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BOOKPLATES THE WORLD OF EX-LIBRIS |
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A historical retrospective 3 MODERN TIMES |
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3e THE 1900s AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND 1880-1920
Art Nouveau and Jugendstil were not the monopoly of Britain
and Germany, but were styles followed in the whole of Europe. In
the 1900s, Switzerland and Austria had a similar mix of decorative
and individualist tendencies in bookplates as in Germany. It
seems certain that the abundance of creation in bookplates during
this period was as much linked to the dynamics of ex-libris
societies as to the vigour of the graphic arts scene of the time.
Also, it is a period where one finds a decreasing servility of artists
as to the orders of persons commissioning bookplates: the artist’s
style and freedom of expression starts to dominate. Thus a
remarkable plurality of artistic trends can be seen in bookplates.
Again, it must be noted that the selection shown here will be complemented
by the ex-libris to be found in the following sections
and in the last part of this volume.
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3e/1. Alfred Cossmann (A, 1870-1951)  IPSE, C3 + C5,
88 x 102, c.1900. GM1875.
The Austrian master of realist engraving and etching, Cossmann – in his field – was perhaps never surpassed. This ex-libris for his own books is one of the most original and informal of his images; ex-libris by artists for themselves are nearly always interesting, as there is no interference from a person commissioning the work. |
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3e/2. Hans Frank (A, 1884-1948) MARIE WITTGENSTEIN,
L/2, 69 x 64, c.1910.
Austria had several artists using original lithography successfully as a creative medium during this period. This delicate plate by Frank was printed in black and gold; another version exists in sepia and blue. |
3e/3. Alexander Rothaug (A, 1870-1946) +MAX PESL,
P4 L, 129 x 77, c.1900.
Reference information on Austrian artists in the field of ex-libris is sketchy, and the fine ex-libris of Leopold and Alexander Rothaug seem little-known. An uncommon combination of techniques was used for this ex-libris. Rotogravure, well used, allows fine reproduction of paintings. |
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3e/4. Richard Lux (A, 1877-?) HANNI BLASCHCZIK, C3,
107 x 89, 1920.
One of the finest engravers of the Viennese school – with Cossmann, see 3e/1 – Lux needed remarkable control of detail to produce the effect of light which can be seen in this plate. |
3e/5. Attila Sassy (‘Aiglon’, H) DR. GYÖNGYÖSY NANDOR, X5,
94 x 77, 1912.
Budapest was also, in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a city where turn-of-the-century decorative arts were innovative and of high quality. This plate by Aiglon shows a very precocious trend to abstract symbolism. |
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3e/6. Paul Klee (CH/D, 1879-1940) LOUIS MICHAUD, C3,
150 x 107, 1901.
Viz. BPSJ 12 No. 2 pp. 91-94.
Only a few prints are known of this ex-libris, the only bookplate by the great painter Klee who exhibited with the Blaue Reiter and taught at the Bauhaus. He made it for a school friend who was a medical student, while he was studying art at Ziegler’s atelier in Munich, and it is his second etching. |
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3e/7. Johannes Bossard (CH, 1874-1950) CLARA GMUER-FISCHER,
C3, 120 x 105, 1911.
Bossard lived most of his life in Germany and died there. His ex-libris are always masterful etchings, and tend to avoid technical complexity in favour of a forceful, direct image. |
3e/8. Rudolf Münger (CH, 1862-1929) IPSE, L, 82 x 48,
1901.
The Bernese artist Münger chose to make this strong frontal portrait of Minerva for his own bookplate. His work is marked by the style of the time, but somehow is never prisoner of its decorative tendencies. |
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3e/9. Hans Eggimann (CH, 1872-1929) FRIDA ELSENER,
C3 + C7, 118 x 78, c.1910.
The architect, painter and graphic artist Eggimann, also from Berne, engraved a substantial number of bookplates many of which are quite humorous. In this ex-libris, his more serious side as an artist can be seen. |
3e/10. Albert Welti (F, 1894-1965) FRANZ ROSE-DOEHLAU,
C3, 86 x 54, 1900.
Welti was a masterful and imaginative artist who made but few bookplates within a large artistic opus. This one of a Gulliver showering ex-libris on a surprised ploughman is typical of his style. |
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3e/11. Ernst Georg Ruegg (CH, 1893-1948) OTTO
HOMBERGER, C3, 135 x 93, c.1915.
Although this is a heraldic bookplate, it has a much more abstracted and synthetic image than what was being produced at the time. Ruegg was a painter and writer, as well as a graphic artist. |
3e/12. Emil Anner (CH, 1870-1925) MANUEL DE SOTO, C3, 87
x 55, 1910.
The prolific artist Anner often chose a more marked decorative style than in this plate, though here the Jugendstil flavour lies in the inscription. Little is known about de Soto, except that he was probably Peruvian and lived in Switzerland; the word Quitapesares means ‘sorrow-removers’, a charming way of qualifying his books. |
3e13 - 3e22
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