Jan. 26, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
J 39 
Angling Ex-Libris. 
An ex-libris, or bookplate, is a small piece 
of paper whereon is printed the owner’s name, 
and pasted on tbe inside cover of a book; in 
other words, it is a piinted slip to denote the 
1 ownership of books. A proper ex-libris should 
have, first of all, the name, boldly and plainly 
printed, and a space left for the number of 
volumes contained in the library. Then to make 
it more interesting and personal, some decora¬ 
tive device of the owner’s peculiar and individ¬ 
ual choice, as well as some favorite motto, if 
desired. 
In Europe those who have the right use fam¬ 
ily crests or armorial bearings for their ex- 
libris. Every well-regulated library should 
have some mark of ownership, and the ex-lib¬ 
ris takes the place of the owner’s signature. 
The majority of intelligent anglers acquire in 
the course of time a collection of angling liter¬ 
ature, books they keep for reference, for ad¬ 
vice as well as for pleasure. These comprise 
many thousand volumes, from Juliana Berners 
and Izaak Walton down to the present time, 
truly a galaxy of famous names in all pro¬ 
fessions and walks of life. This quiet, inoffen¬ 
sive pastime of angling has drawn to it many 
men of many minds, from the church, the law. 
literature, science, art and medicine. Each and 
all have their quota of devoted adherents, and 
with reason, too. The charm of Walton’s 
“Compleat. Angler” is partly due to the sim¬ 
plicity and purity of nature which finds ex¬ 
pression in his work. There is a quiet and be¬ 
nign light in his writing which draws us to it 
and makes us choose to linger over it. The 
delight of days spent by the riverside is de¬ 
scribed as if Walton felt himself to be the teller 
of good tidings, in which whosoever wished 
might share. 
Charles Kingsley has written most delight¬ 
fully about fishing. He had also a good store 
of knowledge of plants, insects, birds and all 
the life about a river. Who would not have 
kindled at the thought of a day’s fishing with 
Kingsley? Who would have not been better 
,for it? For he never for one moment leaves 
us in doubt of the strength and sincerity of 
his affection for all that was interesting and 
beautiful outdoors. 
For such books as these a book-plate would 
seem an indisputable part of a well-conducted 
library, a distinctive and personal charm of the 
room, showing at once the taste and refinement 
that is common to all lovers of nature. It 
speaks also of the aid in life by giving tbeir 
choicest mottoes; and by the details of the de¬ 
signs, their tenderest feelings in what they most 
love. 
An ex-libris is also a special mark of the 
owner’s which does not destroy the value of a 
book; it has often proved the contrary, as 
many a purchase, worthless as a book, becomes 
valuable from having in it an ex-libris of some 
distinguished author or person. With what 
pleasure one becomes the possessor of a book 
containing a strip of paper on which is en¬ 
graved a crouching lion, and underneath 
V .. ' ; v» - 
printed “Charles Dickens.” How one would be 
charmed to know that the great novelist had 
handled and read with pleasure the same book 
we possessed ourselves. 
Many well-known anglers do not incorporate 
fishing subjects in their ex-libris, often having 
indifferent ideas without any particular mean¬ 
ing. This seems strange, because of the fact 
that no subject, if properly designed, makes a 
prettier device for the purpose of a book¬ 
plate than that of an angling picture, either of 
the fish in repose, or representing their mode 
of capture. Of course in many of the crests 
and coat-of-arms of old English families, the 
fish plays a prominent part, such as in the 
Lucy arms, which contains three luqes or juke, 
similar to the Washington crest of three stars. 
Others have bears, deer, lions, etc. If the 
Howland plate (here illustrated) is placed 
alongside the very best it easily holds its own. 
both from an artistic point and from the point 
of plainly showing the favorite hobby of its 
owner. This plate is one of the best of thous¬ 
ands I know, and certainly adorns any book, 
but it represents only one phase of an infinite 
variety of fishing plates that can be devised 
and used by anglers, from a good drawing of 
a single fish to the complicated device where 
various kinds of tackle are arranged together. 
Dr. Van Dyke’s plate, designed and etched 
on copper by a well-known artist, pictures a 
nude young boy angling by the brook-side. On 
his knee is a book, which now and then diverts 
his attention from the float. On the_ shield is 
the crest of a knight’s helmet with a single star 
above it. Among tbe leafy branches of a tree 
is a scroll whereon is inscribed **Lux swnmet. 
Lex Men ” The general character of the design 
is well thought out, and at once truthfully tells 
the favorite pastime of its talented and versatile 
owner in a most charming manner. Dow 
strikingly appropriate it is to the author of 
“Little" Rivers” and “Fisherman’s Luck.” We 
would hardly expect the learned professor to 
adopt any other symbol than that pertaining to 
fish and fishing, though his work shows a more 
serious bend as professor, poet and critic, and 
at times he will in lighter moods say things 
playfully, as the verse referring to his book¬ 
plate shows: 
Siddons Mowbrey drew this lad, 
And James D. Smillie etched him; 
You see his book, you see his brook— 
But his fish? he hasn’t ketched ’im. 
The Howland plate is a characteristic design 
'with a central shield having thereon three lions 
rampant, supported by a fish on either side, in 
their mouths holding by a strap a flask; on the 
other a creel, filled, not with trout, but books. 
Crossed between is the fly rod and net with the 
angler’s hat between. As a background 
growing from the lower center is a group of 
interlaced bullrushes and ferns. Above on a 
gracefully designed scroll or ribbon is inscribed 
"Piscator non solum. Piscator,” the name and 
date being placed on a larger ribbon below. It 
is a highly finished steel engraving, evidently 
done by a talented expert. 
Of a very different character is the one of 
Charles E. Cameron, being a copperplate etch¬ 
ing, showing an Indian standing beside his 
bark canoe beached among the ferns, with one 
arm resting on a huge rock. Overhead is a 
dark pine tree, and in the foreground is a 
tumbling little waterfall. In the background is 
a lake, and still further distant high mountains 
tower above. As a motto it has the familiar 
and well-known “Book in the Running Brooks.” 
Though not exactly a fishing plate it is closely 
allied by its outdoor atmosphere and its motto. 
It is a very beautiful plate and well executed. 
Another exquisitely etched. plate is that of 
Daniel B. Fearing, which represents a lusty 
trout coming up through the deep water to a fly 
on the surface, making a picture very charac¬ 
teristic, telling in effectiveness, yet pleasingly 
simple. The panel picture has a border or 
frame made of a fine trout line—outside of 
which is a rod, numerous flies, all subordinated 
to the main picture. At the top is the charm¬ 
ing motto, “Wish Us the Wind South,” done 
in beautiful lettering which is a charm to the 
eye, and certainly adds greatly to the general 
effect. This plate is one of very few instances 
where lettering is a decided improvement in a 
