W h a t i s a n E x l i b r i s ?
Design by N. Erol OLCAY
Ex Libris or Bookplates are almost as old as printed books. Their origins are closely related, since the ex libris were born out of the need to identify the book's ownership. As a mark of possession, it began to be manuscript or the owner's hand painted armorial. But after the invention of the printing press they became a small printed label, pasted into the volume, bearing its owner's name and a sign of personal identification, usually the person's Coat-of-Arms.
The name 'Ex Libris' was first used in the 15th century. It's Latin for 'Book of ...', 'From the books of ...', or 'From the library of...'.
Contemporary Ex Libris are designed by Graphic artists, and have become artistically valuable pictures. Today, Ex Libris are still used as a mark of possession for books, and have also become a valued collector's item, which are traded internationally. The Belgian Ex Libris association Graphia, for instance, organizes trading meetings twice a year.
The text and/or the illustrations in the Ex Libris reflect either the personality (or hobbies, interests..) of the owner, or the theme of the book in which the Ex Libris will be placed. Apart from the words "Ex Libris", an Ex Libris should at least contain the name of the owner. Nowadays, a whole variety of techniques are available for creating Ex Libris: not only the more 'traditional' techniques, like engraving, etching, woodcut, lino cut and lithography, but also new techniques, like offset, photography, computer assisted design (CAD) and calligraphy. Typically, the width as well as the height of an Ex Libris is no more than 130mm
