From the library of

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A while ago, I started finding these really cool stamps and woodcut illustrations that bore the same two words : ex libris. A quick search told me they were bookplates – visual markers of a book’s owner. I loved the idea of marking my most prized books with a small illustration, so I made my own using linoleum blocks.

These labels were originally pasted behind the front cover of the book (often a hardcover one), on the endpaper. ‘Ex libris’ meant ‘From the library of’. And then came the owner’s name. I just decided to go with a simpler, handwritten line using my tag.

Bookplates were part of an old European tradition to say something about the book and yourself. They reflected the status and personality of the book’s owner. At a time, books were hard and expensive to produce, so it made sense to mark them and discourage theft. When more people could afford books, they grew in popularity. And when information culture changed , so they fell.

Today, the descendants of these bookplates are stickers and embossing stamps. I love that I can now quickly stamp these onto my favourite books using just an inkpad and lino block. Of course, that makes me wonder - how do I choose a favourite book?