Some French and some German plates—The cap of liberty—Buonaparte—Alsace and Lorraine.

AS a date is always a signal advantage, the bookplate “Petri Antonii Convers Laudonensis. L Monnier Divione. 1762” may be mentioned. It is, of course, topped by the irrepressible coronet. Louis Gabriel Monnier was born at BesanÇon in 1733, and died at Dijon in 1804. The Convers plate is wholly Rococo; but taking from Walter Hamilton another French ex libris engraved but nine years later, we see that with some artists the heavy brigade is already on duty. Here we have a big gun, an armorial shield flanked by three flags on each side, but without any graceful design. Still the inevitable coronet, and below all, the inscription: “Le Ch??. DÉ Bellehache officier de Cavalerie au Reg? D’artois / 1771.” Here, after all, there is no possibility of mistaking for whom this plate was engraved,

and thus, though not beautiful, it quite fulfils its duty.

Sixteen years later we have a plate which also has these essential points, but is in the shell-work mode, light and elegant. Round the upper part is a label inscribed: “Ex libris Ant. Franc Alex Boula de Nanteuil,” and at the base: “Libellorum suplicum Magister. À mandatis RegiÆ &? &?—et in supremÀ Galliarum curiÀ senator ad horrorem. 1777.” The shield is azure, three bezants.

Here is an instance of an ex libris not inserted, but impressed, seemingly a copper-plate engraving. The design is simple; but quite serves its purpose. It is an oval frame surmounted by a ribbon tied in a bow, and in the oval the words “Ex Bibliotheca Ecclesia Aug. Conf. Posson.” The book is a copy of Prodromus idiomatis ... adparatus criticus ad linguam Hungaricam ... auctore Georgio Kalmar ... Posonii, ... 1770. The copy bears also another ownership inscription—in other words, another ex libris: “Obtulit / Frider. Frank. / Posen. / 1789. /”

A curious plate here illustrated is that of Peter Mairdat.

Of about 1780 is the copper-plate of Klemens Wenzel, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Bland, Elector-Archbishop of Trier, and Bishop of Augsburg. The plate represents the arms of Augsburg, of Trier, of Saxony, and also of Poland.

This is not the place to write the story of the first great French Revolution; but it is to the point of our subject in hand to note that on June 20th, 1790, a decree was proposed and passed in the French Assembly suppressing the titles of duke, count, marquis, viscount, baron, and chevalier, and at the same time all armorial bearings were done away with. Now followed a bad time for bookplate artists and engravers. The cap of liberty and the bloody guillotine do not breathe high artistic inspiration.

The plate of Marshal Jourdan consists chiefly of a shield wholly occupied with the simple inscription “BibliothÈque du MarÉchal Jourdan.”

Coming to the days of the first Empire, Buonaparte, the despot, ruled armorial insignia with the same iron hand as he regulated anything else. His orders and restrictions were numberless, and in particular he introduced the various forms of a headdress denominated une toque. Cities under Buonaparte’s sway bore certain badges according to whether he ranked them as cities of the first, second, or third order.

Those of the first order had the honour of bearing the Napoleon badge—three golden bees on a chief gules.

The bookplate of the Bastille is well illustrated in French Bookplates (Walter Hamilton), but must not be quite passed over here. It represents a shield on a bracket, bearing the fleur-de-lis. The shield is ensigned with a crown and enclosed by the collars of the orders of S. Michel and the Sainte Esprit. Above all is the name “chateau royal de la bastille.”

In July of 1789 the Bastille was destroyed by the Paris mob.

I give a reproduction of the characteristic French “Ex libris du Comte Paul de Malden de la Bastille.”

In the ex libris of Claude Martin, cannon, cannon-balls and flags, tents and scaling-ladders, are to the fore; whilst on a rock in the middle there is a lion rampant, holding up a sword in one fore paw and an ensign in the other. Since the Belgians disfigured the field of Waterloo with a huge mound to celebrate the tiny devotion of their race, a lion on a hill does not stand for much! At the head of this plate is the motto “Labore et constantia,” and at the foot “Ex libris Claudii Martin.”

In 1814 Napoleon Buonaparte abdicated, and in the same year Louis XVIII., the younger brother of Louis XVI., became king. In 1824 Louis XVIII. died, and his younger brother, Charles X., came to the throne, which he held until 1830, when he was deposed, and his cousin Louis Philippe sat on this unstable throne. In 1848 he in turn abdicated, and a Republic was proclaimed, with Louis Napoleon as President. During these foregone thirty years the old nobility, after a manner, recovered their ancient titles, and many new nobility were created; but it cannot be said to have been an age productive of fine or interesting ex libris.

A variety from the sometimes too stern formality of ex libris designs is found in the plate engraved by D. Collin for Monsieur Riston. A fantastic R., or perhaps A. R., is figured on an oval, with child figures, a few books, and a pen and ink, all apparently in the open-air around.

The ex libris of Pierre Antoine Berryer is not of any striking character, but is a fair specimen. In 1855 he was elected to the AcadÉmie Francaise; but he was best known for his great defence of Count Montalembert before the French Courts in 1858.

Alsace and Lorraine have given us some good specimens of bookplates, and as might be expected, the manners and styles of several nations are here included. In some an interesting feature is the introduction of a view of the owner’s parish church.