Sara Eugenia Blake Bookplate Collection, circa 1750-1950

Summary Information

Abstract

A collection of bookplates assembled by the bookplate designer and collector Sara Eugenia Blake (1886-1973). The collection also includes correspondence and greeting cards received by Blake in the course of her collecting activities, as well as books and pamphlets relating to the collecting of "ex libris" art.

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#0125
Bib ID:
4079649 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Blake, Sara Eugenia, 1886-1973
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
15.5 linear feet (38 slipcases, 5 boxes)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Scope and Contents

American and foreign bookplates; correspondence and greeting cards received by Blake in the course of her collecting activities; books and pamphlets relating to the collecting of "ex libris" art and the work of individual bookplate artists. The plates date primarily from the early 20th century, with some earlier examples. There are two boxes each of institutional and armorial plates, and one box of plates designed for celebrities, including the plate designed by Paul Revere for Isaiah Thomas, and plates of Anthony Trollope, George Bernard Shaw, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Igor Stravinsky, Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some of the artists represented in the collection are Edwin Dale French, George Eve, Peter Fingerstein, Eric Gill, Rockwell Kent, and George Perrotet. There are separate groups of American, Australian, Dutch, and Spanish plates, and of plates designed for bookplate collectors, including Irene Dunn Andrews Pace and Elizabeth and J. Edouard Diamond.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Sara Eugenia Blake Bookplate Collection; Box and Folder (if known); Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Related Materials

Alexander M. Welch Bookplate Collection: Another collection of bookplates at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

James Mark Baldwin Bookplate Collection: Another collection of bookplates at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Samuel X. Radbill correspondence concerning bookplates: A collection primarily composed of Blake's correspondence with Samuel X. Radbill, also a bookplate collector. At the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Bowden, Mr & Mrs Frank J. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1975. Accession number--1975.

Gift of Mr and Mrs Frank J. Bowden, 1975.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Processed ADS 07/12/76.

Materials were intellectually arranged into series at the same time the finding aid was converted to EAD. A biographical note and related materials notes were also added. Nothing in the collection was physically rearranged.

This collection was formerly called the Sara Eugenia Blake papers. The title was changed in May 2020 to better reflect the nature of its contents.

Revision Description

2020-05-21 PDF finding aid converted to EAD and collection title changed by CLB.

Biographical / Historical

Sara Eugenia "Sally" Blake (1886-1973) was a bookplate designer and collector who lived in Boston, Massachusetts. She also worked as the librarian for the Tufts College Medical and Dental Schools.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Bookplates CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Greeting cards CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
Gill, Eric, 1882-1940 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 1841-1935 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Revere, Paul, 1735-1818 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roosevelt, Franklin D (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Stravinsky, Igor, 1882-1971 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Thomas, Isaiah, 1749-1831 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Trollope, Anthony, 1815-1882 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Bookplates, American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bookplates, Australian CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bookplates, Dutch CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bookplates, Spanish CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Graphic artists CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Heraldic bookplates CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID