I am going to be moving out of my apartment in Pittsburgh very soon. I have been thinking about how I am going to go about packing and transporting everything I have here. It’s funny thinking about how my Pittsburgh adventure started with the two suitcases full of stuff. Now if I tried to fit only the books I have acquired during the last 4 years in those two suitcases I probably would not be able to.
Books are very special to me. I frequently find myself thinking about what a certain book on my shelf might mean to me in the far future. Every time I read a book, it gets stored in my memory intertwined with whatever is going on in my life at that time. In short, they are personal to me and I like “having” them. I love the idea of libraries and I love going to libraries and spending time looking at random books but I am also a fan of book ownership.

Ex-libris (also known as bookplates) are based on the idea of book ownership. I think the first time I ever heard of their existence was when an ex-libris exhibition came to Istanbul years ago. Here is a good description of what they are:

“An Ex-libris or bookplate is a small graphic label or print, which is glued to the inside cover of a book with the purpose of identifying its owner. The Latin phrase ‘Ex libris…’, means from the books of…, and is usually followed by the name of the owner of the book, who can be an individual or an institution. In general, ex-libris are commissioned from artists by persons wishing to mark the ownership of the volumes of their library in a more decorative and elegant way than by just writing their name inside. Printed ex-libris have been used in this way for over 500 years, although earlier hand-painted ones are known and even small ceramic plates which were attached to papyrus scrolls, saying that they belonged to the library of Pharaoh Amenophis III.” from Istanbul Ex-Libris Society website.
The examples are from Philippe Masson Ex-Libris Collection.