In the earlier day books owners always wished to mark the possession of their books in some form.Such marks, generally termed ex-ibris,from the latin phrase meaning" from the book of".Bookplates in English. Some museums have in their collections small Egyptian enamelled tablets which dated from around 1400BC. These are the earliest recorded ex-libris to date.
Today an ex-libris is defined as a small printed graphic work,indicating the name of the owner of a book and pasted into his volumes,one must add 'supralibros',which are heradic motifs stamped on the outer surface of the binding.
In Europe woodcut ex-libris was used around 1600s.Western printed ex-libris appeared in Japan and China as late as 1860s,and are in wide use today. |
