BOOKPLATE, an English name for labels of ownership frequently placed on the inside covers of books. The use of bookplates is of some antiquity, and mention has been made of one dated in the middle of the 15th century, but at present the fine bookplates of Bilibaldus Pirckheimer (1470-1530), designed by Albert Diirer. hold the foremost place in point of time. Engraved English book plates are not found of so early a date, but an old folio volume from Henry VIII.'s library, now in the British Mu seum, contains an elaborately emblazoned drawing which formed the bookplate of Cardinal Wolsey, with his arms, sup porters, and cardinal's hat. The earliest English engraved bookplate at present known is that of Sir Nicholas Bacon, father of Lord Chancellor Bacon, which is dated 1574. Samuel Pepys had several bookplates; those with his own portrait .ould not have been engraved before 1685, because he is described therein as Secretary to the Admiralty under Charles II. and James II., but the one with his initials and the crossed anchors was probably engraved as early as 1668.
The styles of design adopted by book collectors for their bookplates have been very diverse. Some of these labels have
contained merely the name of the pos sessor, but the majority are armorial, some are allegorical in design, and others are ornamented with miniature land scapes. Many distinguished artists have condescended to produce bookplates. The name of Albert Diirer has already been mentioned as the designer of Pirckhei mer's two plates—one in which the al legorical and the armorial elements are united, and the other consisting of a large and bold portrait of the once celebrated senator of Nuremberg. Of English en gravers, William Marshall and Robert White may be especially mentioned. Hogarth engraved a bookplate for John Holland, heraldic artist, and another for George Lambert, the scene painter. The earliest bookplates were of large size, as if made especially for folios, but a smaller size soon became general, a size which was used for both large and small books. The fashion of collecting book plates is a very modern one.