|
Editor's Note: Liz, a long time collector, has supported World Bookmark Day in recent years by meeting, in person or virtually, with other collectors. She also has two distinctive collecting interests to showcase. 1. Tell us about yourself – where you are from, your occupation, etc. My name is Liz Bartlett, I am 70 years old and a retired primary school teacher. Originally from the East coast of England, a tiny village called Great Bentley in Essex, but moved to the beautiful south coast of the UK when I married Keith, 50 years ago. We have lived in Weymouth, Dorset, ever since. We have two adult sons, two delightful daughters-in-law and five splendid grandchildren. I love to garden, read, knit and a lot of my time is taken up with a small 13th century church, of which I am churchwarden. This photo shows me with a cross-stitch bookmark made by my mother when she was a girl. It is quite a precious one.  2. How did you start collecting bookmarks? Do you remember your first bookmark? I started collecting bookmarks in 1974, when we were first married and started to travel together. We had little money and leather bookmarks were a cheap but pleasant souvenir of the places we visited. I was working as a clerk in a local history museum at the time and instigated a set of bookmarks linked to the museum, which became very popular.  We started to look in charity and second hand shops to widen the collection and that was where I found the first Stevengraphs of my collection. I thought it was particularly beautiful and also had a young son called Steven. Eventually, when we both had better jobs, these were the type of bookmarks that I looked for, but continued to collect, and be given, lots of other types. In one job lot I found two memorial bookmarks which started me on another part of the collection, along with sets from Scottish Widows, local Weymouth ones and old advertising ones (these last two because of my job at the museum).' 3. Do you have any favorite types or special emphasis in your collection? The emphasis now is definitely Stevengraph types, of which I found there were several manufacturers. These photos show the type of loom on which they were made and the huge punched cards that change the designs. Thomas Stevens made them from 1863 to 1938, although Thomas himself died in 1888.
 Thomas Stevens also went to the United States of America and I have found quite a few American ones. An example is the one with the Star Spangled Banner. When you think that the loom was using hole punched cards for each detail and look at the music on this one, it must have taken the designers a long time to set up the loom for each design. There are hundreds of designs for Stevens' company.
I have used the Stevengraph silks site and have contributed examples that were not previously photographed. I also used the site to download information pages about bookmarks that I have to add to my knowledge. The Stevengraph Collectors also deal with his pictures, and postcards. I have one or two examples of these, but I have not used the site a great deal. I always look through the Bookmark Collectors quarterly magazine and have contributed to that twice. Note: Stevengraph Silks is a site illustrating bookmark designs by Stevens and other weavers; Stevengraphs and the Stevengraph Collectors Association also has information and examples on bookmarks.
  4. What is the most unusual bookmark in your collection? In the Stevengraph collection, I like one that still has the vendor's information paper attached to it,
In the memorial set, I have one that has a photograph on it which makes it rather poignant. I also have some that are related which were collected at different times. This type of ribbon seems to be particularly linked to the north of England between late 1800s and the early 1900s. 5. How do you acquire your bookmarks? Most of my bookmarks are now acquired online on sites such as eBay. Sometimes friends and family find them and give them to me. 6. How many bookmarks do you have (an estimate)? The whole collection is about 1000, but the speciality groups number about 100 Stevengraphs, about 80 memorial ribbons. I still have boxes of others and folders of sets such as the Scottish Widows,  And many Victorian cross-stitch...  7. How do you organize, display and store your collection? The collection is in plastic folders and then in ring binders. 8. What do you enjoy about IFOB? Anything you would like to see IFOB do in the future? I just like browsing other people's collections and interests. It is always good to know that there are others out there with similar interests. My family think I am barmy! 9. What did you do to celebrate World Bookmark Day this year? Any plans for next year? I plan to try Zoom again and perhaps get a few more folk involved. There were only four of us last year. Easier for me than travelling. I don't like driving. 10. Anything else you would like to share? I belong to the UK Bookmark Society which I find very interesting. I also give talks to local groups about bookmarks which is why I have kept lots of other types as examples to pass around. To lighten the mood a little (as I try to do when I preach in church or give talks) when I start a bookmark talk I usually start with a rubber banana! I have lots of examples of different materials but this one always gets a laugh! I also tell the story that a local librarian told me. They always give books a shake before putting them back on the shelf and the most unusual one she ever discovered was a dry rasher of bacon! Not recommended as it tends to spoil the page somewhat. 11. Do you have any advice for those who are just beginning to collect bookmarks?
Advice, find bookmarks that you really like to look at, otherwise they are just filed away. Keep them out of the light. Only buy what you can afford. Stevengraphs range from about £10 to £100s. It can become an expensive habit if you just buy everything.
1 Comment
By Gintautas Deksnys
  Gintautas Deksnys Bookmark Collection, Lithuanian Army  Gintautas Deksnys Bookmark Collection, Lithuanian Army  Gintautas Deksnys Bookmark Collection, Lithuanian Air Force Here is another example from my collection on the theme of States and Cities.  And here is a personal bookmark from a banquet I hosted where the bookmark served as a guest card.
by Laine Farley A special interest in my bookmark collection is for those that serve the dual purpose of greeting cards. As the greeting card industry developed, it was natural for similar themes and designs to be used for bookmarks. By far, the most common occasion was Christmas bookmarks, often with a calendar for the new year included, with Easter and Valentine bookmarks following not far behind. Halloween bookmarks, however, are rare. Their scarcity reflects the relatively short period when Halloween greeting cards were produced. The book The Romance of Greeting Cards, edited by edited by James D. Chamberlain, University Press of Cambridge, 1956, devotes a very short chapter to Halloween cards, noting on p. 109: Hallowe’en cards came into being in 1908 at the beginning of the new era in cards and they sold fairly well until the thirties when the sending of cards for the occasion went into a decline from which it has never fully recovered. From the beginning, the card designs were built around ghosts, witches, black cats, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, bats, and wishes for good luck and safety from all harm were the common verse themes. Bright yellow was the dominant color, with black, emblematical of the night and artistically effective, too, as its traveling companion and complement. Examples of the first cards are few. The earliest Hallowe’en greeting the author has traced was a yellow paper card with a solid black background on which appeared the faint outline of a black cat and white-faced witch and the following doggerel rhyme: The earliest ones in my collection are undated but probably from the 1920s-1930s based on the design.
Recently, I acquired a set of reproductions with graphics that appear to be from the same time period. These examples are small and a bit fuzzy, but one has a verse as follows:  When the Owl & Witch to gather are seen, There’s mischief brewing on Halloween. Although more recent examples typically do not have verses or greetings, they do carry lively (or deadly?) graphics for the season. Some publishers feature Halloween related titles or images as well.
The back of this bookmark has a place for children (or even adults) to record their Halloween activities, thereby increasing the chance that the bookmark will be saved. Of course, nowadays it is easy to find Halloween bookmarks. They feature the usual themes of witches, ghosts, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, cats, bats and scarecrows, as well as literary and movie themes. It is possible to find those with vintage graphics, and even a few with actual greetings, although they mostly just have a wish for a Happy Halloween. Besides ready-made designs, there are also printables including those that can be colored, and examples such as this one for making foldable corners. Anyone can make clever bookmarks with some stiff colored paper (or even old file folders) adorned with stamps and stickers, as these from an office party with the theme “Spooky Books” illustrate.  Sending Halloween bookmarks as greeting cards is a practice that will probably not be resurrected. They still can be used for trick or treaters, parties, and decorations (one suggestion was to put them in potted plants). However they are used, they will continue to appeal to collectors who like to reflect the range of holidays and celebrations from this time of year.
Recently on our members' Facebook page, we have been discussing how to manage bookmarks in a database. In addition to what software to use, there is the question of how to describe the bookmarks, i.e., cataloging them. I developed a basic system twenty years ago when I began using software for my collection. I present it here as a starting point. There is no right or wrong way to do it, although there are probably 5-7 elements that most of us could agree upon. As this discussion progresses, we may create a new page on the IFOB web site for information on managing a collection.
Along with the field definitions, I have also created a set of "cataloging rules" that help me apply the elements in a consistent way. These rules may not be useful for others, however, since the purpose and design of a collector's database will vary. Any comments on this scheme, which elements are most important, other elements to consider, etc. are most welcome!
Currently I have 135 in my cataloged collection (maybe more waiting in the wings of uncataloged boxes). I have found them in almost every category, so what follows are some examples showing their variety and clues for finding them. Bookstores, of course, are good sources because they often use books on their namesake bookmarks. From De Heksenkelder Internationale Feministiese Boekhandel, there are two--one on the side for the bookstore, a miniature image of the bookmark itself, and the other featuring a different book alongside a glass of wine, for De Heksenketel Café. Antiquariaat Tweedehandsboekhandel also has a bookmark on each side, in this case of the same image of a medieval scholar gazing at his open book with a subtle bookmark. Scenes of people reading are good candidates for finding companion bookmarks.
Sometimes a cozy scene, even without a reader, can reveal a bookmark. Here are two similar scenes of a fireplace, a comfy chair, a companion to keep company (cat and dog), and groups of books, one open, the other closed with visible bookmarks. These “cosy nook” themes were popular in the 1920s-1940s.
So too were those with greetings about remembrance and friendship like this one with a blue bookmark sporting a medallion at the end. Themes of friendship based on a shared appreciation of books and reading often have books with bookmarks, similar to this one with an unusual teal marble-like background.
Besides bookstores, businesses seem less likely to use images of books, favoring instead their own products or pretty ladies. An unexpected example is from Gold Medal Flour with bookshelf, candles, open book and red bookmark. Perhaps this is a category for a challenge to find more examples.
There are plenty of other bookmark producers that regularly feature books, however. Religious publishers often depict the Bible and indeed bookmarks are popular gifts and giveaways for bible readers. This example features another cozy nook for bible study along with suggestions on passages by topic. An unexpected, rather mysterious bookmark was revealed in this metal bookmark with holographic images of praying hands, reversing to a book with bookmark.
Any number of organizations might use books, but for an especially nice example, we can look to The Bookmark Society. They produce a custom bookmark each year for members; this one for their 25th anniversary features a prominent bookmark on an illustrated book with a lovely background.  Of course, libraries use illustrations of books and they often produce instructional bookmarks to encourage their use, as in this examples from the National Library of Australia which has a subtle and humorous message. The University of California, San Diego also uses humor as well as a quiz to promote the benefits of using a bookmark, printed as noted on acid-free paper, another bonus. This charming green leather gift bookmark simply says “Don’t take me out” and its recipient seemed to heed that advice as indicated by the darkened and tattered ends with the middle in pristine condition from remaining in the book.
The bonanza bookmarks on bookmarks in my collection were created by Domenec Martinez and Col.leccio Costa in 2008 documenting the history of bookmarks. Almost every one of the series of twelve has an illustration of a bookmark from different time periods. The examples here feature rotating Medieval bookmarks (No.2) and a knob type from the 16th century (No. 8). The knob is even embossed to give it a dimensional effect. An extra bonus is that No. 8 is also an example of bookmarks in art. [Note: can anyone translate the text to English?] 
I will end with two bookmarks produced by Asim Maner advertising his now defunct company, Mirage Bookmark’s lines of bookmarks. The metal bookmarks were custom produced and featured precision designs, sometimes with cut outs as in this example. The other line featured beautiful art bookmarks. When Asim heard about my specialty, he was delighted and sent me a batch of his own bookmarks on bookmarks. He also encouraged me to write about them, so after many months and good intentions, I have fulfilled my promise, and I hope you enjoy this short preview. These examples and a few others are in a special gallery. Please send any from your own collection to the IFOB editor to add.
This article titled "Marking Pages with Bits of Life" is not a new article and is another of many such articles about the things people leave in books as intentional or accidental bookmarks. We highlight it because it is about one of our members, Marilyn Scherfen. Unfortunately, her email address no longer works and we have been unable to find her. If you know her, please tell her to update her address. In any case, Marilyn's efforts to categorize and document this "bits of life" is noteworthy! Do you have stories or examples of such bookmarks?
Collection of well over 1000 bookmarks including both simple modern publishers’ advertising bookmarks and more valuable vintage items, some silk and woven (mainly from 1895 – 1940), from many countries, (United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria) in very good condition. A few can be viewed on the Mirage Bookmark site but note those that have already been sold (those not sold are included). Asim’s family is also happy for anyone interested and able to come and view the collection personally. They would like to sell the collection as a whole, rather than individual items or batches. The family is willing to receive offers for the collection, and have set the end of September as a preliminary deadline. Shipping costs and payment method will depend on the buyer's location and type of packaging needed. Contact email address: maner [at] gmx.ch with questions or to make an offer.
by Laine Farley There are many reasons why someone may consider retiring a bookmark collection, even one that has been lovingly developed over a long period of time. As people change their circumstances, it may no longer be possible to sustain and store a collection, or perhaps the urge to collect simply wanes over time. Another common reason is that the collection is inherited from a relative and the person who becomes responsible for it does not wish to continue the collection. Here are some initial considerations for what to do with a collection. We would like to hear your thoughts and experiences as well, and eventually we will turn this into an article.  First, the decision to sell or donate it must be addressed. This course is not an all or nothing one, however. It may be reasonable to keep some parts of the collection, sell especially valuable or noteworthy items, and donate the rest. Each collection is unique as are owners’ motivations. If you want to sell it: - Whole collection: depending on the size, you might want to offer it to an auction site if it is large and significant enough to warrant their attention. Auction houses that deal in paper ephemera might be good candidates. Ephemera dealers are another possible source. - Batches: Sometimes collections are broken up and sold in batches on sites like eBay or Etsy. These batches can be grouped thematically (e.g., similar material, subject matter, age). There are agents or “valets” who will handle sales for you and they take a percentage of the sales price. Again, looking for someone who knows or deals in ephemera would be a starting point. - Individual bookmarks: If you have pieces that are especially rare or valuable, it could be worth it to offer them separately. Similarly, an agent could handle it but you might have a better sense of relative value or what you would consider the minimum acceptable price which should be made clear to an agent. - Whatever method you choose, it is probably a good idea to have some kind of intermediary rather than trying to sell it directly. This arrangement protects both you and the buyer. The International Friends of Bookmarks (IFOB) members are an audience that would probably like to know about the collection, but IFOB is not really set up to be a site for selling. If you want to donate it: Some libraries specialize in collecting ephemera, and there are even a few that have bookmark collections such as the University of Iowa. If your collection has many items from a particular area (businesses, bookstores, museums, etc.), it may be possible that a local library or historical museum would be interested. People often assume that the largest libraries like New York Public or even Library of Congress (or national libraries in other countries) are the best choices, but they get so many donations that they may not be. It could be better to find a library with an interest in the type of collection, a local interest, or some other tie. If it is important to you that your collection be exhibited, a smaller library or museum is more likely to do so.  In preparing to contact institutions who might take the collection, consider the following steps: 1. How much: Count the collection or at least have an estimated number of items. The next best approach is to have a description of the extent, e.g., the number of boxes, binders or whatever they are stored in. 2. Context: Make a list of any publications or descriptions or even your own notes about the collection. Have you ever exhibited it, have articles been written about it by you or others, have you ever made a presentation about it? Anything that showcases the collection, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will be of interest to the institution. 3. About the collector: Compile a biography of the collector. Libraries and museums want to provide context for the collection and provenance or history of its development. Anything you can say about how you started the collection, how you went about adding to it, any special interests, would be good additions. If you write this up, also consider sending it to IFOB since we like to publish short articles about collectors and their collections. 4. Photos: provide a set of any images you have on a storage device (e.g., USB drive, CD, etc.) that you can give to the institution. You might also take a few photos of groups or types as another way to give a sense of the size and scope. If you have posted photos to any sort of social media site, provide access to that if possible. 5. References: Other collectors could probably look at photos or other materials and be able to say more about the quality of the collection in a letter of reference. If you have ever talked about or exhibited the collection, whoever sponsored it would be a good reference. 6. Agreement: Libraries and museums will have their own agreements for accepting donations, but you can think about the terms you want as well. Is there anything related to the collections for which you want to claim copyright (e.g., articles, images)? Do you want to impose any conditions on use of the collection in publications by others? Do you want to require that it be exhibited in a certain way or frequency? What kind of credit or recognition do you wish to receive? To what extent are you willing to negotiate any of these requests if they are not part of the standard agreement?  Libraries and museums will be more willing to consider collections that complement those they already have, but also if the collections are organized, stored in reasonably good condition, and documented. The cost to them is in the processing. Usually they will create a "finding aid" which is a high level description of the collection and the collector. Here is an example for the collection of Don Baldwin at the University of Iowa. For important collections, they will go into more detail and describe the contents of each container. Here is an example of the collection of Frank X. Roberts whose collection includes his poetry and other writings, plus some materials from his wife. They must also put the collection into acid free boxes, sleeves, or binders, another expense. It's not required but they very much appreciate donations to cover at least some of these costs. Finally, there is the issue of transporting the collection, whether you choose to sell or donate it. Of course, the best option is to transport it in person to ensure that it reaches its destination without damage. If this method is not practical, at a minimum the transport should be tracked through postal or delivery services, and possibly insured. The packaging will depend on the nature of the collection, and it may be advisable to break it up into several packages. There are many other considerations for transporting it that will be specific to the situation. Whatever you choose to do with your collection, the most important thing is meeting your own goals for how you would like to retire the collection or its components. Whether you wish to preserve it as a collection to be studied and exhibited, make it available to other collectors, benefit from the sale, or simply get rid of it in the most expeditious way possible, there is no single or “right” way to bring your collection to a close. Please do share your experiences and thoughts about this stage of collecting. Our new member Gaby Dondlinger from Luxembourg is not only an avid bookmark collector, but she is also the inventor of a new type of bookmark exhibition, the so called "coffee table exhibition". She has sent us some pictures to let us see her idea of displaying her most precious bookmarks which were given her as gifts by friends and family or she brought home from foreign countries. "I keep them under the glass of my coffee table, so I can look at them every day," as she puts it.  I must say I was totally surprised by her pictures because I had never seen such a storage and display method yet though some of the collector colleagues has written various articles about how to store and display bookmarks. It will be interesting to know about the history of this table later. "Since I was young I have been attracted by bookmarks, not as an expert collector, but rather as a random buyer and keeper of bookmarks," says Gaby about her collecting passion. "I like bookmarks from different countries which show the speciality or the character of a country, be it by the material, the symbols, or the way it is made."  Bookmarks from different countries on display in the coffee table exhibition of Gaby: Folded paper bookmarks from Japan, and an Edelweiss bookmark from Austria.  Black lace bookmark from Malta, bookmark handwoven and stitched in blue and white from Wisconsin, USA, purple felt bookmark from Lapland.  Other bookmarks from foreign countries, top and below.  by Asim Maner, January 2017 by Matt Gilbert (reposted from richlyevocative.net) During a recent spot of tidying at home, I came across a box containing my childhood collection of bookmarks. When I was growing up my parents were second-hand booksellers in Bristol. One exciting perk, or by-product of this for me as a kid, was finding all kinds of bookmarks that previous readers had left behind in many of the books Mum and Dad bought, which I was allowed to keep. Very occasionally you’d also find paper money hidden within the pages of books too, but this I wasn’t allowed to keep. Sifting through some of the bookmarks, it was interesting to note a few themes or threads.  Judging by the numbers produced (many more than shown here) Insurance companies appear to have been big on bookmarks. The likes of Scottish Widows, Royal Exchange and Northern Assurance once appeared to commission a lot of commercial artists to illustrate their own branded bookmarks. I suppose it makes sense for an industry that spends much of its time reminding people to renew or change policies to print these reminders on objects devoted to the very purpose of remembering.  I particularly like the Northern Assurance series of city and townscape panoramas – including London and Aldeburgh in Suffolk.  Animals and scenes and subjects from nature also feature on many of the bookmarks – I seem to have had a thing for birds – the box contained quite a few bookmarks with illustrations of real birds along with various others – including Puffin of course – used to promote books and reading.   Some of the most interesting and funny bookmarks I’d collected are old public service messages and adverts, with their now almost comically stilted sounding phrasing and matter of fact declarations of quality, or finger wagging warnings and informative notices. Amongst the ads, pens, cigars and cigarettes figure prominently – I’d guess that this is because their shape is perfect for reproduction on a bookmark. My favourite is a bookmark extolling the virtues of bus travel: TAKE IT EASY. TAKE A BUS. Clearly produced in an age before Mrs. Thatcher made her infamous (albeit possibly apocryphal) declaration that: “A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure.” – although the illustration on the bus bookmark shows a rather self-satisfied looking woman, (looking not unlike Margaret Thatcher funnily enough), who’s delighted to have nabbed herself one of the cool seats upstairs at the back.    There are also a few here with an esoteric theme – this was my Dad’s specialist area so there are some bookmarks featuring the likes of Madame Blavatsky, promoting Occult bookshops or histories of The Rosicrucians.  Naturally many bookmarks feature writers and poets, alongside the bookshops that sold their work. I was sad to note that all of the Bristol based ones I found now no longer exist. I can remember what an incredible, eye-widening treasure house George’s Children’s department used to be. This is described on their bookmark as having “the largest stock of books in the West for children of all ages”. Take that Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and South Wales.
I hope you enjoy taking a look at some of these as much as I once enjoyed collecting them. |
IFOB BLOGAttention Archives
August 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
