Ex Libris: 20th Century Australian Bookplates

This selection of bookplates was sourced from the UNSW Library Special Collections. Displays explored the work of artists Adrian Feint and George David Perrottet, noted bookplate collector P. Neville Barnett, and Australian Ex Libris societies and clubs.

When:

5 December 2022 - 30 January 2023

Where:

Levels 2 and 5 Main Library

A bookplate is a small, printed label typically affixed to the endpaper in the front of a book to register ownership and to designate provenance. These labels often bear the words Ex Libris, a Latin phrase meaning "from the library of", followed by the name of the book’s owner. Around the turn of the 20th century, bookplates became increasingly collectable, with those made for well-known persons of interest often more valuable than the book in which they are found.

This selection of bookplates was sourced from the UNSW Library Special Collections. Displays explore the work of artists Adrian Feint and George David Perrottet, noted bookplate collector P. Neville Barnett, and Australian Ex Libris societies and clubs. Ex Libris: 20th Century Australian Bookplates features bookplates of rare and cultural value, showing an impressive breadth of artistic style and technique in these prints.

Accessibility: UNSW Main Library is wheelchair accessible and the exhibition included large-text exhibition guides.