Bookplate Collection
Bookplates, or ex libris, are decorative labels generally affixed to a book’s inside front cover to denote the book’s ownership. The bookplate almost always notes the owner’s name or initials along with a design of their choosing. Designs range from traditional heraldic bookplates to those that reflect the owner’s specific interests and hobbies. Noted artists were often employed to design the bookplates.
Although bookplates have been in use for centuries, collecting became highly fashionable in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The greater Boston area had a particularly robust collecting scene. The Phillips Library holds the combined bookplate collections of the Essex Institute and Alice Flint Brooks, the latter's substantial collection having been donated to the Institute in 1927. We have provided a selection of the bookplates and will be adding more. For detailed background on Alice Flint Brooks and her collection, scroll down.
Bookplate Collection
Bookplates, or ex libris, are decorative labels generally affixed to a book’s inside front cover to denote the book’s ownership. The bookplate almost always notes the owner’s name or initials along with a design of their choosing. Designs range from traditional heraldic bookplates to those that reflect the owner’s specific interests and hobbies. Noted artists were often employed to design the bookplates.
Although bookplates have been in use for centuries, collecting became highly fashionable in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The greater Boston area had a particularly robust collecting scene. The Phillips Library holds the combined bookplate collections of the Essex Institute and Alice Flint Brooks, the latter's substantial collection having been donated to the Institute in 1927. We have provided a selection of the bookplates and will be adding more. For detailed background on Alice Flint Brooks and her collection, scroll down.
1908 Essex Institute exhibition
These six bookplates were loaned by Alice Brooks to the Essex Institute in 1908 for an exhibit in its new picture gallery. Five of the individuals (Bowditch, Miller, Cleveland, Chipman, and Tucker) were Salem residents. Reporting on the exhibit, the February 18, 1908 issue of the Salem Evening News noted that the Copley bookplate was "very rare, as with one exception it is the earliest known dated American label".
Alice Flint Brooks (1863-1926)
Born in Salem on July 2, 1863, Alice Flint Brooks was one of five children (four daughters and one son) of Henry Mason Brooks, member, treasurer (1876), and secretary (1888-1898) of the Essex Institute, Salem, and Matilda Mary Nichols Brooks. The family lived at 260 Lafayette Street in Salem, which still stands. 
Alice worked in administration at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for twenty-five years. She was initially assistant to the manager and was appointed manager in 1905, serving in that role for twenty years. Although Alice did not become a member of the Essex Institute until 1900, she served as assistant to her father’s successor. It’s not clear when she assumed that role or for how long. In the 1899 Essex Institute annual report, the Secretary stated: “I desire in passing to call your attention to the excellent work performed by my assistant, Miss Alice F. Brooks, in mounting manuscript material into large scrap books for its proper preservation and cataloging. Papers and documents, found in a most fragmentary condition, she has repaired and mounted in a most skilful [sic] manner. During the past six months twenty-eight volumes of manuscripts have been so mounted.”
Due to failing health, Alice resigned from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1926 and died at the home of two of her sisters on June 5, 1926 at the age of sixty-two. She is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem. In remembrance, the School noted her executive ability and that she would be “fondly remembered by many former pupils”. Her Salem Evening News obituary said that “She was greatly beloved by all who knew her.”
Alice seems to have inherited an interest in collecting from her father who is known to have collected books, stamps, coins, and bookplates, the latter of which Alice expanded. In Volume 34 of the Essex Institute: Historical Collections, an article written as a tribute to Henry Brooks by Professor Edward S. Morse indicates that all four daughters had inherited the “intellectual and literary characteristics of the parents” and that one (an unnamed Alice), “has evidently inherited the antiquarian and collecting spirit of her father and is now assistant secretary of the Essex Institute. She has continued a collection of book plates begun by her father, and has largely increased it by her own efforts.” An early letter to Henry Brooks from a bookplate collector says: “It is very pleasant for you to have your daughter so interested in the same gentle pastime of collecting as you are.” (Her sister, Margarette, was private secretary to Professor Morse and a student of entomology and natural history, having written articles on various related subjects for Popular Science Monthly. The eldest sister, Mary, was a watercolor artist and the youngest sister, Jenny, owned a Salem embroidery shop for which she created original designs.)
The Bookplate Collection
The Phillips Library’s current bookplate collection consists of some 3500 individual plates, as well as many duplicates. The collection was originally housed at the Essex Institute (a precursor organization to the Peabody Essex Museum) as the Alice F. Brooks Collection, having been gifted to the Institute by Alice’s sisters in 1927. The Institute’s librarian said that the gift “is without question the most important one of the year.” At the time of the donation, it was estimated that Alice’s collection contained 2500 bookplates. The 1928 Institute annual report indicates that her collection was combined with those already owned by the Institute.
The bookplates are mounted on cards and organized by the name (or sometimes just initials) of the owner, whether person, organization, or institution. They are indexed via a separate card catalog. Each index card provides a description of the bookplate with any text, a general descriptive category (e.g., pictorial, armorial, decorative), the name of the designer/engraver, where available, and country of origin. There are miscellaneous other notations.
Alice’s collection also includes five boxes of supporting materials such as dealer and auction catalogs; subject-specific journals, books and pamphlets; individual articles from journals and newspapers; materials relating to bookplate societies and associations, and a variety of other items including some correspondence to Alice as well as her father. The correspondents are often interested in trading duplicate bookplates. The 1913 membership list of The American Bookplate Society indicates that Alice was interested in “Exchanges for general plates”. The correspondence also indicates that some plates were gifts. Professor Morse appears to have forwarded a number to her as did noted bookplate authority, Charles Dexter Allen, author of “American Book-Plates.” (Henry Brooks’ bookplate is described in Allen’s book.) The Institute’s librarian noted that Alice’s position at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts “gave her an unusual opportunity to collect splendid examples of modern artists.”
Alice was generous with her collection, loaning bookplates to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Essex Institute for exhibition purposes. In 1904, she loaned bookplates, engravings, and coins to the MFA for the Exhibition of Early American Engravings. In 1908, she loaned bookplates and labels dating from 1702 to 1850 to the Essex Institute for an exhibit in its new picture gallery. According to a February 1908 Salem Evening News article, “This represents only a small portion of the collection now owned by Miss Alice F. Brooks of this city. In addition to this collection of American plates, there are about 50 examples of the splendid engraved work of the late Edwin D. French, including nearly all of his notable plates. The exhibit shows numerous examples of the work of Hurd, Doolittle, Maverick, Callendar [sic], and the later American engravers.” Additional designers/engravers represented in the collection as noted by the Essex Institute librarian include Robert Hale, Isaac Foster, Samuel Danforth, J.W. Spenceley, W.F. Hopson, and Sidney Smith.
Photograph of Alice Flint Brooks from: Peirce, H. Winthrop. History of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1876-1930. Boston: T.O. Metcalf, 1930.
Alice Flint Brooks (1863-1926)
Born in Salem on July 2, 1863, Alice Flint Brooks was one of five children (four daughters and one son) of Henry Mason Brooks, member, treasurer (1876), and secretary (1888-1898) of the Essex Institute, Salem, and Matilda Mary Nichols Brooks. The family lived at 260 Lafayette Street in Salem, which still stands.
Alice worked in administration at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for twenty-five years. She was initially assistant to the manager and was appointed manager in 1905, serving in that role for twenty years. Although Alice did not become a member of the Essex Institute until 1900, she served as assistant to her father’s successor. It’s not clear when she assumed that role or for how long. In the 1899 Essex Institute annual report, the Secretary stated: “I desire in passing to call your attention to the excellent work performed by my assistant, Miss Alice F. Brooks, in mounting manuscript material into large scrap books for its proper preservation and cataloging. Papers and documents, found in a most fragmentary condition, she has repaired and mounted in a most skilful [sic] manner. During the past six months twenty-eight volumes of manuscripts have been so mounted.”
Due to failing health, Alice resigned from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1926 and died at the home of two of her sisters on June 5, 1926 at the age of sixty-two. She is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem. In remembrance, the School noted her executive ability and that she would be “fondly remembered by many former pupils”. Her Salem Evening News obituary said that “She was greatly beloved by all who knew her.”
Alice seems to have inherited an interest in collecting from her father who is known to have collected books, stamps, coins, and bookplates, the latter of which Alice expanded. In Volume 34 of the Essex Institute: Historical Collections, an article written as a tribute to Henry Brooks by Professor Edward S. Morse indicates that all four daughters had inherited the “intellectual and literary characteristics of the parents” and that one (an unnamed Alice), “has evidently inherited the antiquarian and collecting spirit of her father and is now assistant secretary of the Essex Institute. She has continued a collection of book plates begun by her father, and has largely increased it by her own efforts.” An early letter to Henry Brooks from a bookplate collector says: “It is very pleasant for you to have your daughter so interested in the same gentle pastime of collecting as you are.” (Her sister, Margarette, was private secretary to Professor Morse and a student of entomology and natural history, having written articles on various related subjects for Popular Science Monthly. The eldest sister, Mary, was a watercolor artist and the youngest sister, Jenny, owned a Salem embroidery shop for which she created original designs.)
The Bookplate Collection
The Phillips Library’s current bookplate collection consists of some 3500 individual plates, as well as many duplicates. The collection was originally housed at the Essex Institute (a precursor organization to the Peabody Essex Museum) as the Alice F. Brooks Collection, having been gifted to the Institute by Alice’s sisters in 1927. The Institute’s librarian said that the gift “is without question the most important one of the year.” At the time of the donation, it was estimated that Alice’s collection contained 2500 bookplates. The 1928 Institute annual report indicates that her collection was combined with those already owned by the Institute.
The bookplates are mounted on cards and organized by the name (or sometimes just initials) of the owner, whether person, organization, or institution. They are indexed via a separate card catalog. Each index card provides a description of the bookplate with any text, a general descriptive category (e.g., pictorial, armorial, decorative), the name of the designer/engraver, where available, and country of origin. There are miscellaneous other notations.
Alice’s collection also includes five boxes of supporting materials such as dealer and auction catalogs; subject-specific journals, books and pamphlets; individual articles from journals and newspapers; materials relating to bookplate societies and associations, and a variety of other items including some correspondence to Alice as well as her father. The correspondents are often interested in trading duplicate bookplates. The 1913 membership list of The American Bookplate Society indicates that Alice was interested in “Exchanges for general plates”. The correspondence also indicates that some plates were gifts. Professor Morse appears to have forwarded a number to her as did noted bookplate authority, Charles Dexter Allen, author of “American Book-Plates.” (Henry Brooks’ bookplate is described in Allen’s book.) The Institute’s librarian noted that Alice’s position at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts “gave her an unusual opportunity to collect splendid examples of modern artists.”
Alice was generous with her collection, loaning bookplates to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Essex Institute for exhibition purposes. In 1904, she loaned bookplates, engravings, and coins to the MFA for the Exhibition of Early American Engravings. In 1908, she loaned bookplates and labels dating from 1702 to 1850 to the Essex Institute for an exhibit in its new picture gallery. According to a February 1908 Salem Evening News article, “This represents only a small portion of the collection now owned by Miss Alice F. Brooks of this city. In addition to this collection of American plates, there are about 50 examples of the splendid engraved work of the late Edwin D. French, including nearly all of his notable plates. The exhibit shows numerous examples of the work of Hurd, Doolittle, Maverick, Callendar [sic], and the later American engravers.” Additional designers/engravers represented in the collection as noted by the Essex Institute librarian include Robert Hale, Isaac Foster, Samuel Danforth, J.W. Spenceley, W.F. Hopson, and Sidney Smith.
Photograph of Alice Flint Brooks from: Peirce, H. Winthrop. History of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1876-1930. Boston: T.O. Metcalf, 1930.