Bookplates

Here's a spiffy book for your perusal: The Art of the Bookplate by James P. Keenan. Picked it up for a buck from the local Barnes and Noble at the bargain book mark down sale. How can you go wrong for a dollar? The book talks about the history of the bookplate in general and then throws in the history of bookplate art. It contains pages and pages of color bookplates with a note about each one. A good number of the bookplate owners were/are famous but the unknown people are represented too. The book made me want to have my own custom bookplates and it even encourages folks to pursue it, saying that it is not necessary "to be a celebrity or even a wealthy person to commission your own personalized ex libris." It takes only a "modest investment" and a "bit of research." What constitutes a modest investment? $100? $200? $500? I even went to theAmerican Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers site to do a bit of research. They give you information about bookplate artists but they say only that it's affordable. Now I realize that affordable doesn't mean $4.95 for the pack of mass market bookplates from the bookstore. And I know that having an artist do custom work for you even if it is for such a small item isn't something you can get for $20. But it would have been nice if somewhere, book or website, someone says bookplates usually cost between $X and $Y. That way I'd know. But you don't have to be a professional to do art and so I'm thinking of designing my own. Whether or not I actually do remains to be seen. If there is anyone out there who has ever had personal bookplates designed for you or designed your own, I'd love to hear from you.