Bookplate of Samuel Farmar Jarvis, circa 1830

Summary

Bookplates show ownership, but they can also tell us more. Often pasted on the inside of a book's front cover or endpaper, these printed labels contain the owner's name and sometimes the words "ex-libris" (Latin for "from the library of"). Coats of arms, crests, other decorative images, poems, mottoes, and even font type provide insight into the beliefs, passions, and interests of the book's owner.

Bookplates show ownership, but they can also tell us more. Often pasted on the inside of a book's front cover or endpaper, these printed labels contain the owner's name and sometimes the words "ex-libris" (Latin for "from the library of"). Coats of arms, crests, other decorative images, poems, mottoes, and even font type provide insight into the beliefs, passions, and interests of the book's owner.

Artifact

Bookplate

Date Made

circa 1830

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

66.125.29

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Printing (Process)
Engraving (Printing process)

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 4.25 in  (bookplate)

Width: 3.125 in  (bookplate)

Inscriptions

on front: HORA E SEMPRE [time and always] / SOLA SALUS SERVIRE DEO [salvation in serving God] / Samuel Farmar Jarvis D.D.

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