Of bookplates, dragonflies, and pigs
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
“Your blog postings about bookplates have brightened my day,” wrote Lew Jaffe of Philadelphia. And then he brightened ours.
First, he kindly sent us his favorite bookplate. “It was engraved by William Fowler Hopson and depicts a pig fetching a book,” he said.
Yes, but… but… but… why a pig? I spoke with Lew on the phone and asked. Well, he said, pigs are smart.
Winston Churchill agreed with him: “I like pigs,” the Nobel laureate famously stated. “Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
Perhaps you thought there wasn’t too much more to say about bookplates. You don’t know Lew. He runs a fascinating bookplate blog called “Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie: Random Thoughts from a Passionate Bookplate Collector.”
He’s been blogging on bookplates since 2006, and still has enough material left over to post today on that evergreen topic, “How do you remove a bookplate?” (Hint: answer involves tongs and hot, steaming paper towels.)
And lest you think his is a case of isolated madness, he has a blogroll with other like-minded souls, including “Varnoso, Excellent Bookplate Blog.”
Meanwhile, we rather like his own bookplate, at left.
Check out his blog and other featured bookplates here. And do send on your own favorites.
