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Bookplate Index by Library or Collector |
Morrisson-Reeves Library The bookplate of the Morrisson- Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana, was
designed and adopted in 1893 in connection with an extensive expansion
of the library. The Morrisson-Reeves Library is an example of the many
pre-Carnegie public libraries founded through the generosity of a single
individual desiring to leave a permanent mark on his or her community. Though Richmond was not incorporated until 1818, social libraries were
being formed by 1822. At least three have been identified: the Young Men's
Library, the Manual Labor and Working Men's Institute, and the Richmond
Franklin Institute. The Working Men's Institute was one of 144 short-lived
libraries founded throughout Indiana after 1855 with $500 grants from the
estate of William Maclure, a philanthropist long associated with the
utopian New Harmony community. In the mid-1850s a small township library—open only on Saturdays—was also founded. But in the early 1860s
Robert Morrisson, one of Richmond's earliest settlers, took steps to
insure that the community would have the benefit of a permanent and
accessible library. Having already established a reputation as a
benefactor of various Civil War-related charities, Morrisson spent $12,407
to construct the library's original Greek revival building. In addition,
he donated $5,000 for the purchase of books. Six thousand volumes from the
collections of Richmond's township library and of its various subscription
libraries were the core of the Morrisson Library when it opened in 1864.
Morrisson stipulated that his gift should be under the control of a
Library Committee composed of the township trustee, an appointee of the
trustee, and two appointees of Richmond's Common Council, a method of
governance still in effect. A letter signed by "Publius" that appeared in the Richmond
Weekly Telegram on 7 January 1865 suggests the degree of public
interest in the town's new library. Publius writes that Morrisson's
beneficence "could not have been appropriated to accomplish a wider
and more lasting benefit . .
. as long as this library shall continue its ministrations, it will preach a
continual crusade, against error, ignorance, superstition,
vice, poverty, and all their kindred evils." However, as grateful as
he is, Publius cannot refrain from pointing out the library's limitations,
noting that its collections are inadequate to "meet the wants and
demands of the public, as any one can testify, who is in the habit of
visiting it. It is not an uncommon thing, with a list of 20 books . . . to
find them all out. We need and ought to have more books." Publius may
have had a point. Unlike Andrew Carnegie's, Morrisson' s gift did not
require the provision of any future income for the library from
any other source. The library apparently struggled financially until 1879,
when the first library tax was levied. That part of Caroline Reeves's 1892
gift of $30,000 (made in memory of her husband and son) not required for
the physical expansion of the library in 1893 continues to serve as a
library endowment. The 3- by 2-inch bookplate was designed by Edna Cathell, a local artist
best known for her paintings of roses. Ten printers' marks, along with
the rectangular device that separates them, comprise the plate's border.
They frame a shield whose motto is attributed to William Hazlitt. The
blank space above the name of the library was reserved for accession
numbers. (The Morrisson-Reeves Library also celebrated the history of
printing at this time through the installation of four Tiffany windows
donated by descendants of the library's founder. The largest depicts
Gutenberg at his press. Four of the bookplate's printers' marks are
featured on another.) Printers' marks were used almost from the time of the first printed books
as a kind of trademark or visual adjunct to the printer's colophon. They
quickly developed into a minor art form that flourished through the end of
the sixteenth century and remains, like the bookplate itself, the object
of intense scholarly attention. Though small, the marks are dense with
religious figures and symbols. Cathell reduced most of the marks to their
essential design elements due to their number and the small size of the
plate. The initials of Simon Vostre and Philippe LeNoir, for example, are
small, albeit central, parts of elaborate scenes. (Cathell's initials
appear at the lower tip of the border surrounding the motto.) Clockwise from top left, the marks are those of: (1)
Aldus Manutius (Venice, 16th century). Perhaps the most famous
printer's mark, this device contrasts the steadfastness of the anchor with
the fluidity and quickness of the dolphin. (2) William Caxton (Westminster, 15th century). Caxton's marks probably
have been studied more closely than any others. His initials here frame
what seems to be an ornate representation of the date 1474, though the
significance of that date remains obscure. (3) Nicholas Jenson (Venice, 15th century). Variations on the orb and
cross device were the most commonly used printer's mark. (4) Colard Mansion (Bruges, 15th century). The shield was another
common motif, though the double shield is seen more often. (5) Philippe LeNoir (Paris, 16th century). Printers often punned on
their own names in the design of their marks. LeNoir's mark shows a black
man and woman holding a shield that bears his monogram. (6) Galliot de Pre (Paris, 16th century). This design is a variation of
the orb and cross device seen in its most basic form in the Jenson mark. (7) Louis Elzivir (Leiden, 16th century). Though one of this printing
family's earliest marks, it includes the tree that became a central
feature of their famous "hermit" mark. (8) Simon Vostre (Paris, 16th century). The complete illustration of
this mark shows a shield bearing this monogram suspended from a
pomegranate tree. (9) Christopher Plantin (Antwerp, 16th century). Similar in theme to
the Manutius mark, Plantin's mark also represents constancy (the stable
compass point) and movement or work (the moving arm of the compass). (10) Gerard Leeu (Gouda, 15th century). This is a mark within a Detailed
reproductions and histories of most of these marks may be found in Hugh
William Davies's Devices of the Early Printers, 1457-1560 (London,
1935). The Davies book bears the mark of its own printer, Turnbill &
Spears of Edinburgh. Jeff
Douglas Seymour
Library Knox
College Galesburg,
Illinois The author would like to thank Annelies Conti of the Morrisson-Reeves Library for her research assistance.
[Originally published in Journal of Library History, vol. 26, no. 4 (Spring 1991): 608-610.] |
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