American Book-Plates

74. Belcher. William Belcher. Savannah.

Armorial. Pictorial. A very beautiful engraving. The shield rests upon the ground and is supported by the oak tree which spreads over it; willows and pines complete the little group of trees, and beyond a stretch of water is seen. The motto, Loyal au mort, is on the ribbon which flutters along the ground beside the shield.

75. Bel-chier. J. Bel-Chier.

Armorial. Jacobean. Motto, Loyal jusq’ a la mort. Printed in red ink.

76. Beresford. Richard Beresford, Charleston. 1772.

Armorial.

77. Betts. William Betts.

Armorial. Plain. Motto, Malo mori quam foedari. Signed, C. P. Harrison Del. Sct.

78. Beverley. Harry Beverley.

Armorial. Chippendale. No motto.

79. Beverly. Robert Beverly.

Armorial. Of Virginia. Historian.

80. Beverly. William Beverly.

Armorial. Signed, J. Kirk.

81. Blackley Absalom Blackley.

Armorial. Ribbon and wreath. Motto, Utere mundo. Signed, Maverick Scp. The name supported by two quills.

82. Blake. Willm. P. & L. Blake’s Circulating Library at the Boston Book Store.

An engraved label enclosed in an ornamental oval frame. Signed, S. Hill. Sc.

83. Blanc. William Blanc. Middle Temple. Dominica. Crest only. Motto on a garter enclosing the crest, Frangas non flectan.

84. Blatchford. Thomas W. Blatchford. Plain armorial. Motto, Providentia sumus. Signed, Wm. D. Smith sc.

85. Bleecker. Bleecker. Plain armorial. A festoon of cloth behind the shield.

86. Blenman. Jonathan Blenman, Attoray, Genl. & Judge of ye Admty. in Barbadoes.

A small plate, without motto, rather poorly engraved. A little ornamentation of Jacobean manner appears at either side, and the mantling is rather profuse, but well above the shield.

87. Bloomfield. Bloomfield.

Armorial. Chippendale. Rudely drawn books used in the frame. Motto, Pro aris et focis. Signed, J. Trenchard. Major Joseph Bloomfield was a soldier in the Revolution, Governor of New Jersey, Brigadier-General in War of 1812, member of Congress, 1817-21. Illustrated in the “Art Amateur,” April, 1894.

88. Bolling. Robt. Bolling Esq’r.

Armorial. Chippendale. Figures are used as supporters which would appear to symbolize the freedom of the Garden of Eden, and the learning of classic Greece. Motto-ribbon empty; no crest. Of Chellowe, Va. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 15.

89. Bonaparte. Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. A plain label, with an ornamental type border. Nephew of Napoleon the Great. Born in England, 1805; died in Baltimore, Md., 1870.

90. Bond. T. Bond, Surgeon.

Armorial. Chippendale. Signed, W. H. Native of Maryland; 1712-1784. A distinguished physician and surgeon of Philadelphia.

91. Booth. Benjn. Booth. Crest only. Autograph in a wreath under the crest. Of New York, until the Revolution broke out.

92. Booth. George Booth.

Literary. A lighted candle and books in confusion are placed upon a table. The name is carved upon the edge of the table. On one of the book-covers appears the Booth crest. An etched plate.

93. Boston. Shakspeare Circulating Library, Charles Callender, No. 25 School Street, Boston.

A very curious old woodcut, with a large oval medallion of the famous writer for whom the library was named placed in the centre against a rough rock background; the masks of Comedy and Tragedy lie at the foot, and the hilts of foils can be made out; a garland of roses falls at the right hand, and the rays of the sun come over the top. This is a rough engraving, very black and indistinct.

94. Boston. Social Law Library. Boston.

The name appears on a curtain looped up and held by cord and tassel; above this a small oval encloses a view of four waterspouts, each from behind a rock; above this the circular frame encloses a hand bearing a lighted torch; on the frame is the motto, Vestra cura alitur, and the date 1804; a pile of books above for crest, with S.L.L. on the cover of one.

95. Boucher. Jonathan Boucher.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Non vi sed voluntate. A Loyalist clergyman in Virginia, whose estates were confiscated, after which he returned to England whence he had come in 1754. Published a tract on the causes and consequences of the Revolution, and compiled a glossary of Provincial and Archæological Words, which was purchased of his family in 1831, for the proprietors of Webster’s Dictionary.

96. Boudinot. Boudinot.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Soli Deo gloria et honor. Elias Boudinot, born in 1740, in Philadelphia, of Huguenot extraction. Sided strongly with the colonies in the Revolution, and was President of Congress in 1782. A signer of the Treaty of Peace. Died, 1821. This plate is not signed, but it is the work of Maverick. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 111.

97. Bowdoin. Honble. James Bowdoin. Esqr. Plain armorial. Motto, Ut aquila versus coelum.

The same plate as the Bowdoin College, whose benefactor he was.

98. Bowdoin. Bowdoin College.

Plain armorial. The arms of the Hon. James Bowdoin are given with his motto, Ut aquila versus coelum. The sun in splendor shines above the crest, and the name of the college is engraved over it. This college was chartered in 1794, and then presented with eleven hundred pounds and one thousand acres of land, by Hon. James Bowdoin, son of the governor of the colony. By his will a further gift was made to the college.

99. Boylston. Boylston Medical Library.

Plain armorial. The arms of the Boylston family are given without ornamentation or motto. Signed, Annin & Smith. Ward Nicholas Boylston, a patron of medical science, gave to the medical school of Harvard College a valuable collection of anatomical and medical books and engravings, in the year 1800.

100. Boylston. Property of the Boylston Medical Library Cambridge.

Armorial. The arms of the Boylston family are given. Signed, Callender Sc.

101. Bozman. John Leeds Bozman. Esqr of the Middle Temple.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Sine virtute vani sunt honores. Lawyer, poet, and historian; born in Maryland in 1757, died in 1823. University of Penn., 1783. Completed his studies in London. His chief work is the “History of Maryland to the Restoration in 1660.” An “Historical and Philosophical Sketch of the Prime Causes of the Revolutionary War” was suppressed; in this Washington was praised and Franklin depreciated. This same copper has been used more recently with the following words added: on either side of the crest, “John Leeds Kerr of Talbot Co. Md. 15th Jan. 1780, 21st Feb. 1844;” at the bottom, under the name of Bozman, “The Maryland Historian, 25th Aug. 1757, 20th April, 1823.”

102. Brasher. Philip Brasher.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Beata Domus, Custodita Sic Cuja Deo Domino Est. The shield, with its motto-ribbon and flowery ornamentation, seems to be held up by the winged female who grasps the portcullis of the crest. Below the shield a patch of ground is strewn with books and writing material. A dwarfed weeping willow bends mournfully at the left. Signed on an unrolled sheet of paper, Maverick Scp. Was a prisoner in a sugar-house in New York during the Revolutionary War, which suggested the crest; he had no right to the arms.

103. Brazer. John Brazer. Plain armorial. Shaded mantling. Motto, Try. Of Salem, Mass.

104. Brearly. David Brearly.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Honor virtutis praemium. A large plate; attributed to Vallance. Jurist, of Trenton, N.J. A brave officer in the Revolution.

105. Bridgen. Charles Bridgen. Plain armorial. Motto, Probitate et industria.

This plate is not signed, but it is very probably the work of Maverick.

106. Brimage. William Brimage.

Plain armorial. Impaling Gilbert. Arms closely surrounded by a garter on which the name appears. Motto below, Deus dux certus. Of Virginia.

107. Brisbane. William Brisbane.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Dabit otia Deus.

108. Brooks. Benjamin S. Brooks.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Sustinere. Signed, A. D. (Amos Doolittle).

109. Brown. David Paul Brown.

Plain armorial. Motto, Patria cara, carior libertas. Signed, C. P. H. St. Lawyer, of Philadelphia.

110. Brown. The Property of Jacob Brown.

Pictorial. The interior of a library is depicted, within an oval frame which is ornamented above with a ribbon and a spray of holly; the name is given on the fluttering ends of the ribbon. The central portion of the library is occupied by a couch, covered with striped cloth, on which a youth, dressed in the height of the fashion, reclines; a book is laid upon the convenient corner of the table, and he is reading from this; behind him the shelves of books are seen partly covered by a curtain; through the window are seen the nodding pines; the carpet is adorned with thirteen stars. The following lines are given below the frame: —

Weigh well each thought, each sentence freely scan,In Reason’s balance try the works of man;Be bias’d not by those who praise or blame,Nor, Servile, Yield opinion to a Name.

Signed, Engrd. by P. R. Maverick 65 Liberty Street. As the name Jacob Brown is not engraved, but is printed by hand, it is quite likely that this plate was for promiscuous use; either to be filled up with the name of any who ordered it, or to be pasted in the books sold by some bookseller.

111. Brown. John Carter Brown. Crest only. Motto, Gaudeo.

112. Brown. Thomas Brown.

Armorial. Arms, … on a chevron, between three leopards’ heads cabossed, or as many escallops… Crest, an eagle’s head erased or. Motto, En espérance je vie. Signed by Hurd.

113. Browne. Peter A. Browne.

Literary. A plain table, with the scull and crossbones carved in two places upon it, supports several large volumes, on the side of one of which is the name of the owner. On the side of the table the motto is cut, Fiat Justitia. A wreath of laurel rests upon the books, and the all-seeing eye looks upon the scene from above. Signed, Engraved by James Akin. A prominent lawyer in Philadelphia, and the author of “Browne’s Reports.”

114. Brownson. Oliver Brownson’s Property.

An engraved label with the name curved over a peacock which is perched on a scroll.

115. Bruen. M. Bruen.

Plain armorial. Motto, Fides scutum. Matthias Bruen was a clergyman in New York City; ordained in London, 1819.

116. Bruff. The Property of J. G. Bruff, Portsmouth, Va. 183-. Pictorial. On this, a weeping elm supports a large shield on which the inscription is given; so large is the shield that only a little of the tree shows around the edge of the shield. A woodcut.

117. Buchanan. W. B. Buchanan.

Armorial. Motto, Clarior hinc honos.

118. Bull. Martin Bull.

Armorial. A plain armorial plate with the mantling extending down the side of the shield. Motto, Virtus basis vitae. This is the plate of one of the engravers of the old Farmington book-plate, Deacon Bull. See “Ex Libris Journal,” Vol. III, page 187.

119. Burke. James Henry Burke Esqr.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Sola salus servire Deo. Of Virginia.

120. Burnet. John Burnet. Attorney at Law New York.

Armorial. Jacobean frame; mantling. Motto, Virescit vulnere virtus. This plate is earlier than the succeeding one by Dawkins.

121. Burnet. John Burnet Esqr New York.

Armorial. Chippendale. The usual pastoral scene which Dawkins used is found here; the shepherdess, and the cupids making music on the flute, and bringing books for leisure moments. Motto, Virescit vulnere virtus. Signed, H. Dawkins Sculp. 1754. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 13.

122. Byam. Francisci Byam, ex Insula Antigua.

Armorial. Jacobean. Motto, Claris dextera factis. Rich mantling continued around the whole shield; the background shell-lined. Printed in brown ink.

123. Byrd. William Byrd of Westover in Virginia Esqr.

Armorial. Jacobean. A very interesting specimen of its class. The profuse mantling thrown high in the air, the shell-lined background, and the curtain upheld at the ends (on which the name and address are given) are prominent characteristics as pointed out by Warren. A rich abundance of fruit overflows from two cornucopiæ, and the motto-ribbon is twined in and out through the scrolls at the base. Motto, Nulla pallescere culpa. Colonel Byrd was a very distinguished Virginian: was born to an ample fortune, liberally educated, and became the patron of science and literature in his native state. President of the Council of the colony; author of the “Westover Manuscripts,” and of other essays. Born, 1674; died, 1744. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 14.

124. Cabell. Doct.r Geo. Cabell Richmond Virga.

Allegorical. In the centre of the design a flaming heart rests upon the shank of an anchor. A thin patch of ground, which grows a few trees, and looks like an island, upholds these emblems of hope. The motto is just above, —Spes mea in Deo. Above this again the all-seeing eye, wreathed in clouds, appears. The whole is enclosed in a design of Ribbon and Wreath arrangement. Evidently the work of Brooks, who engraved the plate of Dr. I. Dove of the same city.

125. Cabell. Samuel Jordan Cabell, of Soldier’s Joy.

Pictorial. The name is printed from type upon a large oval medallion; this is supported by the half-draped figure of Liberty holding the pole with the cap upon it, and an officer in the uniform of the Continental Army. The arms of the United States are above the medallion. The pictorial parts of this are cut in wood.

126. Cabot. William Cabot.

Armorial. Wild Chippendale. No motto. Of Massachusetts.

127. Cadena. M. V. C. (Mariano de la Cadena.)

Plain armorial. An ordinary square shield supported by a very peculiar frame. Motto, Fidem servat vinculaque sulvit. A Professor of Spanish in Columbia College.

128. Cadena. Don Mariano Valazquez de la Cadena. Plain armorial. No motto. Of New York City.

129. Cadena. Mariano Valazquez de la Cadena. Small, plain armorial. Of New York City.

130. Caillaud. John Caillaud. Esqr.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. The frame enclosing the arm is oval in form and quite peculiar in construction; an eagle with a chaplet in his beak appears as a crest.

131. Callaway. Thomas Callaway. Plain armorial. Motto, Aliis quod ab aliis.

132. Callender. John Callender.

Armorial. Pictorial. The shield rests against a rock, mossgrown and over-topped by shrubs. Signed, Callender Sc. Of Massachusetts.

133. Calvert. Thos. Calvert.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto-ribbon empty.

134. Campbell. Donald Campbell. Jamaica.

Armorial. The shield affixed to the mast of a lymphad. (The crest of this family of Campbells.) Motto, Fit via vi.

135. Carmichaell. The Honourable Wm Carmichaell Esqr.

Armorial. Early English. The very full mantling nearly surrounds the shield. Motto, Toujours prest. Diplomatist. Born in Maryland. Delegate to Congress, 1778-1780. Foreign minister. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 16.

136. Carroll. Charles Carroll.

Armorial. Chippendale. No motto. The last surviving signer of the Declaration. Died, 1832. This was the Charles Carroll who added “of Carrollton” after his signature to the Declaration, that no mistake might ever be made in recognizing him. Illustrated in “Book Lovers’ Almanac,” 1894. Duprat and Co., New York.

137. Carroll. Charles Carroll Barrister at Law.

Armorial. Jacobean. No motto. The same arms as the Charles Carroll.

138. Carroll. Charles Carroll of ye Inner Templer Esqr,

Second Son of Daniell Carroll of Litterlouna Esqr. in the Kings County in the Kingdom of Ireland.

Armorial. Early English. Elaborate mantling all about the shield. Motto-ribbon empty. Grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the signer. Emigrated to Maryland about 1686.

139. Carroll. Ephm. Carroll.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, In fide et in bello fortes.

140. Cary. Alpheus Cary. Jr.

Plain armorial. The shield surrounded by an oval frame of sun’s rays. Signed, A. Cary del. H. Morse Sc. Of Massachusetts.

141. Cary. Miles Cary.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Sine Deo careo. Of Virginia.

142. Cary. Thomas Cary.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, In medio tutissimus ibis. Signed, Callender Scp. Of Massachusetts.

143. Cay. Gabriel Cay.

Crest only. Name enclosed in Jacobean frame. No motto. Of Virginia.

144. Chalmers. Geo. Chalmers.

Armorial. Motto, Spero. A resident of Maryland; a stiff Loyalist; author of “Chalmers’ Annals.”

145. Chambers. Benjamin Chambers’s Book.

Armorial. False heraldry. Plain armorial plate with supporters, surrounded by a circular wreath. Motto, Spiro. Founder of Chambersburg, Penn.

146. Chambers. John Chambers Esqr.

Armorial. Arms not in Burke. Az. a chevron or. bet. three cockle shells of the last. Chippendale. Motto, Vincit veritas. Signed, E. Gallaudet Sculp. Chief Justice of New York, 1754.

147. Chandler. Gardiner Chandler.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto-ribbon empty. Signed, P. Revere Sculp. Of Massachusetts.

148. Chandler. John Chandler Junr Esqr.

Armorial. Chippendale. A very handsome design in the best of Hurd’s styles. Has the characteristic flow of water from the large shell at the bottom. No motto. Signed, N. Hurd Sculp. Of Massachusetts.

149. Chandler. Rufus Chandler.

Armorial. Attributed to Hurd.

150. Chase. Sl. Chase.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Ne cede malis. Signed, Boyd Sc. A signer of the Declaration from Maryland.

151. Chauncey. Chauncey.

Plain armorial. Motto, Gloria.

152. Chauncey. Charles Chauncey.

Plain armorial. Motto-ribbon empty.

153. Chauncey. Charles Chauncey M.D.

Plain armorial. Motto, Sublimis per ardua tendo. Two fierce lions couch upon the ends of the motto-ribbon, and the mantling envelopes the shield. The initials C. C., in cipher, are given between the two names.

154. Chauncey. J. St. Clair Chauncey.

Plain armorial. Motto, Gloria. An officer of the United States Navy.

155. Chawney. Armorial. Of Pennsylvania.

156. Chester. John Chester.

Plain armorial. On a ribbon tied above, By the name of Chester. No motto. Of Wethersfield, Conn. Colonel in the Continental Army; commander of the “elite corps”; was in the battle of Bunker Hill.

157. Child. Francis Child.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Pro lege et rege. Signed, H. Dawkins. Sculpt. Very fine work.

158. Child. The Property of Isaac Child.

Under the name is the verse beginning —

If thou art borrowed by a friend,Right welcome shall he be, etc.

Signed, Sold by N. Dearborn & Son. Undoubtedly engraved by Dearborn.

159. Child. Isaac Child, Boston.

Literary. Four shelves of books. Probably by Dearborn.

160. Child. Thomas Child.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Fari aude. Not signed, but evidently the work of Nathaniel Hurd. First Postmaster of Portland, Me.

161. Child. William Henry Child.

Armorial in form, but displaying no arms on the shield. Crest, two doves with olive branches in their mouths. The initials W. H. C., in cipher, occupy the shield. Ribbon and Wreath. No motto. Very similar in design to the plate of George Grote, the historian. Illustrated in “Art Amateur,” April, 1894.

162. Clark. D. Lawrence Clark.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Semper idem. Undoubtedly the arms are not genuine: the argent field of the shield is charged with a branch of holly, and the crest is the American eagle, with a star above its head.

163. Clark. John Clark. M.D.

Plain armorial. Motto, Semper idem. The arms are undoubtedly assumed; az. an oak branch ppr. Crest, an American eagle, with a star (mullet) above.

164. Clarke. Alfred Clarke.

Crest only. Motto, Soyez ferme. Of Cooperstown, N.Y.

165. Clarke. George Clarke.

Crest only. Motto, Soyez ferme. Signed, J. F. Morin. Sc. N.Y.

166. Clarke. Peter Clarke.

Armorial. Chippendale. Motto, Coronat virtus cultores suos. Printed in blue ink.

167. Clarkson. David Clarkson Gent.

Armorial. Jacobean. No motto. Of New York. Illustrated in “Curio,” page 66.

168. Clarkson. M. Clarkson.

Armorial, plain. No motto. Matthew Clarkson was for twenty-one years the President of the Bank of New York.

169. Cleborne. C. I. Cleborne. M. D.

Armorial. The shield canted to one side, surmounted by the helmet; it and the mantling is enclosed within a circular ribbon, on which the motto, Clibor ne sceame, is given. A second ribbon over the design bears the motto, Virtute invidiam vincas. Signed, Jarrett London.

170. Cleveland. Stephen Cleveland.

Pictorial. A very unusual plate: a full-rigged British man-of-war, with ten guns peering from the loop-holes, is hastening from the observer; the English ensign flies from the stern. A very spirited piece of work. It is said that his commission as Captain in our Navy just after the Declaration was the first one issued. Born in Connecticut, 1740, died in Massachusetts, 1801.

171. Clinton. De Witt Clinton.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Patria cara carior libertas. Signed, P. R. Maverick. sculpt. Governor of New York, 1817-1822, and 1824-1827. Illustrated in “Art Amateur,” February, 1894.

172. Cock. William Cock.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Quod fieri non vis alteri ne fueris. Signed, Maverick Sculpt. The tinctures in the crest – which looks like a leghorn – are indicated by the words, gules and or, engraved outside, and connected with the parts thus tinctured by dotted lines, – a new method. Of New York. Illustrated in “Art Amateur,” March, 1894.

173. Coffin. Coffin arms: name erased.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Post tenebras speramus lumen de lumine. Signed, J. Akin Sculp. The name N. W. Coffin is written upon the copy at hand. The arms are of the family of Sir Isaac Coffin, who was born in Boston, 1759.

174. Coffin. Hector Coffin.

Armorial. Ribbon and Wreath. Motto, Exstant recte factus praemia. Signed, J. Akin del. F. Kearny Sc. Of Boston.

175. Coffin. John Coffin. 1771.

Armorial. A frame of Jacobean tendencies. Motto-ribbon empty. Of Massachusetts.

176. Colden. Cadwallader D. Colden.

Plain armorial. Motto, Fais bien crains rien. Mayor of New York City in 1818. Friend and coadjutor of De Witt Clinton.

177. Columbia College. Columbia College Library New York.

Allegorical. The scene is out-of-doors; a throne placed on rising ground is occupied by the Goddess of Learning; the Shekinah blazes above and the rising sun peeps over the horizon. Three little nude beginners in learning stand before the Goddess, in whose hand an open book is extended bearing the motto, Λογια Ζὡνζα. From her mouth a scroll issues bearing in Hebrew the motto, אוריאר Let there be light. Beneath this scene is the reference I Pet. II i. 2 &c. The name of the library appears upon the circular frame which encloses the whole scene; the motto, In lumine tuo videbimus lumen, follows the inner line of the circle. Above, an urn is overfilled with the blossoms of knowledge, while the background of the whole is a brick wall. Signed, Anderson sculp.