Acadiensis/Volume 1/Number 2/Book-Plates
Book-Plates.
BOOK-PLATE, as defined in the Century Dictionary, is a label, bearing a name, crest, monogram, or other design pasted in or on a book to indicate its ownership, its position in a library, etc.
When and where the custom of using book-plates originated, it is not possible now to state, but that the custom is a very ancient one, originating within a very few years after the first printing of books with moveable type, there can be little doubt.
With the spread of education, the accumulation of private libraries, and the development of artistic taste, the book-plate became more than a mere label; and users of book-plates soon began to vie with one another in the production of the more ambitious armorial, or the allegorical, symbolical or pictorial designs suggested by the fancies of their various owners.
On the continent of Europe book-plates are invariably termed Ex-Libris, signifying literally, "out of the books of," or from the collection of books of John Doe, or Richard Roe, as the case might be. In Great Britain, and in some parts of America, the same custom, to a certain extent, prevails, but in the United States book-plates having pictorial designs are generally regarded with the most favor.
Pasted upon the fly-leaf of a MSS., in the College of Arms, at York, England, is a book-plate of Joseph Holand, while the date, 1585, appears upon the fly-leaf. The autograph title to the MSS. is as follows:
In this booke are contayned the armes of the nobylytye of Ireland, and of certeyne gentlemen of the same countrye.
Joseph Holand, 1585.
In England we find three other book-plates dating from the sixteenth century, one bearing the date 1518; the second, the plate of Sir Thomas Treshame, 1585; and that of 1574, the beautiful armorial plate of Sir Nicholas Bacon, father of the celebrated Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England, and essayist.
The usual size of a book-plate is about 21/2 x 4 inches, but some examples of German book-plates may be seen 61/2 x 9 inches in size. It is needless to say that plates of this size could only be used with volumes of not less than quarto size. In the Surrenden Collection there are several loose impressions of Sir Edward Dering's book-plate, bearing date 1630. This is a very elaborate affair, and of a size only adapted for a folio volume.
It is only in very recent years that the custom of collecting book-plates has become general, and the first English work on the subject was by Hon. Leicester Warren, A Guide to the Study of Book-Plates, published in 1880. Since that date scores of books, some of them most elaborately illustrated, have been issued.
Probably one of the best known collectors of book-plates is Mr. James Dorman, who keeps a quaint bookshop in Southampton Row, London, England, and in whose establishment the writer has spent many delightful hours. He is much quoted by various writers in the British periodicals as an authority, and his place is much frequented by folks devoted to things Ex-Libris. He has an immense fund of information about plates and all that appertains thereto, and his devotion to the subject is proved by the extent and value of his private collection, which contains over 4,000 varieties.
It is not an uncommon occurrence in old volumes to find as many as four different book plates, pasted one over another, showing that the book had been the property of at least four persons ; all of whom had owned and used book-plates. In renovating old books for sale, secondhand dealers have no conscientious scruples about pasting a new sheet of paper over the inside of the cover of a book, often consigning to oblivion many valuable autographs and plates. The practiced eye, however, readily detects the plate beneath, and patience and perseverance and a little hot water will sometimes bring to light many treasures.
In at least two instances in removing old plates which have been covered up for nearly a century, the writer has found the first book-plate of the original owner superceeded by another of more pretentious design, bearing other arms quartered with those of the older label. The inference will seem to be, that the owner had married an heiress, and re-constructed his book-plate to suit the altered conditions of life. An heiress in the parlance of heraldry, be it understood, is not merely a lady of means, but one, who, not having any surviving male relations, who by right of precedence assume the family arms, becomes herself entitled to wear them, and upon her marriage quarters them upon her husband's shield.
The purpose of the following series of articles is mainly local, however, and while copies of book-plates of persons outside the limits of Acadia may occasionally be used by way of illustration, the purpose of the writer is to catalogue, as fully as possible, all Acadian plates of the existence of which he has been able to obtain authentic information.
The persons within this area, who have used book-plates being comparatively few, a wide scope must be allowed, and the plates of persons not Acadian by birth, but who have, for a series of years been residents of this country, will be included in the following inventory.
The writer regrets that the great expense of reproducing the plates has prevented the more ample illustration of this series of articles, but he feels that those given may be accepted as representing many of the best of the various types obtainable.
No. 1—Book-Plate of Sir James Stuart, Bart.
1.—Sir James Stuart, Bart.—The first plate in our catalogue, and one which the writer values highly, is that of Sir James Stuart, Bart., Chief Justice of Lower Canada. It was discovered by Mr. John Kerr, barrister-at-law, of St. John, in a second hand law book which he purchased from a dealer in England. The book had evidently been the property of the distinguished jurist, at his death been disposed of, passed into the hands of the English dealer, then, after the renovating process previously described, finally found its way into the library of Mr. Kerr.
Chief Justice Sir James Stuart, Bart., third son of Rev. Dr. John Stuart, was born at Fort Hunter in the State of New York, March 2, 1780. He studied at Kings College, Windsor, N. S.; entered the law office of Jonathan Sewell in 1798, and was called to the bar March 23, 1801. In 1805 he was appointed Solicitor General for Lower Canada, and removed from Quebec to Montreal, which he was elected to represent in 1808, but in consequence of some differences he lost the Solicitor-Generalship in 1809. He continued a member of the Assembly till 1817, when he retired for a time from political life. In 1822 he was a delegate to England in the interests of Montreal, and in 1827 became a member of the Executive Council, representing Sorel. Lord Aylmer suspended him in 1831, but the next year Lord Stanley, the new Colonial Secretary, offered him the Chief Justiceship of Newfoundland, which was declined. Jonathan Sewell resigned as Chief Justice of Lower Canada in 1838, and Lord Durham appointed Sir James Stuart to the vacancy. He was created a baronet in 1841, on which occasion he selected for his motto, "Justitice propositique tenea" which few words convey an epitome of his character, and died July 14, 1853. His career was a distinguished one. A profound lawyer, an eloquent advocate, he in many respects resembled his predecessor in office—Jonathan Sewell.
2, 3, 4. Robert Sears.—Three book-plates bearing this name are contained in an old English grammar, which has been placed in the hands of the writer by Mr. George Edward Sears, of Toronto, a first cousin of Mr. Edward Sears, ex-mayor of the City of St. John. Mr. Sears' letter is as follows:
Toronto, March 19th, 1901.
My Dear Mr. Jack,—
I am sending you an old grammar of Lindley Murray's, in which I find three of my late father's book-plates, of a very simple but quaint style.
I am satisfied that this book was one of his school books, he has in his own hand-writing marked the date (1825); he was then fifteen years of age, and in Henry Chubb's printing office as an apprentice. I have no doubt that he set up these little labels himself.
The first one indicates that he loaned his books, even at that early age, and desired his companions to share in the pleasures of reading as well as himself.
Yours cordially,
Geo. Ed. Sears.
Robert Sears served his apprenticeship, as stated, by Mr. Geo. Ed. Sears in his letter, from 1820–28. He removed to New York in 1830 and was the first publisher of pictorial illustrated works in the new world.
These are probably the oldest book-plates actually printed in New Brunswick, and we reproduce them as nearly as circumstances will permit.
5. Count Robert Visart deBury, of Bury in Belgium and St. John, N. B., is descended from an English family, which emigrated to the Lower Countries at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and members of which took a prominent part in the wars of that period. 
No. 5One of the family, through his marriage with the last heiress of the well-known French family of de Chatillon, became possessed of the estate of Soleilleval in Artois and of the titular Lordship of Nazareth in the Holy Land, which was handed down in that family from the time of the Crusades. About the middle of the eighteenth century the Lordships of Bury and Bocarme, in Belgium were, with the title of Count, granted by the Empress Maria Theresa to Colonel Francis Visart de Soleilleval in recognition of his services in the wars of that time, and have remained in the family ever since.
Count de Bury's great uncle was Field Marshall de Chasteler, who vanquished Napoleon's army in the Tyrol in 1809 and died Governor of Venice in 1832. Another connection was Calonne, minister of Louis XVI, and also the Abbe de Calonne, a French missionary in Prince Edward Island at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.
R. V. de Bury studied at the Episcopal College of Mecheln, in Belgium, at the University of Zurich and at the Polytechnic School of Stuttgart in Wurtemberg, from which he graduated as civil engineer. He was employed by the Orleans Railway Company and by the Government of Wurtemberg in the survey of the Black Forest Railway.
He married Miss Simonds of St. John, N. B., at Stuttgart, in 1869, and came to this Province at the end of the year 1873, residing partly at Portland, N. B., and partly at Bury, in Belgium, ever since. He is Belgium Consul for the Province of New Brunswick and Consular Agent for France at St. John, and was, for some years, a member of the Town Council of Portland.
No. 6Count de Bury's eldest son Henry, is a Captain in the British army and is in command of the Royal Artillery in the Island of Santa Lucia.
The book-plate used by Count de Bury is simple but effective in style, and, as may be readily observed, is illustrative of that much debated question, whether the pen is mightier than the sword. Our illustration is from the original block, which was engraved for the owner by C. H. Flewelling of this city.
6. William Kenah, a sketch of whose book-plate, made by Charles E. Cameron, Esq., M.D., from an original, is here reproduced, was born on the 25th of October, 1819, and was the son of Captain Joseph Kenah of the 104th regiment, and of Mary (Allen) his wife, daughter of Judge Isaac Allen.
He was a brother of the late Mrs. William Jack, of St. John, and of the late Mrs. Samuel A. Akerley, of Fredericton, N. B., at which city he spent many of the earlier years of his life. The late Chief Justice Allen and he were first cousins, and being very nearly of an age, and much alike in manner and disposition, were most intimate companions.
Senator Dever, of this city, well remembers William Kenah, and describes him as a handsome and courtly man, of fine character and good presence.
He was employed for several years with the Messrs. Carvell in St. John in the iron business, and at the time of his death, which occurred on the 25th of January, 1846, he had just completed his arrangements to commence business on his own account, being then in his 27th year.
In an old brass-bound mahogany desk, which had belonged to him, and which had not been opened for several years, were recently found several letters of recommendation, signed by the late Hon John Robertson and others, and describing Mr. Kenah's character and attainments in most eulogistic terms. From among the number, the following, from the late Hon. John Simcoe Saunders, is selected:
Fredericton, 8th February, 1845.
My Dear Sir,—
It will be a subject of much satisfaction to me if I can be of any service to you in promoting your views.
Having been, from my earliest years, on terms of great intimacy with your father and his family, I have observed your entrance into life with peculiar solicitude, and have uniformly been gratified by finding your conduct and character, such as all your warmest friends could wish, as to steadiness, propriety and rectitude, as well as from your habits of industry, knowledge of business, and superior natural talents and capabilities, and I can .assure you that these remarks are not only warranted from the result of my own observations, but from the uniform testimony in your favor of many persons of high character and standing who have expressed themselves to me most warmly in your favor.
I am, my dear Sir,
Yours very faithfully,
John S. Saunders.
7. Charles Douglas Smith was the grandfather of G. Sidney Smith, Esq., barrister, of St. John, N. B. His book-plate, an original copy of which is in the writer's possession, is a fine example of the true English armorial plate, and its many quarterings would prove a charming study for those who delight in heraldry. He was an officer of dragoons in the British army, and a brother of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, who fought and held in check Napoleon Bonaparte at Acre. His portrait and sword are now to be seen at the residence of his grandson, Mr. G. Sidney Smith, Dorchester Street, St. John.
The plate used by Mr. G. Sidney Smith (No. 8) is an almost exact reproduction of that of his grandfather, Henry Boyer Smith, son of Mr. Charles Douglas Smith, was, in 1824, at the early age of twenty-four years, appointed by the Imperial government Comptroller of the port of St. John, and shortly afterward succeeded to the Collectorship, which position he continued to hold until the Imperial government was transferred to the colonial authorities in 1848, when he was retired with a pension. He continued to reside in St. John up to the time of his death, in 1868. His home was on Carleton Street, a substantial and comfortably built brick house, nearly opposite the old Mechanics' Institute building. Before the death of Mrs. Charlotte L. Smith, his widow, it was purchased by Mr. James F. Robertson, the present occupant, by whom it was remodeled and thoroughly modernized. To-day it forms one of the most comfortable and commodious residences in St. John.
8. George Sidney Smith, grandson of Charles D. Smith, is the owner of the book-plate which is shown upon the next page, the printing being from the original block, executed for Mr. Smith. By a curious mistake on the part of the engraver, the quarterings in the lower left hand corner of the shield were reversed. Otherwise it is an exact reproduction of that used by his grandfather. Mr. Smith, as a lad, was the winner of the Douglas silver medal, as "Dux" of the Collegiate School at Fredericton. He afterwards graduated from Kings College, now the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, winning a foundation scholarship, taking his degree of Bachelor of Arts with honors, and winning the Douglas gold medal for an essay. He studied law in the office of William Jack, Q. C., Advocate General in St. John, was admitted an attorney in 1858, and a barrister in October, 1859. He married, in 1861, Elizabeth Sands Thorne, only child of Stephen R. Thorne, a barrister of Loyalist descent.
Mr. Smith has a very fine collection of old seals and signet rings, antique watches, family portraits, medals, old silverware, swords, muskets, and other articles of vertu, each of which has some peculiarly interesting family tradition connected with it. The writer, who is a keen admirer of collections of this nature, spent a very pleasant hour with Mr. Smith, when preparing this sketch, in examining the various articles enumerated, and in listening to the many episodes connected with the history of the family.
9. Isaac Allen Jack, Q. C., D. C. L., barrister-at-law, and formerly Recorder of the City of St. John, son of the late William Jack, Q. C., and of Emma Carleton (Kenah) his wife, and nephew of the late William Kenah before referred to, is the owner of a plain but neat book-label, several copies of which are in the possession of the writer. The label is of moderate size, about 11/2 x 4 inches, printed on white paper, and bears the simple inscription:
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Jack was David William Jack, son of William Jack, Bailie, of the town of Cupar Fife, Scotland. The writer visited Cupar in January, 1900, and there met one George Thompson, then in his 93rd year, carpenter by trade, still able to support himself and a blind sister almost of his own age, and who was able to give him much valuable family history, most of which he was able afterwards to verify from the public records and other sources. This man well remembered William Jack, and related many amusing anecdotes in connection with the life of the late Bailie.
Mr. Jack, as a boy, studied for several years under the late Canon Lee, and then entered the Collegiate School at Fredericton, matriculated at Kings College, Fredericton, afterward removing to Kings College, Windsor, N. S., where, in 1863, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1877 he received from the last mentioned college the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law, and in 1884 that of Doctor of Civil Law. He was admitted attorney in October, 1866, and barrister the following year. He was appointed Recorder of St. John in April, 1885, and was created a Q. C. in March, 1891.
He has been connected with various national, literary and other societies, and with the old Mechanics' Institute of St. John, in the management of which he took a very active interest, on several occasions delivering a lecture in the regular annual course. He was a literary contributor to the Week of Toronto, and to various other periodicals and magazines.
No. 10—Book-Plate of Alderman George Bond.
In June, 1895, owing to ill-health, he was compelled to retire from active business, but nevertheless continues to take a keen interest in literary work. It was at his suggestion that the writer was induced to take up the work connected with the editorial and business management of Acadiensis. His article, which appeared in the first number, entitled, "Thirst in Acadia," has been much admired as a piece of good descriptive writing.
10. Alderman George Bond was a member of the Council of the City of St. John from 1833 to 1849. An Englishman by birth, he came out from Portsmouth in a frigate which had been a man-of war, landing upon the beach in the City of St. John, near where the present custom house stands, there being no wharves in those days. He married a widow named Coram, but never had any children. He was a mill-owner, operating the tide mill from which the present mill pond at Carleton takes its name. This mill was for the sawing of lumber, and the power was supplied by the rise and fall of the tide. The mill wheel used was what was known as a flutter wheel, built like a cart wheel, with a large hub and spokes, the latter having the paddles or buckets attached, the pressure of water from the tide causing the wheel to rotate with great velocity. The lower wheel with the timbers and part of the frame, though under water for eighty years, were found intact when that part of the St. John harbor was dredged for the construction of the present deep water facilities, within the past five years. A general store was kept by Alderman Bond near this mill, from which the mill hands and general public were able to obtain their supplies.
Mr. Bond and his wife were originally Methodists, but held views not entirely in accordance with the discipline of that denomination; accordingly, a little meeting-house was built at Sand Point, and here Jew or Gentile, Christian or Barbarian, was at liberty to enter the pulpit and preach as the spirit moved them. This freedom of worship does not appear to have been very generally taken advantage of, for it is related that it was customary on Sundays for Mrs. Bond to mount the pulpit and preach, while the alderman played the organ. The instrument being what is known as a barrel organ, did not require the skill of an accomplished musician.
Mr. Bond, when a member of the City Council, was noted for his easy manner, never disagreeing with his fellow aldermen, but obtaining his point when possible by persuasion, rather than by the force of argument. He was a man of smoothness, hence the name by which he was generally known, the "Smoothing Iron."
He was both an Orangeman and a Freemason, but the writer is unable to learn of his having held any prominent office with either body. He also held two or three minor municipal or provincial offices. That he was a man of some literary ability and taste is apparent from the fact that he left quite a large and valuable library, which was disposed of at the time of his death, which occurred on the 4th of January, 1852, at the age of sixty-two.
[It is proposed to continue this series of articles, taking up the book-plates of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in turn. Any of our readers who may themselves be the owners of, or be aware of the existence of any book-plates which would come within the scope of these articles, are requested to correspond with the editor of this magazine upon the subject.—Editor.]