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Bookplate for Malawian book

June 5, 2012

Who knew that printing bookplates would be such a great way to find out about interesting projects around the world?

We recently received a second order from Richard Hewitt, a customer from the United Kingdom who teaches at the Kamuzu Academy in Malawi. Mr. Hewitt’s first order was for bookplates for his own use. This second order is for bookplates that will be placed in presentation copies of a book by Fr. Claude Boucher about a traditional Malawian dance, Gulu Wamkulu. For a fascinating explanation of this dance performed by select Chewa men, see http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/22afr_uk.htm.

Fr. Boucher is a Canadian missionary and White Father, a popular name for Missionaries of Africa, a Catholic religious order founded by Cardinal Lavigerie in the nineteenth century for missionary activity in Africa and the Middle East. The name “White Fathers” comes from the white habits worn by the early missionaries. Nowadays, just about all new recruits to the White Fathers are Africans themselves. Boucher came to Malawi from Quebec in 1967 and founded the Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art in 1976.

According to the Kungoni Centre website, Fr. Goucher is an initiated member of the Nyau secret society and as such “has been privileged to see and document songs, dances and information that have not previously been revealed to any non-Malawian. This rich cultural heritage is in the process of being lost as Gule Wamkulu continues to be pressured by Western values and urbanization.” Boucher’s book, When Animals Sing and Spirits Dance: Gule Wamkulu: The Great Dance of the Chewa People of Malawi, is due to be published in August, and will be the first book-length study of this traditional Malawian dance. More information will be available at http://www.kasiyamaliro.org/.

The bookplate we will be printing for the book, shown here, is Claude Boucher’s own design. It offers a literal illustration of a Chewa proverb, appropriate to thank those who have helped to fund the book. Malawian villagers support the roof of a traditional village hut by carrying it on their heads. They are helped by ancestral spirits (supernaturally elongated, pale, androgynous), who collaborate with the living in their work. God is depicted in the form of a mask with tribal scarification. Two of his aspects are suggested: Mphambe, the God of lightning; and Chiuta, the God of the rainbow, who serves to unite heaven and earth.

We are pleased to be a small part of this wonderful project supporting an important part of the Malawian culture.

Altering designs

May 1, 2012

Bookplate Ink’s website encourages people to call or write if they don’t see exactly what they want in our pages of designs. When possible, we are happy to make changes to a design to fit the needs (or even whimsy!) of a customer.

Design N100

Author William Landay recently made such a request. Like many other authors, he wanted bookplates with room for him to autograph them for readers. Oftentimes, authors use one of our border designs, such as N100, shown here. This elegant yet bold border, printed on cream colored paper, leaves plenty of room for a comment and signature. We have a non-personalized version of this design, but can also print an author’s name, the title of their book, or even include a logo with our personalized version.

Modified A124 design

But Landay requested changes to our design A124 to fit his needs. A124 is one of our designs with artwork by renowned artist Rockwell Kent, originally printed in the 1950s by the Antioch Bookplate Company. After many requests, we brought this bookplate back into print several years ago. For Landay, we made the artwork much smaller so that he would have room to sign his name and make comments. He requested “With compliments of the author” and his name be printed on the plate.

Another design that has been altered for customers is B217. Introduced by Antioch Bookplate Company in the 1960s, this design was created by Tom Eaglin, using the inspirational quote attributed to Quaker leader William Penn. We have printed this design without the “ex libris” text, which is Latin for “from the library of,” and without any text at all. With text that is vastly different from the original Penn quote, author Jeaniene Frost has used this design to create a bookplate that suits her style and books.

Jeaniene Frost version of B217

Design B217

In Memoriam medical bookplates

February 1, 2012

Bookplate Ink’s design D62

One of the popular uses of bookplates throughout the years has been to designate a book as being donated to a library, school, church, synagogue, university, or other organization, in memory of a loved one. We received just such an order from the sister and brother-in-law of Dr. Robert Leffert, a physician who made a significant contribution to orthopeadic medicine. An article I found online in the Harvard University Gazette states that Dr. Leffert “became a major force in Rehabilitation Medicine and also in the management of upper extremity disorders” while at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was “adored by his patients and his students.”

D-10

> D-9[/caption]

The design Dr. Leffert’s sister and brother-in-law wanted to use was Bookplate Ink’s D62, which shows two surgeons at work. This design was created by woodcut artist Harry Roth, who escaped from Germany just prior to World War II. The Antioch Bookplate Company began offering it in the 1940s. Harry Roth created two other bookplates for Antioch that weren’t quite as popular, D-9 and D-10. He seemed to have a penchant for medicine.

D-10

The D62 design that we usually print has the text “ex libris” included, which means “from the library of.” Dr. Leffert’s sister and brother-in-law asked that this text be changed to “In Memoriam” for this order. As a side note, I appreciate when customers call with questions about changes that can be made to our designs. Even though this can be time-consuming, I’d rather have people ask. We aren’t able to show all the options that are possible with our bookplate designs, and we specialize in personalization.

Dr. Leffert’s bookplates

After the bookplates were shipped, I received a very sweet note from Dr. Leffert’s sister:

I’m writing to thank you for the help and beautiful work on the surgeon’s bookplate in memory of my brother, who was a wonderful surgeon.

We’ve begun pasting these into his books (a very simple job), which will become part of a library for doctors from Partners in Health, who bring their expertise to Haiti.

I think my brother would have loved these plates – and they have made me smile!

We don’t have bookplate designs that are strictly for “In Memoriam” bookplates. Most of our customers find artwork that is appropriate for their use, whether it be a border design or something more elaborate, and request the text of their choosing. This gives the customer more flexibility and more customization.

Bookplates and real books for Christmas

December 6, 2011

This time of year is very busy at Bookplate Ink. We receive many, many orders for bookplates to be given as Christmas gifts. Amidst all the Christmas craziness, many customers take the time to write wonderful e-mails and comments in their orders. I’m convinced that bookplate owners are some of the sweetest people in the world.

Recently a customer named Auban placed an order for two sets of bookplates to be given as gifts at Christmas. In the comment section of the order form, she wrote, “For my mother and my daughter. My mom just found a book with a bookplate in it from her father, who passed away when she was 5. It meant so much to her. I wanted to allow her to share that with my girls.”

This is the type of comment that makes everything else worthwhile. When I picture Auban’s mother finding that bookplate from a father she lost at such a young age, it brings tears to my eyes.

I wrote to Auban that when I started printing bookplates, I had no idea that they would mean so much to so many people. Auban wrote back: “My younger sister passed away last year and I have found books of hers with the bookplates we got for Christmas one year. It has been such a tangible connection to family members we’ve lost recently and long ago.” More tears.

I know many Kindles and Nooks will be given as Christmas presents this year. But nothing beats the beauty and intimacy of a physical book (especially with a bookplate inside!) as a present. I was very encouraged to read an article in the New York Times this past Sunday saying that publishers are adding high quality and decorative touches to book covers and endpapers to encourage the pleasure of owning physical books as opposed to e-books. As I know from this business, there are still plenty of people reading and enjoying real books in their personal library.

The dark side of bookplates

October 5, 2011

Not everyone likes cheerful bookplates. Sure, we have designs that have inspirational verses or pleasing landscapes, but some people prefer bookplates that will ensure their books are returned, even if by threat.

One customer ordered our design A124, which is a rather serene scene by renowned artist Rockwell Kent first printed by the Antioch Bookplate Company in the 1950s, and included a stern reprimand from the Old Testament: “The wicked borrow and do not return. Psalm 37:21”.

Another included this incredibly explicit warning in our border design, B254:

“For him that stealeth a Book from this Library,
let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him.
Let him be struck with Palsy, and all his Members blasted.
Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy
and let there be no sur-cease to his Agony till he sink in Dissolution.
Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not,
and when at last he goeth to his final Punishment,
let the flames of Hell consume him for ever and aye.”

After hearing about these bookplates, my son suggested I start a line of bookplates with a dark and morbid theme. As we’re approaching Halloween, this seems like the perfect time to ponder such ideas. What do you think? Would that be appealing?

Connecting with well-known authors

August 29, 2011

Printing bookplates has allowed me to feel a connection with some well-known authors, politicians and speakers. Okay, I don’t get to talk with them, but I have the fun of knowing that they will be signing bookplates we provide. Just last week we printed bookplates to be signed by one of the U.S. Supreme Court justices. I’m not allowed to say which one, and we never divulge customer information unless given permission, but they were to be placed in books given to attorneys at a conference.

Bookplate Tony Blair signed

Recently, Bookplate Ink printed bookplates that were to be signed by Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain. We were contacted by the Arab-U.S. Relations Council, which was hosting an event in Washington, D.C., at which Mr. Blair was speaking. The bookplates were a simple text-only design, but printed on our cream vellum paper they were quite elegant.

Many authors offer a signed bookplate to readers on their website. One successful author and speaker who does this is Dan Pink. We have printed bookplates for his bestselling book Drive several times, which he makes available at www.danpink.com/bp.

You may have heard about President Obama’s summer reading list, which included Abraham Verghese’s best-selling book, Cutting for Stone. Verghese has ordered our design B252 and seems to be a wonderful, caring and intelligent man. ‎Cutting for Stone was chosen as the selection for NPR’s monthly Book Club in March.

Design B252

Every once in a while, I manage to obtain a signed copy of a book from a customer. The most notable of these was Alan Greenspan’s book The Age of Turbulence. This is a rare occurrence and usually a gift from a company holding an event at which an author is speaking.

Many years ago, we printed bookplates for the late and beloved Tim Russert. I was told Russert asked to have the bookplates brought to his hotel room along with copies of his book Big Russ and Me, where he would get down to the business of signing his name hundreds of times. His family doesn’t know me, but when I see his son Luke on TV reporting the news, I feel proud, as if I watched him grow up in my neighborhood.