Andrew Carnegie Bookplate, circa 1915

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 1915

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

RC.1.2

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Printing (Process)

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)
Tan (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 4 in  (bookplate)

Width: 3 in  (bookplate)

Height: 8 in  (mount)

Width: 6 in  (mount)

Inscriptions

on front: "Let There Be Light" / ANDREW CARNEGIE

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