We welcome your tax-deductible donations ~ large or small. Donate to the Future of Bookplate Art!
“It’s an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900, Irish Poet,Playwright, Author)
After 575 Years, Support the Future for Bookplate Art
Founded in Washington, DC in 1922, the ASBC&D has been a custodian of The Art of the Bookplate, a mark of pride in book ownership that reflects the art of its era. Over the centuries, it has been shaped by the work of many influential designers. We are now on a mission to revive this 575-year-old book arts department, expanding our global network through the exchange of art and ideas.
Your support is not just valuable, it’s indispensable in our mission to advance the contemporary art form. With your help, the ASBC&D is curating a growing museum collection of bookplate prints and books. We take pride in sponsoring worldwide bookplate competitions, illustrated publications, and traveling exhibitions, all made possible by your support. To learn more, please reach out to us.
Over the last century, the American Society of Bookplate Collectors & Designers (ASBC&D) has shared its appreciation for books and ex libris prints with the public through exhibitions, lectures, and publications.
The ASBC&D has organized significant exhibitions that have been hosted by over 30 North American institutions, including the main public libraries in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Portland (OR), Mexico City (CDMX), and San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Several private libraries, including the Boston Athenaeum, Providence Athenaeum, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, and Social Law Library, Boston.
University libraries include those of the University of Connecticut, Harvard University, Duke University, University of Massachusetts, and many more.
For the first time in America, we presented exquisite modern Japanese multi-color woodcut bookplates from the Nippon Ex Libris Association at the opening of the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University in 1985. For another first, we presented contemporary Chinese bookplates at the Sackler Museum in 1987.
An indication of our popularity can be seen through our presence on social and professional networking sites.
Our Facebook following has grown to more than 7,300 artists, bibliophiles, collectors, and librarians: https://www.facebook.com/bookplate.org
LinkedIn has generated a following of over 8,500 book arts professionals: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bookplateorg
Instagram has more than 1,500: https://www.instagram.com/bookplateorg
The ASBC&D has invited new acquisitions to build the Society’s collection. Over the past decade, we have acquired over 40 collections globally. Through the Bookplates By The Bay Project (BBTB), we are organizing global design competitions, exhibitions, studio tours, Master Artist workshops, lectures, illustrated publications, and publicity—this is all part of our strategy to expand the interest in the graphic art form in the USA. BBTB is also a recognized 501(c)(3) “public charity” and a non-profit organization.
We work to develop international friendships through a book arts exchange. In 2022, we established “Bookplates By The Bay” to build an ex libris art movement and organize traveling exhibitions. Appropriately, many of our exhibitions open at libraries and museums in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Society has hosted three international meetings in the Americas. Our first global meeting was the XXVIII FISAE CONGRESS: EX LIBRIS BOSTON in 2000. This was the first bookplate congress in the USA and was presented at the central Boston Public Library at Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts. The second global meeting was EX LIBRIS: SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE (Guanajuato, Mexico) 2009. This congress was held at the Instituto Allende Fine Arts College in San Miguel de Allende and was the first bookplate congress in Latin America. Our third congress was the XXXIX FISAE CONGRESS: EX LIBRIS SAN FRANCISCO in 2022. The congress in San Francisco was the 100th anniversary of our Society, and we celebrated at the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square on San Francisco Bay, Oakland, California. The leading exhibitions and lectures were presented in the City of San Francisco at the American Bookbinders Museum and The Book Club of California.
We have membership with the American Library Association, Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), and Fédération International des Sociétés Amateurs ď Exlibris (FISAE). FISAE is the International Federation of ex libris Societies, made-up of many member nations.
More than a dozen museums are dedicated to bookplate art worldwide today. The Society will build a NEW library and museum in the United States. We must maintain the momentum.
If you are a regular visitor to our website, see our posts on social networking sites, or support our efforts to celebrate the art and history of the bookplate, please donate to the future of bookplate art. The ASBC&D is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; all gifts are tax deductible. Checks may be sent to the ASBC&D, P.O. Box 14964, Tucson, AZ, USA, 85732-4964, or you may donate via credit card or bank transfer using PayPal on this website.
The ASBC&D is a Gold-Level GuideStar Exchange participant, a testament to our unwavering commitment to transparency. GuideStar revolutionizes philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. You may visit us: www.guidestar.org/organizations/95- 3568489/american-society-bookplate-collectors-designers. aspx
MISSION STATEMENT:
The purposes of the American Society of Bookplate Collectors & Designers, as stated in our first “Year Book” of 1922, have guided us through decades of promoting the art and history of bookplates. Our mission remains the same: “To cultivate the spirit of friendship and mutual helpfulness among collectors and designers of bookplates and to assist in the further development of the bookplate.” This is accomplished through our publications, international meetings, and traveling exhibitions.
World unity through books, exchanges, & collecting. Learning through the exchange of art and ideas. Bookplates are a passport to friendship.
