The Joy of Collecting Vintage Bookplates

History buffs and collectors would agree—besides the heady scent of old books, there’s nothing quite like a vintage bookplate to take you back in time. Sometimes called an ‘ex libris’ plate, which is Latin for ‘from the books’, a bookplate was mainly used to indicate who the book belonged to, in case it was ever misplaced or stolen. Studies show that bookplates were used way back in Egypt and Europe during the Middle Ages, but back then, their purpose was more practical than ornamental.

Most old-world bookplates only featured the name of the owner, a coat of arms, or a family crest, which artists sometimes inscribed by hand. These simple inscriptions evolved into something more decorative when wealthy families and patrons started commissioning designs from famous artists of the time. Today, bookplates are more artistic and intricate—more like miniature works of art than a simple mark of ownership.