EXHIBITION
IN a foreword to the catalogue of the Observer exhibition of book- plates—organised in conjunction with the National Book League and on view at 7 Albemarle Street until January 17th—Sir Francis Meynell admits that, when confronted by the words "With book- plate of" in a secondhand bookseller's list, he is never sure whether to take it as a recommendation or a warning. Many will have felt themselves in the same quandary. Is a book-plate an adornment to a book or a conceit unworthy of" the precious life-blood of a master spirit " ? Leaving the question of principle to be debated by bibliographers, we may answer that in practice a lot depends on the design (although, however beautiful the book-plate, Sir Francis Meynell cannot expect universal approval for his suggestion that it can sometimes be advantageously pasted on to the very title-page).
The Observer has taken a practical step towards reviving the art by organising a competition for a design to be used in the books awarded to prize-winners who solve that newspaper's " Ximenes " crossword puzzle, and the 72 plates here exhibited (out of nearly six hundred entries) show considerable talent, though the repetitive lettering makes for rather a monotonous display. The historical section arranged by the National Book League is exceedingly interest- ing. Admittedly, the older armorial designs are more pompous than exhilarating, but the eye brightens at sight of some Bewick cuts, lingers admiringly on Beardsley 's design for Olive Custance, and takes in with appreciation the contributions to this delicate art which have been made by Sir Frank Brangwyn, Edward Gordon Craig, Rex Whistler and Joan Hassall. A selection of plates belonging to famous owners includes those of King George VI and King Farouk, and ranges from a crowded, over-elaborate design commissioned by Frances and Gilbert Chesterton to a romantic landscape done for Ivor Novello. A general observation derived from this pleasant little show is that portraits of the owners do not make the best book-plates, and that when the portraits are all too obviously derived
from photographs they can be perfectly horrible. D.H.
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