There is a very curious plate, which probably dates in the first quarter of the present century, in which the profession of the owner is apparent at a glance. This is the plate of J. Wilson, a professor of phrenology, who, to make sure that his exceedingly obvious design should not be misunderstood, has recorded his occupation along with his name. The plate pictures some half-dozen skulls tumbled in a little group upon the ground. The expression of the fleshless facial bones is grotesque to a degree. The various bumps are labelled, and it may be supposed that these skulls represented here are samples of the best specimens the professor examined in his whole experience!
The original copper of the book-plate of Thomas Carlyle is on view at the South Kensington Museum, London, and many prints of it are about. There is a letter from Carlyle himself to H. T. Wake, the designer of the plate, which, dated 24 November, 1853, expresses the great writer's pleasure in the design by the following words : -
"The new plate is exquisitely finished and very excellent as an arabesque. Nevertheless we will stand by the first one, and on the whole if you have it at the right size, and know a good engraver, I will request you to have it -engraved for me without further delay. We are going out of town in a week till about New Year's Day. I hope you may have it ready about that time."
By this and the word of Mr. Wake himself, it appears that there were three or four designs submitted before the one chosen was finally decided upon. This is somewhat suggestive of a gravestone in form as well as in the style of the lettering. It bears two dolphin's heads for crest, with the motto Humilitate on a ribbon above, while the name of the owner occupies the carved base.
Investigation has not yet revealed that Sir Walter Scott used a book-plate; but there are reasons to hope that such a delightful bit may yet be numbered among the memorabilia of this loved writer, and if it really is discovered, it may possibly have upon it the Scott motto, *The moon renews her horns, the meaning of which is not clear unless explained, but upon explanation becomes of no little interest. This, it seems, was one of the sayings of the Lowland borderers, and was a hint to the laird that the larder needed replenishing. It was when the horns of the moon became visible that those marauding expeditions which make border history so interesting to read were undertaken, and the speaking of the words was as effective as the placing of the spurs within the larder!
Among modern plates of special interest the striking plate of Rudyard Kipling, designed by his father, holds an important place. Its principal feature is an enormous elephant, reminding one of " ould obstructionist" himself, as he fills completely the framework of the design. Seated within the howdah, easily reclines one who may be supposed to be the interpreter of the ways of the jungle himself, while upon the massive head of the willing beast sits his guide, the rear occupied by the servant holding the hubble-bubble which the occupant of the howdah smokes with apparent comfort as he reads his little volume. John Couch Adams, who shares with Leverrier the honor of having discovered the planet Neptune, used a book-plate of a very simple and pleasing design. It is of especial interest perhaps, be- cause it presents a fairly accurate portrait of this distinguished scholar. The portrait is enclosed within a circle, while around it lie some stars and there is by them a branch of the victor's palm. Abundant honors were heaped upon Professor Adams when his rich discovery was known to the world, and when he died, in 1892, a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey, although he was buried in Cambridge. Sir J. E. Millais has designed just one bookplate, and that was for Mr. Christopher Sykes, and represents the legend of the saint of that name with the arms of the Sykes family in a conspicuous place. It is a plate of beauty and yet of utter simplicity.
Thackeray designed one book-plate; this was for his friend Edward Fitzgerald, and in which the likeness is supposed to be that of Mrs. Brookfield. Mr. Edmund Gosse has given out the following note from Fitzgerald relative to the plate: -
"Done by Thackeray one day in Coram Street in 1842. All wrong on her feet, so he said, - I can see him now. - E. F. G."
The device itself is simple, being that of an angel holding before her a shield of arms. As to the feet, one would say that they were tiny and in the picture are pressed very closely together, so that the figure looks in danger of tipping over.
The collector looks with peculiar interest upon the book-plate which bears the name The Hon. J. B. Leicester Warren. This is the plate of the late Lord de Tabley, who, before he succeeded in the later years of his life to the title of de Tabley, had endeared himself to many friends by the unassuming gentleness and the marked sweetness of his character, and whose work as a poet was of such merit as to have won the regard of the critics best suited to judge its value. To book-plate collectors he will always be known as the first student who considered these little bits of engraving worthy of a treatise. His Guide to the Study of Book-plates will ever remain as an enduring monument. Written in the most scholarly manner, with every evidence of leisure and of ripe judgment, with indications of a poetical mind and of one well stored with the knowledge which marks the man of culture, the book has no small merit surely as a literary production. His system of classifying and naming plates is likely to endure for all time, and as his book grows rarer and rarer, the more will it be prized by its owners. His plate was designed by his friend William Bell Scott, and it most fitly indicates the tastes of its owner: The shelves of books for his love of the printed page, the coin drawers to hold his medals and coins, the branch of the bramble, - for Lord de Tabley was fond of botany and had made the genus Rubus a special study, - the sketch of the dock-weed, - for the Rumex was again one of his favorites, - and the manuscript verses to indicate his position as a poet. The plate was a surprise to its owner, whose modesty, had he been allowed to have his say, would very probably never have permitted so many personal suggestions to creep in. The plate is one of real beauty, and when the collector can accompany it with some autograph letters from its lamented owner, he may well feel proud of his possessions.
The plate of Mr. Gladstone was a gift to him from Lord Northbourne in 1889, on the occasion of the celebration of the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, and the dates 23d, July, 1839, and 23d, July, 1889, appear in the design. This date, if memory serves, is not the exact one of the wedding, but is a few days later, the reason for which I do not know. The original form of the name, " Gledstane," is played upon in this design in having kites (gleds) and stones introduced. The helmet is made rather prominent to emphasize the fact that Mr. Gladstone remains a commoner. The plate is handsome and successful as a bit of allegorical work, but it hardly seems to be the style of plate that its owner would have chosen himself.
Austin Dobson uses a plate which was originally a tail-piece in his volume of verses, entitled, At the Sign of the Lyre. Alfred Parsons designed it, and it represents the inn sign with the lyre painted on it, and the initials A. D.
The plate of Mr. Edmund Gosse represents a gentleman of the seventeenth century walking in his garden, and reading a little volume of verses. This graceful little picture is from the pencil of Edwin A. Abbey. Laurence Alma-Tadema employs a large plate, circular in form, and in which the pictorial arts find representation. A large monogram fills the foreground. This was designed by Elmsly Inglis.
The book-plate of Sir Henry Irving is a curious affair printed in black and red, and which seems to represent a dragon bearing aloft a scroll with the name of the owner upon it. By the way, Sir Henry has said something about the plate in a note which is to the following effect: -
" I think that it was designed by Bernard Partridge, though there is nothing of that bird in the composition. The occult meaning - so far as I know there is none; but Partridge may have intended his ' dragon' to be a sort of glorified sandwich man with the Lyceum play-bill!" Frederick Locker-Lampson, the lamented poet, used a pleasing design which was made by Walter Crane, who has devised some plates of great beauty. For some of the children of the Locker family, Kate Greenaway has made some fetching plates.
The plate of Sir Walter Besant shows the interior of the study of the scholar, with rows of books about, the hour-glass upon the writing table, and the globe at one side.
Anthony Trollope, a novelist who gave the world some delightful stories, used a very simple bookplate of the plain armorial style, showing the arms of the family, and having his name engraved below. No motto is given which might indicate the novelist's favorite author, or his chosen words of comfort or inspiration.


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