BB art

 

BOOKPLATES

Brangwyn designed over 130 bookplates for friends and colleagues both in the UK and abroad (notably France and Italy), the light-hearted designs being a pun on the owner’s name or apparently relating to the owner’s occupation or interest, although the meaning of some remains obscure.  The ex-libris were produced in a variety of media – as etchings, woodcuts and lithographs.  Many, but not all, were reproduced in Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, compiled by E Hesketh Hubbard and Eden Phillpotts in 1920.

When one considers the volume and large scale of work Brangwyn was commissioned to produce, it is delightful to discover that he was prepared to spend time working on small individual tokens for associates.  The craft probably appealed to Brangwyn because bookplates were considered at the time to be a product of democracy and afforded evidence of the spread of education.

The following selection of bookplates is placed in date order. The number in brackets following the title of each Brangwyn work indicates the number by which the work is identified in the Catalogue Raisonne.

 

X cymbals
newbolt
belge
Boy with Cymbals (X561), 1906, copper etching, 15.8x12.5cm, multiple ownership. Studies: photograph, Paul Cava. Related Works: Skinners Hall, child in Pageant in Olden Times. Lit and Ill: The Studio, Vol 48, December 1909, Newbolt, 'Etched Book-plates', p217. Ill: Gaunt, The Etchings of Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Studio Ltd, 1926, #84. Newbolt considered that this bookplate was intended to suggest 'the soaring spirit of intellectual development over-riding all material obstacles to mental progress' without perhaps realising the source: a couple of photographs and the child in the Skinner's panel. Frank Newbolt KC (X559), copper etching, 16.2x13cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Queen Elizabeth Going Aboard the Golden Hind (O228) and Galleon (F1255). Lit and Ill: The Studio, Vol 48, December 1909, Newbolt, 'Etched Book-plates', p216 and 219; Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p272. Ill: Gaunt, The Etchings of Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Studio Ltd, 1926, #86. Quite apart from his legal career, Newbolt was an admirer of Brangwyn's work and edited the first catalogue of Brangwyn's etchings in 1908. Also produced as woodcut version. ABCDE Association Belge (X645), 1910, lithograph, 48.8x25.1cm, multiple ownership. Other woodcuts for the Association and Tramp with Dogs (V1371). Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, Cat B-21(and Ill). Lit and Ill:Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p190. According to Marechal the plate was made for the 'Association belge des Ex-Libris' of the Musee du Livre, Brussels.
esser
true
mario borsa
Rev Father E Esser, Crowle (X586), 1911-1912, 2 colour woodcut, 8.6x6.5cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, p13 and plate 23. Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p275. This was probably for Brangwyn's friend Father Jerome Esser, a Belgian Catholic priest and painter. He was a member of the Norbertines based at Crowle and took charge of the mission in 1930. In 1931 the parish at Stainforth near Doncaster was formed and Esser became the parish priest, a job he held until 1948. Allan True, Denver, USA (X619), 1912-1914, 2 colour woodcut, 12.3x8.6cm, multiple ownersip. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p275. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 57. Allan Tupper True, an American, worked for Brangwyn from 1912-1914, Brangwyn held True's art in high regard, and the bookplate indicates True's profession and his master - the glue pot bearing Brangwyn's initials. Mario Borsa, Milan (X572), 1916-1920, 2 colour woodcut, 10.5x6.5cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Girls with Herm (G573) design for Tiffany stained glass window. Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-24 (and Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p276. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 10; Phillpotts, The Girl and the Faun, London: Cecil Palmer & Hayward, 1916, p82, titled Summer. Borsa lived at 34 Burnt Ash Hill, London and was a journalist, theatre critic and representative of the Venice Biennale in London.
wilson
holme
canziani
Miss Helen Wilson, Tangiers (X594), 1917, woodcut, 10.5x6.3cm, multiple ownership. Studies: photograph, Paul Cava and identical photograph, private collection with words 'Ex Libris' and butterflies added. Related works:The Seasons - Summer(O2032). Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-26 (and Ill) Lit and Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, p12 and plate 31; Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p276. Ill: Sparrow, Prints and Drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, 1919, p75. Helen Wilson was a former pupil of Brangwyn's at the London School of Art who moved to Tangiers for health reasons. For an unmarried woman the image of a nude teenage girl kissing a juvenile boy appears somewhat surprising? Charles Holme, London (X628), c1919, 2 colour woodcut, 12.6x6.3cm, multiple ownersip. Studies: sketch (SCAAG:459) Scarborough Art Gallery. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p274. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 66; Sparrow, Prints and Drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, 1919, p81. Holme was the founder of the influential magazine The Studio which was very supportive of Brangwyn's work. Like Brangwyn he admired Japanese art, and this work seems to indicate the influence of such work. Marechal suggests the sketch may be a pun on the word 'holm' or river island. Estella Canziani, London (X565), c1919, woodcut, 10.2x9cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Paget Screen (F1539), 2nd figure from left. Exh: By Design, Millinery Works Gallery, London, 2005, cat 78 (and Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p272. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 3; Sparrow, Prints and Drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, 1919, p163. Estella Canziani was the daughter of Brangwyn's friend Enrico Canziani and the American portrait painter Louisa Starr. Brangwyn proposed Estella for the Royal Society of British Artists in 1914.
X Bradley
cous
philpotts
Walter C Bradley, Westminster (X629), c1919, 2 colour woodcut, 12.6x8cm, multiple ownership. Studies: study, Ashmolean Museum (1944:48); photograph, Paul Cava; sketch of torso, Dundee City Art Gallery; study, chalk drawing, pou. Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-29 (and Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p276. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 67; Sparrow, Prints and Drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, 1919, p147; Commercial Art, Vol V, June 1926 . This is taken from a photograph of Brangwyn himself and was originally intended as one of the characters in the Skinners Hall panel Pageant in Olden Times. Charles W Cous, Antwerp (X558), c1920, woodcut, 8.9x9cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Cous, ink sketch, 8.7x9cm, private collection. Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-33 (and Ill) Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p274. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 69. Notes on the study indicate that Mr Cous was connected with the sausage trade, hence the curly tailed pigs sitting on the stepped roof of a Flemish house. Eden Phillpotts (X567), c1920, woodcut, 12.3x8.2cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Overmantel - Flowers and Children (F2719), the right hand side is almost identical. Exh: Brangwyn Centenary, Wales, 1967, Cat 116 (and Ill); The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-30 (and Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p147. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 5. Brangwyn and the writer Phillpotts collaborated on a number of projects including Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn and The Girl and the Faun, London, 1916.
knight
turpin
dante
John Knight, London (X578), c1920, woodcut, 9.4x8.4cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p270. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 15. It is not known who Mr Knight was, but the bookplate is obviously a pun on the gentleman's name. Paul Turpin (X627), c1920, 3 colour woodcut, 13x10cm, multiple ownership. Studies: study, sepia drawing, 49.5x38.7cm, Dundee Art Gallery. Related works: Mermaid (X2104). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p280. Ill: Hubbard and Phillpotts, Bookplates by Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Morland Press, 1920, plate 65. Turpin was a French emigre from Lille who described himself as an Architectural Decorator and had offices in Paris and London. The two men collaborated on various projects including a print cabinet (F2795) now in the V&A, and the plans for Kyoraku Art Gallery, Tokyo (A1827). Societa Nationale Dante Alighieri (X631), c1922, woodcut, 15.9x10.9cm, multiple ownership. Studies: original woodblock, 15.9x10.9cm, Liss Fine Art. Exh: Brangwyn Centenary, Wales, 1967, Cat 115. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p133. Ill: Estella Canziani, Round About Three Palace Green, London, 1939, facing p12. The Dante Alighieri Society was the name given to the Italian play Centres and Schools in Britain of which Brangwyn's friend Enrico Canziani was President. Canziani was an Italian civil engineer resident in England and Brangwyn used to rely on him for technical advice. he died at Brangwyn's home in Ditchling in 1931 and Brangwyn designed the gravestone (F2228) which can be seen in the graveyard of St Margaret's church, Ditchling.