Book-Plates

Book-Plates is a book by William John Hardy. The preface says the author has vindicated in his introductory chapter the practice of collecting book-plates from the charge of flagrant immorality. The preface says that, in the face of the existence of a flourishing Ex Libris Society, the importance of the book-plate as an object of collection may almost be taken as axiomatic.

The text says the author's father had a small collection, and that as a boy the author used to help him to add to it. The text says they used to go to a shop in a dingy street, leading off Oxford Street, where the price was one penny a piece, new or old, dated or undated, English or foreign. The text says a book-plate is now preserved in a copy of the Psalms translated into Russian by Francis Skorina, and printed at Wilna about the year 1525. The index has entries, among others, for Carew, Sir Nicholas, Carlyle, Thomas and a Chinese Mandarin figured on a book-plate.