David Becket - his Book of Bookplates (1906)

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D A V ID BECKET HIS BOOK OF BOOKPLA TES

Three

H undred

and

Twenty-five

copies

only

printed o f this Book, o f which Twenty-five are on Japanese Vellum,

The copies on Japanese

Vellum are all Numbered and Signed by the A rtist,

T hi sdi gi t a l v er s i onof Dav i dBe c k e t Hi sBookof Book pl at e swa spr epa r ed byi Book Bi ndi ngi n2019

Ver s i on1.

0 S of t c ov er , 1906, 56pp. ; 24i l l us t r a t i ons .

Ot t oS c hul z e&Compa ny Publ i s her s , E di nbur gh.

Oneofas equenc eofbook sdedi c a t edt obook pl a t espubl i s hedby Ot t oS c hul z e&Compa nyPubl i s her s .

I fy ou nda nyOCRer r or s , pl ea s er ea c husa ts @i book bi ndi ng. c om Mor ebook sa boutbookhi s t or y , booka r t s , a ndbook bi ndi ngonour webs i t e: ht t ps : / / www. i book bi ndi ng. c om/ pdf book bi ndi ngc ol l ec t i on/ ht t ps : / / www. pa t r eon. c om/ i book bi ndi ng

DAVID BECKET HIS BOOK OF BOOK­ PLATES CONSISTING OF 24 ORIGINAL DESIGNS

PUBLISHED 1906 BY OTTO SCHULZE & COMPANY 20 SO U TH F R E D E R IC K S T R E E T y- E D IN B U R G H

AN A P P R E C IA T IO N

By G R A H A M HOGGARTH, B.A. Oxon.

T ET the bibliophobe sneer if he will at those who find in books an intimate delight.

Soulless fellow ! To him books are but so much printed paper, at the best a conven­ tional and useless adornment for his shelves.

Bradshaw and his pass-book are all he ever opens, “ biblia abiblia,” indeed.

Vain it is to talk to such an one of Book­ plates ; they are far outside his philosophy.

This is particularly so, in that the love of art and the love of books are closely akin. Of this fact the Bookplate is a shrewd indication ; this also it is that accounts for the high ideals at which most of our modern Bookplate designers aim. The standard of all produc­ tions is adjusted to the demands of those for whom they are produced ; and just as some

forms of art have been degraded for the sake of popular favour, so on the other hand has the art of Bookplate designing grown more comely and more healthy beneath the sympathetic eye of the book-lover.

Art is progressiveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and that is a fact that people will not realise.

Modern artistic thought tends towards freedom of expression and emancipation from the trammels of con­ ventionality. It is the revolt of the individual against artistic sacerdotalism.

In the designing of Bookplates this progres­ sion of thought is amply exemplified. Heraldic Bookplate designing, which fell into the hand of the copper-plate engraver, has not yet, alas ! regained its prestige, and monstrosities are still produced. But in the main the tone of modern Bookplates is distinctly good. With heart and hand undaunted, the exponents of modern thought strive to express their ideals in the language of artistic Truth.

That the art of David Becket is essentially modern we may affirm without hesitation. His individuality is extreme. Both in conception and execution his first consideration is for the dignity of his art. Y et despite this he is

thoroughly bookish ; and how elusive is this quality of “ bookishness,” without which no Bookpla te can be said to fulfil its functions quite satisfactorily !

Perh aps the first thing that strikes us is the intense virility of this arti st; it is stamped on one and all of his plates. In this virility there is nothing blatant or head stro ng; there is, on the contrary, an extraordinary restraint.

The most characteristic of the plates in this book are probably the M asks ; and in that mask especially which forms David Beck et’s own Bookplate, it should be noticed how wonderfully the flesh is conveyed. The flower­ stud ies— the teasel, the thistle, etc.— are most plea sing in their simplicity, strength, and sympathy.

Whe ther we look at this small impression of Dav id Beck et’s Bookplates from an artistic poin t of view, or merely from the point of view of a collector, we cannot fail, if there be in us augh t of sensibility, to derive therefrom much pleasure and instruction.

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