James P. Keenan on Bookplates: The Art of This Century

Our speaker will briefly discuss antique bookplates, but his emphasis will be on the contemporary art form and the fact that bookplates are in use worldwide today! Bookplates are used to mark pride in book ownership and to facilitate exchange to build collections and global friendships.

James P. Keenan has collected bookplates for nearly fifty years and has been involved in the graphic arts field since the late 1970s. He has authored several books on ex libris, including American Artists of the Bookplate (Cambridge Bookplate, 1990 & 1996) and The Art of the Bookplate (Barnes & Noble, 2003). He is currently updating Bookplates: The Art of This Century (Cambridge Bookplate) as an illustrated directory of the world’s top book artists and printmakers making ex libris prints today.

For twenty-five years, Keenan has led the American Society of Bookplate Collectors & Designers (ASBC&D), founded in 1922. His role as publisher of the Society’s quarterly journal and Year Book underscores his influence and active engagement in the community. Through Cambridge Bookplate and ASBC&D, Keenan has organized over thirty exhibitions at prominent libraries and museums nationwide, showcasing the importance of his work and the Society’s collections to collectors and scholars alike.

This is a Zoom only program. To egister and reserve your seat today, click here.