The Polish Bookplate. Between the Coat of Arms and the Image

Works by Kajetan Wincenty Kielisiński constitute an important chapter in the development of the Polish ex libris. These prints, created after 1836, were not intended to be pasted into a book, but to enrich collections. By treating bookplates as works of art, Kielisiński was ahead of his time.

The most common way of determining the ownership of books in the 19th century were ink stamps. They functioned in reading rooms, rental facilities and libraries – both public and private, religious and secular. Stamps were used by artisans, officials, scientists and writers, landowners and aristocrats, even bibliophiles. A selection of these items – chosen on the basis of the persons of their exceptionally prominent owners – will also be presented at the exhibition.

The display features a few dozen of Young Poland bookplates. Art Nouveau was the first style which tried to include the applied arts; and bookplates, which were inscribed in the ‘beautiful book’ trend, became part of the entire artistic process of editing and printing. The creators of ex libris designs – frequently the most prominent Polish artists – began to pay attention to the harmonious proportions between the blank and printed surface, the size and thickness of fonts, their style corresponding with the illustrative aspect, and the logical, optically balanced construction of designs. The exhibition will feature works by Józef Mehoffer, Kazimierz Sichulski, Jan Bukowski, Stanisław Dębicki, Edward Okuń.