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Bookplate Ink

Bookplates, or ex libris, are decorative labels, or stickers, to identify book ownership and for authors to sign.

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Personalized bookplates

September 26, 2023

Some weeks are more rewarding than others. This past weekend, I attended a party for a 90-year-old former neighbor and had an unexpected experience.

As many of you already know, Bookplate Ink primarily prints bookplate designs from the Antioch Bookplate Company, founded in 1926 by Ernest Morgan and Walter Kahoe while they were students at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The company later became the Antioch Company as they expanded their offerings to calendars, journals, etc.

Bookplate Ink, while still a part of the Yellow Springs News, our local newspaper, worked alongside the Antioch Company for many years, personalizing their bookplates. When the Antioch Company stopped printing bookplates and later, closed, Bookplate Ink, now its own company, acquired most of their designs so they would still be available to customers.

At the party I attended, I met a woman from Yellow Springs named Jan. As we chatted, I told her about my business, Bookplate Ink, and she responded that she worked for the Antioch Bookplate Company years ago. I asked what she did there, to which she replied — sheepishly — that she used to paste bookplates into their catalogs. I told her that my business still has some of these catalogs and I’d love to show them to her. Later, I slipped away from the party and brought back two of the catalogs, both from the 1950s.

This was a magical moment. I was taken aback by how surprised and happy Jan was to see these catalogs. She was looking through them and mentioned that she still remembers the bookplates her mother had. When I asked which design it was, she said it had a tree. I pointed out the design shown on the right page in the photo above, which she recognized it as her mother’s bookplates. Her eyes teared up and she paused while she remembered her mom and the significance of her bookplates.

That bookplate uses artwork created by Robert Whitmore, a Yellow Springs artist who created many wonderful bookplate designs for Antioch Bookplate Company in the early days. We are still printing a version of the bookplate shown here, design B252, one of our most popular. Robert Whitmore’s artwork is special to me as I’m friends with his son, Jon Whitmore, who still lives in Yellow Springs on what had been his dad’s property. And I love having a small part in the history of bookplates and their meaning in people’s lives. Also amazing and fun for me, personally, is recognizing some of the names printed on the bookplates in these catalogs, as many of the descendants still live in our small village.

Two days later, Bookplate Ink received a very special testimonial from a longtime customer, George Pilcher. George has ordered several bookplate designs over the years, beginning in 2012. This is what he wrote after receiving his latest order:
I have used Antioch Bookplates (now printed by Bookplate Ink) for over 65 years, and have received compliments from friends and fellow readers for all of those years. (I have many different styles, but my favorite has always been B253 – BOOKS BY OPEN WINDOW WITH EX LIBRIS TEXT), which I first began using in the mid-1950s.) My personal library (which has spilled, over the years, from the actual library room to the sitting room, the living room, the family room, and the loft, with other volumes scattered among the various bedrooms) comprises several thousand volumes, and they are all “plated by Antioch.” The owners of Bookplate Ink did readers everywhere a great service when they took over the Antioch catalogue, and their products are, if anything, even finer and higher-quality than those from the old Antioch Press, founded in 1926. It is absolutely wonderful that the owners of Bookplate Ink have chosen to make and sell products of the highest quality at an affordable price. In an age of “throwaway,” it is great to know that these splendid bookplates will be in my equally splendid book collection for as long as the books last. My hope is that many future generations will read books from my collection, and will be pleased to see the artistic statement of Antioch and the commitment to excellent workmanship of Bookplate Ink, when they open each volume.

Needless to say, this message made my day. Not only was George very complimentary to Bookplate Ink, but he so aptly describes his love of books and the significance of bookplates. George has ordered several designs, including the one designed for chemists by Dutch woodcut artist, Thijs Mauve chemist, M604, shown at the right. George requested this printed in brown ink. But he says his favorite is still B253, shown above.

https://bookplateink.com/19344-2/

A loving project

June 28, 2022

More than a year and a half ago — which now seems in the distant past — we had an order requested for bookplates for a wonderful and loving project: a book area for children at the Child Study of Center of Yale School of Medicine, in honor of the beloved Director of Finance and Administration there, Karen Muth, who was losing her long battle with cancer. Karen was able to help choose the design she wanted before she passed. As her friend Jean Herzog, who placed the order, wrote, “books will be chosen by the faculty and staff for children and families who are dealing with childhood cancer. Karen dealt with her own cancer for more than eight years and was very touched that her friends and family chose to remember her this way.”

Jean wrote to me recently to let me know that Karen’s Korner was finally opened, on May 6, 2022, after some delays due to the pandemic. This wonderful book haven includes rocking chairs and a bookshelf with a variety of children’s books, each with a bookplate dedicated to Karen Muth. You can read more about it at their website.

I was touched that Jean shared this with me. These are the bookplate orders that give so much meaning to what we do. Bookplates in memory of a loved one are treasured tributes.

Authors dealing with the coronavirus

April 30, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has required everyone, including businesses, to adapt and innovate. How can you serve your customers when you can’t be near them? How do you promote your business? And if you’re an artist or writer, how do you still connect with your audience?

Authors have had to cancel book tours and signings since the pandemic occurred. And, of course, libraries and bookstores are closed, so books are being purchased online.

For years, however, authors and publishers have been using bookplates to send to readers, either as a promotional item from their website, or to give to people in person. What could be easier than signing bookplates in advance and having them ready at book signings?

One of our longtime customers is an author and speaker. Jill Tietjen, who co-authored Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America, used bookplates for years for speaking engagements throughout the country. She signed the bookplates in advance and added a personal note when her book was purchased.
 
 
While in-person signings have now been canceled, more and more authors and publishers are using bookplates to continue to stay in touch with their readers. We have had several orders from loyal customer W.W. Norton & Company — a well-known independent and employee-owned publishing house — for their various authors. W.W. Norton has two of its own designs that Bookplate Ink prints. During this time of working from home we are of course, able to ship directly to the authors.
 
 
 
 
 
New York Times Bestselling author and former U.S. Navy Seal Jack Carr, who wrote Savage Son, True Believer and The Terminal List, recently re-ordered bookplates for True Believer. He sells the signed bookplates on his website at jackcarrusa.com and sends 100% of the profits to veteran focused foundations. This is a wonderful idea to connect with readers while supporting a great cause! He even has on his website these photos of a signed bookplate in his book and himself signing the plates.
 
 
Grove Atlantic, another well-known independent literary publisher, ordered some of our non-personalized border designs when they needed bookplates quickly for promotions for their authors. The one shown here, design N100, can be ordered both personalized and non-personalized. This art deco design is one of our most popular border designs. We have several more border designs suitable for signings by authors and speakers at bookplateink.com.
 
If you are an author — whether new or established — or a publishing company, we can help you! Feel free to call at 937-319-0067 or toll-free, 866-483-3830; or email info@bookplateink.com with questions or comments.

How does a year go by?

October 23, 2018

It’s troubling to see that I haven’t updated this bookplate blog in a year, but some exciting things have happened during that time.

After years of wanting to have a video about bookplates, we finally have one! The video shows many examples of both personalized and non-personalized bookplates and how to apply them in your books. It also shows examples of bookplates for children and bookplates for authors, who often use them to promote their books. If you haven’t already watched it on our home page, www. bookplateink.com, check it out on YouTube! We’d love you to share the link with your friends, by email, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever.

We’re also excited to have our bookplates now for sale at the Library of Congress gift shop and at their online store. There is a very nicely done Holiday Catalog on the site with the bookplates shown there also. There are some bookplates sold on their site that are not available from us as a non-personalized plate yet. Look for more on our site in the future!

 

 

 

Many Ways to Use Bookplates

October 3, 2017

The traditional use of bookplates, begun in the 15th century, is to identify the owner of a book. Bookplates, also known as ex libris, are usually decorative, with artwork that is meaningful to the book owner. Often they show the family coat of arms or some particular area of interest to the owner. Many well-known figures have used bookplates and many well-known artists have created them over the years, but they are available for anyone to use.

The Antioch Bookplate Company, in its early days, promoted the use of bookplates for ordinary folk, as people could order one of its many designs — often called universal designs — that are available to the public. No need to hire an artist to create a design specifically for you, although that is always an option. Many well-known artists, such as Lynd Ward, Rockwell Kent, and Robert Whitmore, created artwork for Antioch bookplates.

The Antioch Company closed several years ago, but Bookplate Ink continues to print their popular designs, both personalized and non-personalized. Many of our customers are individuals ordering for their home libraries, but it is noteworthy how many interesting uses people have for bookplates.

Memorial Bookplates: Many bookplates are placed in books being donated to a library or school in memory of someone, and are often books from their own collection. Sometimes, however, a collection of new books is donated in memory of a loved one, co-worker or teacher. One of our customers donates books to a nearby nature center in memory of her dear daughter, who died much too young. Another customer has requested bookplates in memory of her book club members. And many bookplates are in books given in memory of a favorite teacher or librarian.

University Libraries: Many of the bookplates we print are shipped to universities, either for their main library or a departmental library. Some of these are to designate a particular collection, or ownership by a university department. Some bookplates are sold at college bookstores, with the logo for the school.

Kickstarter Campaigns: Who said bookplates aren’t part of the modern world? Bookplate Ink has printed many bookplates to be given as a reward for donating to a Kickstarter or other online campaign. These bookplates are usually signed by the author/and or illustrator who is the recipient of the funding. Many of these have been for comics and graphic novels.

Authors: Bookplates provide a convenient way for authors to reach out to fans with an autograph, when shipping a book or a signing in person aren’t possible. Author Bernard Cornwell has been using bookplates in this way for years. He has a significant fan base in Brazil and recently had his usual bookplate printed in Portuguese. Maggie Stiefvater sends bookplates with her own beautiful artwork, as shown below, to fans in the United Kingdom when she can’t go there on tour.

Gifts: Of course, one of the best uses for bookplates is as a present to your favorite reader. Grandparents and parents often order non-personalized bookplates as a stuffing stuffer at Christmas. Bookplates personalized with a name make a special gift for the holidays or a birthday. Many people are thrilled to find the same design they used as a child still available for them to give to their own children.

Sometimes You Just Have to Bite the Bullet

June 15, 2017

Over the years, we’ve received many compliments on our website, bookplateink.com. Customers have liked the color scheme, layout, and large selection of designs. However, the website was badly in need of updating, as it was in an outdated platform and not mobile-friendly. We are very pleased to announce that the site is now new and updated, though we’ve kept the same look as much as possible. The process was long and laborious, but rewarding.

More and more people are looking at websites on their tablets and smart phones, so bookplateink.com is now mobile friendly. This also helps us to be found in Google searches. You can feel comfortable knowing that your ordering will be simple and secure whether it’s from your computer, tablet or phone.

The shipping section of our website was no longer accurate and didn’t give our customers any choices. Now, you can choose from a variety of U.S. mail or UPS shipping options. Please keep in mind that US priority mail is often faster than UPS ground, but UPS has better tracking.

Our testimonial page has been updated to include images of the bookplates ordered by the customer offering the testimonial. Customers can also submit their own testimonial online, from a form provided on the right-hand side of the page. Look at the page to see a few of the wide varieties of bookplates our customers have ordered.

The designs on our new site are the same, but we are now showing the black ink designs with a cream colored background, to better represent their look when printed on cream colored paper.

We have always printed bookplates with custom artwork, but now that artwork can be uploaded right on the site, while you place your order.

We hope that these and other changes will help you to enjoy browsing our bookplate selection. Remember, bookplates are a unique gift for your favorite teachers, friends and relatives. We also provide bookplates for memorial or honorary book donations, for hymnals and prayer books in churches, synagogues, mosques, and retreat facilities, and for libraries of all sizes.  Don’t forget to order some for your own books!

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