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

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series.

• Series I: Bookplates
• Series II: Personal materials

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.

• Series I: Bookplates

• Series II: Personal materials

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

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

Single photocopies 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.

Subject Headings

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

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

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.