.
By Ellen Jarosz
Collection Overview
Title: Barbara Abele Bookplate Collection, 1915-1998
Predominant Dates:1970-1998
Primary Creator: Abele, Barbara
Extent: 6.5 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
I. Bookplates by Subject, A-Z
II. Bookplates by Designer, A-Z
III. Collector Files, A-Z
IV. Correspondence
V. Subject Files
VI. American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD)
VII. Published Materials
1.) Bookplates in the News
2.) Other Publications
Date Acquired: 09/18/2003
Subjects: Abele, Barbara, d. 1998--Archives, American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers--Archives, Bookplate Collection, Bookplates--Collectors and collecting, Bookplates--History, Bookplates--Specimens
Forms of Material: Personal Papers
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Barbara Abele Bookplate Collection documents the historical development of bookplates, bookplate designers, and collectors, as well as the communication networks they used when interacting with each other. The collection dates from 1915 to 1998 with the bulk of documents created or collected between 1970 and 1998. It consists of six main series: Bookplates by Subject, Bookplates by Designer, Collector Files, Correspondence, the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD), and Published Materials. The Published Materials series includes two subseries: an incomplete run of the newsletter Bookplates in the News, and other miscellaneous published works, all relating to bookplate collecting and designing.
The Bookplates by Subject and Bookplates by Designer series consists of files of bookplates arranged alphabetically by subject, and designer’s last name, filed from A-Z.
The Collector Files are composed of information about different bookplate collectors, and include some correspondence press releases, and news articles.
The Correspondence series consists of correspondence both with individuals and institutions written by Barbara Abele from the 1970s-1990s primarily about sharing and building her collection of bookplates. It is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or general subject.
The Subject Files consist of a few photographs and files generated during research for public presentations made by Abele, and about bookplate collecting. They are filed alphabetically by subject.
The American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD) consists of membership directories dating from 1966, 1977-83, and 1992, and yearbooks dating throughout the 20th century, filed chronologically by year of publication.
The Published Materials series is comprised of two subseries: Bookplates in the News and Other Publications. The collection does not contain a complete run of Bookplates in the News, but does include issues from July 1970 to April 1998. They are filed chronologically. The second subseries, Other Publications, includes a collection of published works drawn upon by Barbara Abele when performing research about bookplates and when networking with other collectors and designers. They are filed alphabetically by author, and inventoried in the Container List below.
Biographical Note
Bookplates, labels indicating ownership pasted inside the front cover of a book, probably originated in Germany in the mid-15th century. The earliest dated bookplate still in existence was created in 1516, and is also German. In North America the earliest known bookplate, dated 1674, was found in colonial New England, while the earliest example created by an American engraver dates from 1749.
Many themes and motifs can be identified in bookplate creation throughout history. Pictorial bookplates include portraits, images of books, views of libraries, and various landscapes. Early armorial bookplates in 16th-century England consisted of a simple unornamented shield, symmetrically mantled helmet, crest, and scroll where the owner's name was usually inscribed. Allegorical bookplates were popular in France during the reign of Louis XV and in England by the mid-18th century. Personifications of the Christian cardinal virtues and other abstract ideas, such as truth, justice, wisdom, hope, and faith usually appeared on bookplates from this period, as well as symbols of the interests and occupations of the book's owner, such as the scales of justice, and naval and military trophies. Toward the end of the 19th century, German designers began to use nude figures as a major motif in bookplate design. This fashion was followed in the rest of Europe and the United States, where figures were treated naturalistically, sometimes with erotic intent.
A variety of methods can be used to make bookplates. As in the past, the majority of bookplates created today are printed. The plates used for making printed labels may be prepared by any photomechanical processes, such as zinc etching. For finer plates the design may be engraved by hand on steel or etched into copper.
Barbara Abele was a long-time collector and researcher of bookplates. She was the niece of Fridolf Johnson, author of the book A Treasury of Bookplates from the Renaissance to the Present, still considered the best modern introduction to the study of bookplates, and spent her life in Redlands and La Jolla, California. She died on April 8, 1998 in La Jolla. She was a member of the American Society of Bookplates Collectors and Designers (ASBCD), and her collection is comprised of thousands of bookplates, sometimes considered miniature pieces of graphic art.
Bookplates are sought by collectors and studied by scholars for the insights they provide into past cultures and societies. Abele’s bookplate collection illustrates the wide scope of past cultures and societies, the communication networks created between individuals who shared an interest in collecting and preserving them, and Abele’s own personal love of nature.
Also contained in the collection are some records of the ASBCD, formed in June of 1922, of which Abele was a member. Charter members included artists Sara B. Hill, Frederick C. Blank,
Elisha Brown Bird, Arthur H. Noll and collectors Rachael M. Hunt and Carlyle S. Baer. The organization’s goal is to further the study and collecting of bookplates. It also serves as a communication network for the entire community of people interested in the history, collection, and preservation of bookplates.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
Access Restrictions:
This collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions:
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Acquisition Source:
Lori McFadden, Brenda J. Heaney, and Karen G. White
Preferred Citation:
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Barbara Abele Bookplate Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Bookplates by Subject],
[
Series 2: Bookplates by Designer],
[
Series 3: Collector Files],
[
Series 4: Correspondence],
[
Series 5: Subject Files],
[
Series 6: American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD)],
[
Series 7: Published Materials],
[All]
- Series 1: Bookplates by Subject

- Box 1

- Folder 1: Abele, Barbara, Bookplates

- Folder 2: Allen, Charles Dexter and Frances Louise

- Folder 3: Animals

- Folder 4: Antioch

- Folder 5: Architecture

- Folder 6: Armorial Heraldic Seals

- Folder 7: Armorial Heraldic Seals

- Folder 8: Art Deco

- Folder 9: Art Nouveau, 1990

- Folder 10: Artists, 1997

- Folder 11: Artists and Engravers of British and American Bookplates

- Folder 12: Astronomy

- Folder 13: Authors' Bookplates

- Folder 14: Autographed

- Box 2

- Folder 1: Birds

- Folder 2: Bookplates in the News

- Folder 3: Books and Book piles

- Folder 4: Books: Reading

- Folder 5: Bookstores

- Folder 6: Borders, Labels, Typeset

- Folder 7: Botanical: Flowers

- Folder 8: Botanical: Trees

- Folder 9: California, Historic (Talbot, Clare Ryan)

- Folder 10: Californians

- Folder 11: Calligraphy

- Folder 12: Canting

- Folder 13: Castles, Knights

- Box 3

- Folder 1: Cats

- Folder 2: Children, toys

- Folder 3: Christmas

- Folder 4: Contemporary

- Folder 5: Crests

- Folder 6: Doctors/Medical

- Folder 7: Dogs

- Folder 8: Don Quixote

- Folder 9: Early American

- Folder 10: Egyptian / King Tut's Discovery

- Folder 11: English Bookplates

- Folder 12: Extra Copies

- Folder 13: Fireplaces

- Folder 14: Fishing

- Folder 15: Foreign Countries

- Folder 16: Foreign Designers

- Folder 17: Gates

- Folder 18: Genealogy Societies

- Box 4

- Folder 1: Hobbies

- Folder 2: Hourglass

- Folder 3: Human side of Bookplates (Jones, Louise Seymour)

- Folder 4: Hotels

- Folder 5: Indians

- Folder 6: Initials Only on Plates

- Folder 7: Lamps

- Folder 8: Landscapes

- Folder 9: Lawyers

- Folder 10: Leather

- Folder 11: Libraries, California

- Folder 12: Libraries, Societies, Clubs, Colleges, Institutes, Associations

- Folder 13: Libraries, United States

- Folder 14: Library Interiors

- Folder 15: Lincolniana

- Folder 16: Lugano, Italy

- Folder 17: Lugano, Italy

- Box 5

- Folder 1: Maps, Globes

- Folder 2: Masonic Plates

- Folder 3: Mermaids

- Folder 4: Military Plates

- Folder 5: Miscellaneous

- Folder 6: Monks

- Folder 7: Mottos and Verse

- Folder 8: Music

- Folder 9: Old Plates

- Folder 10: Olympics

- Folder 11: Personal Bookplates

- Folder 12: Photocopies

- Folder 13: Premium Plates, Commercial

- Folder 14: Presses

- Folder 15: Redlands

- Box 6

- Folder 1: Redlands

- Folder 2: Religious Buildings

- Folder 3: Ships

- Folder 4: Ships

- Folder 5: Silhouettes

- Folder 6: Skeletons, Skulls

- Folder 7: Small Bookplates

- Folder 8: Sundials

- Folder 9: Tiffany and Bullocks

- Folder 10: Transportation

- Folder 11: United Nations

- Folder 12: University Libraries, California

- Box 7

- Folder 1: University Libraries, International

- Folder 2: Unusual

- Folder 3: Verses

- Folder 4: Women

- Folder 5: Woodcuts

- Series 2: Bookplates by Designer

- Box 7

- Folder 6: Agry, G.R.

- Folder 7: Armer, Sidney

- Folder 8: Artists' Plates

- Folder 9: Barrett, William Philipps

- Folder 10: Berryman, Clifford K.

- Folder 11: Bewick, Thomas

- Folder 12: Bird, Elisha Brown

- Folder 13: Blackburn, Oscar T.

- Folder 14: Brown, Frank Chouteau

- Folder 15: Chambers, Jay

- Folder 16: Cheney, Sheldon

- Folder 17: Clark, A.W.

- Folder 18: Clute, Beulah Mitchell

- Folder 19: Coyle, Ray

- Folder 20: Cross, E.J.

- Folder 21: Davis, Donna

- Box 8

- Folder 1: Drain, Lillian

- Folder 2: Endell, Fritz

- Folder 3: Euwer, Anthony

- Folder 4: Evans, John William

- Folder 5: Feint, Adrian

- Folder 6: Fingesten, Peter

- Folder 7: Fisher, William Edgar

- Folder 8: French, Edwin Davis

- Folder 9: French, Harry M.

- Folder 10: Fuller, George W.

- Folder 11: Garrett, E.H.

- Folder 12: Gordon, Bank B.

- Folder 13: Harrod, Stanley

- Folder 14: Hewett, Ainslie

- Folder 15: Hollyer, Samuel

- Folder 16: Hopson, William Fowler

- Folder 17: Hurd, Nathaniel

- Folder 18: Johnson, Fridolf

- Folder 19: Jones, Dan Burne

- Folder 20: Junge, Carl S.

- Folder 21: Kirby, Valentine

- Folder 22: Lake, Elsmore

- Folder 23: Landacre, Paul

- Folder 24: Lemos, Pedro J.

- Folder 25: McDonald, Arthur N.

- Folder 26: Meier, Franz

- Folder 27: Noll, Arthur Howard

- Folder 28: Pearson, Ralph

- Folder 29: Percival, Olive

- Folder 30: Poole, Horatio Nelson

- Folder 31: Price, Christine M.

- Folder 32: Reade, Christa M.

- Folder 33: Rhead, Louis John

- Folder 34: Rider, Charles Joseph

- Folder 35: Rowell, Gretta G.

- Folder 36: Saunders (Hallowell), Elizabeth

- Folder 37: Seymour, Ralph Fletcher

- Box 9

- Folder 1: Sherbon, Charles William

- Folder 2: Smith, Sidney L.

- Folder 3: Spenceley, Frederick

- Folder 4: Spenceley, Joseph Winfred

- Folder 5: Sterling, Glen

- Folder 6: Stone, Pauline

- Folder 7: Stone, Wilbur Macy

- Folder 8: Tait, B.M.

- Folder 9: Teall, Gardner C.

- Folder 10: Thomspon, Fred

- Folder 11: Triptych Group

- Folder 12: Truesdell, Windred Porter

- Folder 13: Wagner, Rob "Pawprint"

- Folder 14: Webb, James

- Folder 15: Webb, Margaret Ely

- Folder 16: Wheelan, Albertine Randall

- Folder 17: Woy, Leota

- Series 3: Collector Files

- Box 9

- Folder 18: Baer, Carlyle S.

- Folder 19: Dore, Epherma

- Folder 20: Dore, Harry Ellsworth

- Folder 21: Dore, Harry Ellsworth

- Folder 22: Ercolini, Mary Alice

- Folder 23: Hill, Kenneth E. and Robert E.

- Folder 24: Kohler, Johnny

- Folder 25: McManys, Jane

- Folder 26: Miscellaneous

- Folder 27: Pew, Mary E.

- Folder 28: Williams, Katherine

- Series 4: Correspondence

- Box 9

- Folder 29: American

- Folder 30: Arellanes, Audrey Spencer

- Box 10

- Folder 1: Brown, Helen H.

- Folder 2: Edward Dean Museum

- Folder 3: European

- Folder 4: Fire Museum of Maryland

- Folder 5: General, 1974-1994

- Folder 6: Joyce, Kathy

- Folder 7: Langdon, Michael

- Folder 8: Libros Latinos

- Folder 9: McRaddin (Abele), Lori

- Folder 10: Plates to Exchange

- Folder 11: Rare and Unusual

- Folder 12: Redlands Letters

- Folder 13: Turner, Meir

- Folder 14: UNESCO

- Folder 15: Wagner, Rob

- Folder 16: West, Joan

- Series 5: Subject Files

- Box 10

- Folder 17: Abele, Barbara's Public Presentations

- Folder 18: Exercise and Flowers

- Folder 19: Latin Inscriptions

- Folder 20: Photographs

- Box 11

- Folder 1: Prices of Bookplates

- Folder 2: Prices of Books about Bookplates

- Folder 3: Research / Catalog Cards

- Folder 4: Research / Catalog Cards

- Folder 5: Research Notes

- Folder 6: Research: Bookplates

- Folder 7: Research: Types of Printing

- Series 6: American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD)

- Box 11

- Folder 8: Membership Directories, 1966, 1977-83, 1992

- Folder 9: Membership Directories, 1966, 1977-83, 1992

- Folder 10: Membership Directories, 1966, 1977-83, 1992

- Folder 11: Yearbook: Indexes

- Folder 12: Yearbooks, 1915, 1943-44, 1947-48, 1951

- Folder 13: Yearbooks, 1915, 1943-44, 1947-48, 1951

- Folder 14: Yearbooks, 1915, 1943-44, 1947-48, 1951

- Folder 15: Yearbooks, 1915, 1943-44, 1947-48, 1951

- Box 12

- Folder 1: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 2: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 3: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 4: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 5: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 6: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 7: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Folder 8: Yearbooks, 1956-70, 1973-83

- Box 13

- Folder 1: Yearbooks, 1984-1994

- Folder 2: Yearbooks, 1984-1994

- Folder 3: Yearbooks, 1984-1994

- Folder 4: Yearbooks, 1984-1994

- Folder 5: Yearbooks, 1984-1994

- Series 7: Published Materials

- Sub-Series 1: Bookplates in the News

- Box 13

- Folder 6: July 1970-October 1974

- Folder 7: January 1975-April 1977

- Folder 8: July 1977-January 1979

- Folder 9: April 1979-April 1983

- Box 14

- Folder 1: July 1983-April 1985

- Folder 2: July 1985-January 1989

- Folder 3: April 1989-April 1991

- Folder 4: July 1991-April 1994

- Folder 5: July 1994-January 1996

- Folder 6: April 1998

- Folder 7: Index, January 1983-October 1997

- Sub-Series 2: Other Publications

- Box 14

- Folder 8: American Artist, May 1965

- Folder 9: Biblio, Vols. I - IV

- Folder 10: Bibliography of Bookplate Literature

- Folder 11: Bookplate, 1924

- Box 15

- Folder 1: Bookplate Booklet, 1906-10, 1917, 1919

- Folder 2: Bookplate Booklet, 1906-10, 1917, 1919

- Folder 3: Bookplate Booklet, 1906-10, 1917, 1919

- Folder 4: Bookplate Chronicles, 1917

- Folder 5: Bookplate Quarterly, 1918

- Folder 6: Boss Fine Books, California Bookplate Society, n.d., 1910

- Folder 7: Catalogue II

- Folder 8: Directory of Bookplate Artists, 1918

- Folder 9: Early American Bookplates, 1925

- Folder 10: Hettie Gray Baker

- Folder 11: International Congress

- Folder 12: Keepsakes

- Folder 13: Los Angeles Times Magazine, 1986

- Folder 14: Lugano Conference Keepsakes

- Folder 15: Lugano Conference Keepsakes

- Box 16

- Folder 1: News Clippings, 1975-96

- Folder 2: Traditional Home, 1992

- Folder 3: Victoria, 1990

- Folder 4: Wooldridge Collection Catalogue

Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Bookplates by Subject],
[
Series 2: Bookplates by Designer],
[
Series 3: Collector Files],
[
Series 4: Correspondence],
[
Series 5: Subject Files],
[
Series 6: American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers (ASBCD)],
[
Series 7: Published Materials],
[All]