Ex Libris and Bookplates

The collection of ex-libris (or bookplates) is becoming increasingly popular with an estimated 10,000 collectors world wide! There are almost 50 international associations of bookplate collectors as well as a vast number of magazines and books published on the subject.

Whilst many collectors have chosen bookplates as a means of studying the historical, artistic and even cultural changes of the last 500 years, there are also many collectors whose primary motivation is purely artistic - the collection of bookplates gives art lovers the chance to build their own collection of miniature, personalized art-prints.

Some people collect the work of a particular artist such as Rockwell Kent who produced specially commissioned, numbered and signed editions of bookplates which were never actually pasted into books.

This lens is an introduction to this fascinating subject.