American Book-Plates

Remember, it must be Returned.

On the plate of Samuel W. Francis appear the following lines: —

Any one may borrow,
But a gentleman returns.

The property

of

Thomas C. Cowan

Borrower,

read, mark, and Avoid

the former part of

Psalm xxxvii. 21

If you borrow, freely use it,
Take great care and don’t abuse it:
Read, but neither lose nor lend it,
Then unto the owner send it.

Never open a book farther than to bring both sides of the cover on to the same plane. Never lend a borrowed book, but return it as soon as you are through with it, so that the owner may not be deprived of its use. You may think this a strange request, but I find that although many of my friends are poor arithmeticians, they are nearly all of them good book-keepers.

In strong contrast to all the preceding are those mottoes of generous souls who find no pleasure in withholding their treasures, but who wish to have it understood that they are for the use of all; not very many are bold enough to thus advertise their willingness to lend, but a few do so, and generally by the use of the Latin, Sibi et amicis, or et amicorum.

Sentiments in praise of books and reading are not uncommon, and quotations from classic writers both in prose and poetry do good service on book-plates. Pope’s well-known lines —

A little learning is a dangerous thing,
Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring;
Where shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
But drinking largely sobers us again.

are found on an old American plate.

On a recent New York plate, —

Far more seemly were it for thee to have thy Study full of Books than thy purse full of money. Lilly.

On a Maine plate, —

Who learns and learns but does not what he learns,
Is one who plows and plows but never sows.—

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.

On a recent Boston plate, —

Un bon livre est un bon ami.

On a recent Western plate, —

A jolly goode booke,
Whereon to looke,
Is better to me than golde.

On a recent Washington plate, —

A trusty villain, sir, that very oft when I am dull with care and melancholy lightens my humour.

The mottoes on the plates of those who have achieved distinction have a peculiar interest, especially when chosen by the owners themselves. The plate of Henry W. Longfellow bears the following line: —

Non clamor sed amor,

which is from an unknown author and is found in the following verse: —

Non vox sed votum,
Non chordas sed cor,
Non clamor sed amor,
Sonat in aure Dei.

Not voice but vow,
Not harp-string, but heart-string,
Not loudness but love,
Sound in the ear of God.

The motto of George Washington, —Exitus acta probat, is not given in the accepted lists as the family motto of his ancestors, but it may have been such. The meaning of it has brought out criticism recently because of its Jesuitical sound, – “The end shows the deed.” But this may also be taken as a patriotic utterance in view of the part of the illustrious owner of this plate in the Revolution.

On the plate of William Penn we see a motto most fitting for the character he sustained, Dum clavum rectum teneam– “While I hold to glory, let me hold to right.” In the plate the third word is omitted, as the engraver found the motto too long for the space reserved, and through some

blunder the r in clarum is changed to a v, which makes no sense at all.

On the plate of George Bancroft, the late historian, a chubby cherub bears a panel on which is the motto, Sursum corda. Another plate was also used by Mr. Bancroft which was in all respects like the above, except that the motto was changed to ΕΙΣ ΦΑΟΣ.

The plate of the late Mr. George W. Childs has the following motto whose appropriateness is evident at once, —The pen is mightier than the sword. Above this a second motto of equal appropriateness is given, —Nihil sine labore.

On the plate of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Per ampliora ad altiora is given upon a ribbon under a beautiful drawing of the “chambered nautilus.”

Instances of mottoes which are cleverly made to carry some meaning, or some word, which will be seen at a glance to be taken from the name of the owner, are found often.

On the plate of Harold Clarence Ernst this motto is given, Ernst ist das Leben.

On the plate of George Curry, D.D., —Sic curre capias.