If you have ever opened an old book and found a decorated label pasted inside the cover bearing a name, a coat of arms or an elegant design, you have encountered a bookplate. They are small, often beautiful marks of ownership with a history stretching back over 500 years. This guide covers what bookplates are, their fascinating history and the modern ways to create one for your own library.
What is a Bookplate?
A bookplate (also written as book plate or bookplate) is a label, stamp or embossed mark placed inside a book to identify its owner. The term traditionally refers to a paper label pasted into the book, though today it is used broadly to include rubber stamp impressions and embossed marks as well. The Latin phrase Ex Libris, meaning "from the books of," typically precedes the owner's name on a bookplate.
The History of the Bookplate
The earliest known bookplates date from the 1470s in Germany, where the first printing presses made books available to a growing class of wealthy collectors. These early bookplates were woodblock prints depicting heraldic devices, often quite elaborate.
By the 16th century, bookplates had spread across Europe. Prominent collectors commissioned artists to design their personal bookplates. The German artist Hans Holbein the Younger designed bookplates for wealthy patrons. Over the following centuries, bookplate design evolved with broader artistic movements: Baroque, Rococo, Art Nouveau and Art Deco bookplates are all distinct and collectible today.
The 19th century saw a bookplate collecting boom in both Europe and America. Collectors traded bookplates as art objects independent of the books that contained them. Organizations dedicated to bookplate collecting and scholarship still exist in many countries today.
Bookplate Styles Through History
Armorial Bookplates
The oldest tradition: a heraldic design featuring a family coat of arms. Predominantly used by aristocratic and noble families in the 15th through 18th centuries. Still collected and occasionally commissioned today.
Pictorial Bookplates
Scenic or allegorical images that reflect the owner's interests, profession or taste. Common from the 18th century onwards. Often beautifully engraved or etched.
Decorative Bookplates
Ornamental designs, often featuring borders, floral motifs or geometric patterns, with the owner's name in a central cartouche. Popular during the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau periods.
Pictorial Library Labels
Simple designs incorporating a bookshelf, open book or reading scene with the owner's name. Practical and widely used in the 20th century.
Modern Bookplates: From Paper Labels to Stamps
Traditional bookplates were printed on paper and glued into the book. Today, most readers who want to mark their books use one of three approaches:
Self-Inking Book Stamps
The most practical modern equivalent. A personalized self-inking book stamp delivers a clean impression on the inside page in seconds. No paper, no glue, no drying time. For a large library, a stamp is dramatically faster than pasting bookplates. Our designs include classic Ex Libris circular formats, illustrated styles and minimalist text-only options.
Book Embossers
A personalized book embosser creates a raised impression on the page with no ink. The result is the most elegant modern equivalent of the historical engraved bookplate: permanent, beautiful and tactile. Available in over 160 designs.
Wood Handle Stamps
For those who prefer control over ink color, wood handle book stamps let you choose your stamping ink and change it as desired. The traditional stamping experience with a contemporary personalized design.
Designing Your Own Bookplate
When ordering a personalized book stamp or embosser, you are in effect designing a modern bookplate. A few principles to guide your design choices:
- Choose a design that reflects something genuine about you as a reader: your favorite genre, a meaningful symbol or simply a style that feels like you
- Keep the text legible at the stamp's size. Ornate scripts can be beautiful but must remain readable
- Consider how the design will look both as an ink impression and, if choosing an embosser, as a raised mark without color
- Think about longevity. A bookplate is a mark you will use for decades
Bookplates as Gifts
A personalized book stamp or embosser is one of the most thoughtful gifts you can give a reader. It connects them to a 500-year tradition of book ownership while providing something genuinely useful. Browse our best selling book stamps and embossers or send a gift card so they can choose their own design.