Gallery Page 5 - Care of Books - International Friends of Bookmarks

Above bookmark from Georg Hartong

Welcome to our Gallery Page 5
We present here the world of bookmarks in selected pictures.

Care of Books - updated 2 June 2021
We are developing a gallery of bookmarks with advice on how to take care of books. This topic was inspired by the first two examples that also appear in Gallery 4 - Bookmarks on Bookmarks. They may be from libraries, organizations, or other sources and they may be serious or silly, as long as they have a reminder about good practices such as using a bookmark! Send your examples to the webmaster.

To begin, here are some newspaper articles with advice that could even be used as bookmarks.

Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, USA, 24 Dec 1883, p.10

Oakland Enquirer, Oakland, California, USA, 13 Dec 1913, p. 12

Libraries and book related organizations promote good practices in caring for books.

From National Library of Australia, contributed by Laine Farley

From University of California, San Diego Library, 1989; contributed by Laine Farley

Dutch library informs us about damage before taking this book home; most frequent causes of damage: 1) water or humidity; 2) notes and marks by pencil, ballpoint, fountain pen or marker; 3) spots by sweets, fats; 4) pages or photos torn away; 5) spots if burning while smoking; 6) lacking additionals; 7) impressions of dog teeth; 8) dogears (use bookmarks!); 9) broken back. Contributed by Georg Hartong

From San Francisco Public Library; contributed by Georg Hartong

Care of books on one side, water conservation on the other, from Debrah Gai Lewis

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Staff Library, c. 1950s from Debrah Gai Lewis

Book Week is a good opportunity to promote book care as these vintage bookmarks illustrate. Contributed by Georg Hartong

Publishers also have an interest in advocating for book care.

Advice on both sides of this 1920s bookmark from a printer/bookbinder. Contributed by Laine Farley

Advice on both sides of this 1920s bookmark from a printer/bookbinder

More advice on opening a book, contributed by Georg Hartong

A business advocates book care, from the USA contributed by Georg Hartong

Maxims from Italy. Contributed by Georg Hartong

Sometimes books even speak for themselves regarding how they should be treated.

Contributed by Georg Hartong

From a publisher; contributed by Georg Hartong

Sponsored by the Children's Book Council in the US. From Debrah Gai Lewis 2 June 2021

Book hygiene is another theme on bookmarks.

A bookstore has some good advice, contributed by Georg Hartong

Keep this book clean; Dutch bookmarks contributed by Georg Hartong

Keep this book clean; Dutch bookmark contributed by Georg Hartong

This book wants to be treated hygienically; touch this book only with clean, washed hands; don't eat while reading; don't spill coffee, tea or fat on the book; don't wet your fingers turning the pages, you might get tuberculosis or other diseases. Contributed by Georg Hartong

Front sides of bookmarks to the left. Contributed by Georg Hartong

As Georg Hartong explains in this blog post, the practice of bending a page for a bookmark is called different things in various languages. But they have in common the idea that the bent page is like an animal's ear!