pleasure it is to look at a bizarre ex-libris drawing and realize that this THING is one of a kind! And it's made especially for you.

When deciding to immortalize yourself in history, think also about your friends and acquaintances. There is hardly a gift more refined and original. This is not a typical item, issued in hundreds of thousands of copies, it is a unique item created specifically for a particular person. It's a thing for life.

Wanting to stand out, people spend a lot of money on expensive trinkets, expensive wine, expensive souvenirs. But in the end, all these gifts turn out to be partly dumped in a drawer, partly re-gifted to someone else. And of course, hardly anyone will remember the giver of the fifth bottle of brandy or that leather-bound diary over there.

Bookplate is a gift that will be remembered for a long time. And you can't override it :-)

It looks undoubtedly expensive and stylish, and at the same time it is completely devoid of banality. He's interesting. Intriguing. Unusual. And most importantly - this gift without words will show your attention and care for the person to whom you give it.

In addition to its undeniable aesthetic value, bookplates are extremely useful thing. Remember how many CDs your friends “played”? How many books from your library ended up with friends? Now they are unlikely to forget to return your book to you!

The world is becoming more and more computerized. Electronic signature, paperless office, electronic texts on the screen of a pocket computer... In 20-30 years, books will become a rarity. And books, like good wine, only become more valuable with age. Save your library for your kids!

How to order and buy an ex-libris?

You can not think of what to depict on the ex-libris? The inner world is so big, and the picture is so small... That is the beauty of the ex-libris, that in a small picture you can reflect the very best, that which is the basis, essence, core of the soul and personality. This is a reason to ask yourself the question: Who am I? What am I dreaming about? Where am I going? Now think about what image could reflect your essence. Call us and ask for advice - together we will develop the idea of \u200b\u200bdrawing.

If you want to buy an ex-libris and present it as a gift, but you think that you don’t know the person very well, you can look at albums with samples of our artists’ work and choose some interesting but neutral topic. Believe me, even the simplest bookplate drawing can transform any library.

Great gift option - monogram bookplate, which contains a beautiful plexus of the initials of the future owner - a monogram or monogram. The uniqueness of this thing is undeniable, its originality is guaranteed to delight the future owner. Moreover, such an ex-libris can be the first step towards creating a personal style - after all, a monogram or monogram depicted in an ex-libris can be used in thousands of different ways! The monogram can be embroidered on tablecloths, linen and clothes, engraved on cufflinks, lighters, glasses and dishes, carved on wood, cast in plaster, and even made into jewelry.

Call us and we will be happy to create for you a wonderful bookplate that you will use for many years.

We love our job :)

1 Ex libris

"From books", bookplate.

The name of a book sign pasted on the inside of the front cover of a binding or book cover and containing the name of the owner of the book, sometimes also an allegorical drawing, motto, etc.

The last sailor left Sevastopol... The city was on fire. It seemed that the famous Sevastopol Maritime Library, the oldest in the country, had perished forever. The library, to which Admiral Lazarev and Leo Tolstoy donated books... But a surprising thing: after the war, parcels began to come to the library more and more often. From all over the Union and even from abroad, readers sent back once borrowed books with a label pasted on the back of the cover! a snake wrapped around an anchor, the words "Sevastopol officer's library" enclosed in an oval rim, and above all this - a frigate proudly carrying sails. Familiar, honorary bookplate! (Ex-libris - the compass of the book (Izvestia, October 9, 1974).)

Bookplates, these leaflets with engravings or drawings, can remind interesting pages of history, acquaint you with the life and customs of people, and even invite you on a long journey. "Ex-libris" is a word of Latin origin and in exact translation means "from books". Bookplates are created for both personal and public libraries. Usually the plots of the drawings are connected with the nature of the book collection, the world of the bibliophile's hobbies - By the way, it is now that the first printed ex-libris is 500 years old. The researchers proved that it was created between 1470 and 1480: a woodcut that has survived to this day accompanied the books of a certain Hans Knabensbvrg, nicknamed Igler (Hedgehog). And at the beginning of the 16th century, bookplates were already made by the great Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. The first Russian ex-libris found on the books of the Solovetsky Monastery dates back almost five centuries. Masters of different times paid tribute to this type of graphics, such as Hans Holbein and Lucas Cranach, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, Mikhail Vrubel and Nicholas Roerich, Vladimir Favorsky... (Country named ex libris (Izvestia, 13.VII 1976).)

2 Ex libris

3 depromo

4 "From books"

Books

Series "Ex Libris" (set of 38 books), . The "Ex Libris" series of the St. Petersburg book publishing house "Symposium" (or "Symposium") includes works by classics of foreign literature of the 20th century ...

What is exlibris?

Bookplate (from Latin ex libris - from books) is a small artistically designed label indicating that a book belongs to a particular person or library. Usually the ex-libris was pasted on the inside of the top cover of the binding.
All bookplates are monuments of their time, and their study is very important. It allows us to trace the fate of private libraries, find out their composition and place in the culture of Russia.
The homeland of the ex-libris is Germany. The author of one of the first bookplates was the great artist Albrecht Dürer. The most common plot of the first
the ex-libris had the coat of arms of the owner of the library.
The first Russian ex-libris, drawn by hand, belongs to Dosifey, hegumen of the Solovetsky library. It is uncomplicated: a large letter C, inside of which there is an inscription: "Priest Monk Dositheus." At that time, there were few libraries, and there were no prerequisites for the development of bookplates.
The printed book sign appeared in Russia only at the beginning of the 18th century.
At first, it was also a stamp, but soon plot bookplates appeared. A drawing and a short motto characterized the interests of the library owner.
The rapid growth of book publishing, book trade with European countries led to the creation of a large number of personal libraries. Companions of Peter I had very large for that time, well-selected book collections: D-M. Golitsyn, Ya.V. Bruce, A.A. Matveev. These were enlightened figures of the Petrine era. It was on their books that the first printed bookplates in Russia appeared - miniature woodcuts.

The library of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1665-1737) - a full member of the Supreme Privy Council - was at that time the largest and consisted of about 6,000 volumes. She was kept in his ro-
dova estate - the famous village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow. On the books of his collection there is a font ex-libris in Latin: "Ex Bibliotheca Archecellina" - "From the library of Arkhangelsk". This sign was made at the beginning of the 18th century.
Count Yakov Vilimovich Bruce (1670-1735) - Field Marshal, Senator, President of the Berg and Manufacture Board, participant in campaigns, organizer of the Navigation School in Moscow, one of the creators of Russian artillery - was the son of a native of Scotland, was born in Moscow , received an excellent education, was the academic secretary of Peter the Great. In the battle of Poltava he commanded artillery and was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. For outstanding services, he was granted the title of count, and the engraved bookmark depicts a coat of arms surrounded by a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, on which we read the words: "For faith and fidelity."
The library of J. Bruce consisted of 1500 volumes and had an encyclopedic character. It includes books on the natural sciences, military art, philosophy, history, and medicine. According to the will, the entire library entered the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1735, and the first engraved bookmark in Russia was pasted on the books, representing a complex
heraldic composition, characteristic of most of the armorial bookplates of the 18th century.
It was at this time that book-collecting flourished in Russia. The whole of Europe knows the excellent book collections of Russian bibliophiles - A.K. Razumovsky, F.G. Golitsyna, N.P. Buturlina, N.P. Rumyantsev and others. Collecting books was considered the most important patriotic cause. Count Rumyantsev, for example, bequeathed his huge library (about 300,000 volumes and more than 700 manuscripts) to the people "for the benefit of the Fatherland and good education." It formed the basis of the book fund of the famous Rumyantsev Public Library.
In the 19th century, monograms, type labels and stamps replaced the emblematic bookmarks.
The monogram ex-libris (from the Polish "Wezel" - "knot") is the intertwined initial letters of the owner's first and last name. Such, for example, is the sign of Prince Viktor Nikolayevich Gagarin (1844-1912), in which the owner's initials are intertwined in a rather complex ornament, topped with a princely crown.
The change in the social composition of library owners contributed to the emergence of a large number of type book signs. They were indicated
only the name, patronymic and surname of the owner, sometimes even without the words "Ex libris". Such bookplates marked books in the libraries of writers N.S. Leskova, A.P. Chekhov, Count A.K. Tolstoy and others. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy had a modest sign in the form of a ring with the text "Library of Yasnaya Polyana". On books from the collection of V.Ya. Bryusov - an imprint of the stamp "Valery Bryusov".
The most common type of book signs is the plot ex-libris. It depicts everyday and genre scenes, elements of architectural structures, the interior of libraries, individual books and objects.
The first Russian plot ex-libris was a book sign, created more than 200 years ago by the famous engraver of that time G.I. Skorodumov (1755-1792) for the library of the State Chancellor of Russia Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (1747-1799).
It depicts a tree intertwined with a garland of flowers, and in the center of the composition is engraved in a beautiful font the text with the title and surname of the owner.
More than a hundred years ago, artists paid little attention to the subject ex-libris. But at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, artists began to work on it, united around the journal "World of Art" - A.N. Benois, L.S. Bakst, I.Ya. Bilibin,
M.V. Dobuzhinsky, B.M. Kustodiev,
HER. Lansere, D.I. Mitrokhin, G.I. Narbut, K.A. Somov, SV. Chekhonin and others. They created many highly artistic ex-libris stories.
In the 1920s, amazing bookplates were created in woodcuts by V.A. Favorsky, A.I. Kravchenko,
N.I. Piskareva, N.P. Dmitrovsky. Late 50s - early 60s. bookplates of the most famous woodcuts of our time appeared: N. Kalita, A. Kalashnikov, D. Bisti.
But how many bookplates have been created in the entire history of their development? About a million book signs are known in the world. More than a hundred thousand of them were created in Russia.

A true book lover knows what ex libris is (“ex libris” – “from books”).

This Latin word called a book sign with text, monogram or picture. So the owner of the book designated its belonging to his library. Bookplates appeared at the same time as handwritten books.

For a long time, books were treated as a source of wisdom, they were valued, they were afraid to lose them. That is why the masters left original miniature pictures in the manuscript - “insert notes”.For example, in ancient Egypt, a small faience tablet with the name of the owner was attached to the papyri. In medieval Europe, a portrait of the owner with a motto, or a vignette with the name of the owner, or his family coat of arms was placed right on the book page.

In the Renaissance, a book sign was glued from the inside to the cover of the binding, sometimes prints were made directly on the sheet of the book using a signet ring. In the 18th century, printed bookplates were of two types - stamp and type. Armorial bookplates had different ornaments and heraldic symbols. Font book signs depicted complex monograms of two or three letters with crowns above them.

In the 19th century, there were several ways of making bookplates: engraved on copper or wood, lithographic, print with a cliche from a printing alloy. Type ex-libris-labels were widely used. They usually indicated only the name, patronymic and surname of the owner, sometimes additional information was indicated: cabinet, shelf, department number, place.

In the 20th century, the most preferred topics were revolutionary struggle, science, children's reading. Rubber stamps were used. Stamps with the text "Book Depository", "Library No." are still placed on the books of state and public libraries. Stamps were placed everywhere: from the title pages to the margins of the engravings in the book.

Bookmarks were made by artists, lovers of engraving. Gradually, the ex-libris became an element of the book's decoration, and bibliophiles and collectors became interested in it. The artists A. Durer, P. Picasso, V. Vasnetsov, K. Somov, V. Favorsky, writers Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, astronauts and composers, scientists and doctors, athletes and actors had bookmarks.

The creators of home libraries often acquire signs for themselves on individual orders that reflect their needs and aspirations, the nature of the books they collect. The text part of the bookplate consists of the words “From the library...”, “Book...”, “From the collection of books...” indicating the name and surname of the owner. The emblem of the owner of the book is different from the publisher's mark, the label of the bookbinding workshop, or from the inscription made by the hand of the librarian.

To emphasize the significance of the owner of the mark, to convey the features of the inner world of a person, his connection with society, history, nature, world culture, they used subject-thematic bookplates, painted complex signs, where there were not only figures, but also entire scenes, landscapes, decorated with a pattern of leaves and flowers. Among all the items were books, ships, steering wheels, anchors, dragons, angels, trophies, animals, birds, children, musical instruments, weapons, trees, plants. The bookplate could have the shape of a circle, square, rhombus, oval, rectangle, triangle, contain a background, color.

If you want to have your own ex-libris, then consider how it will be: hand-drawn, stenciled, stamped. Do not forget that it may be related to the content of those books that you have, with the nature of your activities and hobbies.

Small-sized graphic book signs turn into whole novels in content, in which nothing can be accidental, because by a book sign it is easy to find out the circle of interests of the owner of the book, addictions, inner world, worldview. Libraries, tastes, hobbies, professional interests of the owners are diverse. Among the various plots, the portrait ex-libris stands out, which has a silhouette image of the library owner.

Thought out to the smallest detail, the ex-libris deliver aesthetic joy and organically fit into the book. Such bookplates become a kind of element of book design.

Some parents, in order to instill in their children love and respect for the book, to inspire respect for the printed word, to develop artistic taste, came up with children's bookplates. They take us to a fantastic world of fairy tales, travel and adventure.

If you want to make an ex-libris yourself, you can use linoleum.It is soft and easy to work with, which is why bookplates are widely used in this technique.But it is best to contact a special master with your order, who will first make a sketch on paper with a pencil, combining the elements of the book sign into one whole - the symbol and initials you have chosen, will develop the entire sign in detail: the composition of the drawing, its size, shape, font.

Artists use different production techniques. For example, woodcut. It's called woodcut. For this method of engraving, hardwoods are taken: beech, palm, boxwood, pear, apple, birch.

More complex technique- engraving on metal. The drawing is made on steel or copper boards, ink is rubbed into the resulting grooves, and printed under pressure on wet paper.

The etching technique is widely known: the lines of the drawing are not cut on the metal, but are etched with acid, the copper plate is covered with melted wax and resin varnish. On the hardened varnish, the artist draws with a special needle inserted into the pen. Under strong pressure, an engraving is printed from the plate on moistened paper.

Now ex-libris in the form of a print of a cliché made of rubber are common. Modern equipment allows you to perform such a cliché so High Quality that you can see the smallest details of the most intricate pattern.

The art of the book sign is a unique form of modern printed graphics, its miniature and aphoristic branch, a phenomenon of the culture of reading and collecting, because sometimes an ex-libris is of greater value than the book containing it.

Literature

1. Bludova E. Artist and book. Treasure of my book - bookplate / Young artist. - 1997. - No. 7. - P.44-45.

2. Ivensky S.S. Masters of Russian ex-libris. - L .: Artist of the RSFSR, 1973.

3. Ivensky S. Artist and book. Bookplate / Young artist. - 1981. - No. 7. - S. 46-47.

4. Minaev E.M., Fortinsky S.P. Bookplate. - M.: Book, 1970.