Bookplates should be personal. Which is why the first one I made (with a little assistance from Gustave Dore) features tomatoes. I’m fairly certain Dore wasn’t from the South, but I am. We take tomato-growing seriously down here. If you’re laughing, you’re probably from Minnesota or someplace.
Don’t fret, these are all altered images frittering their artistic lives away in the public domain. I didn’t steal them and no one’s stealing my books with something like this on the inside cover. It’s not an Evil Eye, it’s an Exasperated Eye.
Sadly, the bat story clings to me. Can’t quite shake it, so I might as well make a bookmark. That’s not a rationalization, it’s a personal philosophy. Glass half full and all that.
I give books as presents all the time. Why, I’ve even been known to give them out at Halloween when the trick-or-treater is a little too tall for my liking. I gave out fifty-cent copies of Dracula, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Frankenstein a few years back and may never live that down. The too-big-for-trick-or-treating crowd has my number now. I’d never put one of these lovely presentation plates in those, though. They don’t deserve it.
This bookplate is strictly for scholarly books on rhetorical theory. Note the poor woman’s general demeanor. Enough said.
Making these was so much fun that now I’ll be grading all day tomorrow to make up for today’s artful procrastination. If you need to lose a few hours, I suggest Wikimedia Commons and Flickr Commons for a wealth of images in the public domain.
No Telling 
Love those bookmarks, etc. I really enjoy that sort of thing and yours are particularly nice!
I also love the treats you gave out on Hallowe'en.
Sadly, we don't really celebrate Hallowe'en here in Australia, so we kind of miss out in that regard.
It sort of sucks that we can't endlessly pursue our hobbies and have to make it up later, but c'est la vie, I suppose.
Please, keep writing your blogs; they're always fantastic!
they're gorgeous but i've been thinking lately that a trackable microchip may be the way to go
that way i could storm in and retrieve long-lost treasures….!
That first one is awesome!!!!
I LOVE those…. I see a new hobby on my horizon…
I might be tempted to stick one inside tbe books you give to errant teens though…. great idea! and you never know when a bright red tomato might catch an eye, lead to a feeling of ownership and the actual turning of a page….
ok- probably not,but I'm an eternal optomist when it comes to the power of the written word…
This looks like fun! Thanks for the tips on the websites. Love your Halloween strategy!
Thanks, L'Ombre! Just so you know, we celebrate Halloween less and less around here. It's a shame.
India, with a chip you could snatch them back just like Amazon does with their Kindle downloads. (Ah, a little Sunday morning snark…)
I'm glad you like the tomatoes, Otin. It's a good sign.
I'm a book-optimist too, Sally. The teenaged trick-or-treaters didn't seem as thrilled as I was at the books, though. Go make some bookmarks – it's fun!
Missy, I guess the teacher giving out books at Halloween was too much like the dentist giving out toothbrushes instead of candy. I lost a few Cool Points.
How many Cool Points does a woman need anyway?
Bookplates are so cool. I should get a new batch and personalize my newer books. It's not so much that they work in getting a book back to me, as they add a bit of myself to the book, the same way the book added itself to me. (I don't lend 'keepers' to people I don't trust to return them, anyway!)
“they add a bit of myself to the book, the same way the book added itself to me”
I love that, NanU.
I do so enjoy these posts! Hence my comment: I have an award waiting for you on my site: http://5thsister.blogspot.com
The last one makes me think of Penelope. Not the girl with the pig nose. The other one. You know, the loyal wife thing.
Thank you so much, 5thsister – I'm so excited! You're the bomb, gal.
Becs, all she needs is a stubborn tapestry that keeps unweaving itself.
I'm late to the party, I was busy having a Real Life Away From The Computer like people keep telling me to do. I didn't like it, it was disappointing.
And my only comment here is to A) love the daylights out of your bookplates, and B) wish you lived in my neighborhood so I could soak up the glory of your books on Halloween. Most people just stiff me on candy, cuz I've been 'a little too tall' since I was…ten. 😐
I love bookplates! My husband has a stash he's had since he was a kid. He saves those for veryvery special books. When I see one of THOSE in a book, I know it's one he really loved. I love the idea of making them! Hmmm….
Even those of us in (or near) Minnesota take our tomato growing VERY seriously. Love the bookplates. Must get some of my own!
I love bookplates so much, that one of my other e-mail addresses starts with “exlibris.” (Also, the Latin makes me sound smarter than I really am.) Now I'm off to flickrcommons.
Julia, I imagine an artsy gal like you could make some stunning bookplates. Thinking about it?
Kate at Serendipity, you need some of your own! Let me know when you make a few so we can all peek.
Minnesota Kate, bless your tomato heart. You go right ahead and use that first bookplate while you're dreaming up one of your own. Viva la homegrown tomatoes!
We won't be hearing from MJ for a while. Flickr Commons can steal a few hours. Oh, yes.