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IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION.

Under the first Empire there was no style, or what was worse, a bad style, stiff, formal, semi-Greek, semi-Egyptian, and wholly false.

The Restoration brought little improvement--a Gothic revival, here borrowing, there stealing, from all the styles that had been in vogue, and spoiling all in turn.

And so it lasted until the fall of the second Empire, since when a revival has set in of national life, of national art, and of art in book-plates.

The heraldic shield, thus emblazoned, with more or less embellishment, allegorical and pictorial, flourished, from 1639, for just 150 years. In 1789 almost all the old symbols of nobility and titles of honour in France ceased abruptly; crowns and coronets were thought little of at that date, but--and this was worse--a little later on they were thought so much of as greatly to imperil the lives of those who bore them. Indeed, the revolutionary period affected book-plates very severely from 1789 until the end of 1804, when Napoleon, having obtained the dignity of emperor, wished to restore some appearance of a court. He therefore revived heraldry in a modified form, and placed it under certain clearly defined regulations.

The non-heraldic plates of this period are also very plain, often indeed being merely printed labels, as in the case, for instance, of that of Marshal Suchet.

The mode of engraving the armorial tinctures and bearings will probably show, as we have seen, whether the plate is earlier or later than 1639. Should the plate carry the name of artist or engraver, the date may be arrived at approximately by reference to the list of Artists and Engravers.

Or, assuming that the plate has neither the name of the owner nor that of the artist, it may carry a motto, in which case several works may be consulted for information. One of the most modern is "Le Dictionnaire des Devises," by Alphonse Chassant, which contains an enormous number of war cries, mottoes, and devices, adopted by distinguished families, not only in France, but in other nations. For readiness of reference these are arranged in alphabetical order, according to the first word of the sentence.

Finally, assuming a French plate to have no other distinctive mark than a shield with heraldic bearings, the first work to consult should be the heraldic dictionary of the engraver Paillot, "La vraye et parfaite science des armoiries ou l'indice armorial de feu maistre Louvan Geliot, advocat," par Pierre Paillot; Paris, 1660. In this M. Paillot has arranged in alphabetical order all the terms used in heraldry, with cross references to those in whose arms the various charges occur. Thus, supposing an ex-libris has a shield on which appears a lion rampant, by consulting his work under the words "lion" and "rampant," some reference will probably be found to the family in which this ex-libris took its origin.

Although this work dates from the seventeenth century, it may often be consulted with advantage for modern arms, as in many good old families the principal charges have not been altered very materially. Another advantage in Paillot's "Armorial" is the fact that he has not confined his attention only to princes and the nobility, but has, on the contrary, given the preference to the gentry, the minor public officials, and middle-class families.

There are other works also, such as "Les Grands Officiers de la Couronne," by P?re Anselme, and the "Armorial" of Chevillard, but they are not so well adapted for book-plate collectors who have only limited time, and probably but a rudimentary knowledge of French heraldry.

On a few early plates the names of French towns may be found latinized, thus:

Abbatis Villa for Abbeville. Ambiani " Amiens. Andegavum " Angers. Angolismum, or } " Angoul?me. Engolismum } Argentina, or } " Strasbourg. Argentinensis } Atrebatum " Arras. Aurelia " Orleans. Avenio for Avignon. Bisuntia " Besan?on. Buscum Ducis " Bois-le-duc. Cadomum " Caen. Carnutum " Chartres. Divi?ne " Dijon. Dola " Dol. Duacum " Douay. Ebroicum " Evreux. Ganabum and } " Orleans. Aurelia } Gratianopolis " Grenoble. Landumum " Laon. Lugdunum, or } " Lyons. Lugd. } Lutetia Parisiorum " Paris. Massilia " Marseilles. Matisco " Macon. Milhusini " Mulhouse. Nanceium " Nancy. Nannetes " Nantes. Parisii " Paris. Pictavium " Poitiers. Rothomagum " Rouen. Sylva Ducis " Bois-le-duc. Tholosa " Toulouse. Turones " Tours. Vesontio " Besan?on.

Which is the best system of classification?

This question has often been asked, and no satisfactory reply to it has yet been given.

It must, indeed, remain to a large extent a matter of individual taste, depending on the leisure and pecuniary means of the collector, the extent and value of his collection, and the special circumstances for which the collection has been formed. There are three principal systems, each of which has its advantages and its drawbacks, 1. The simple alphabetical. 2. The national, with subdivisions. 3. The arrangement according to the styles of the designs.

No doubt the purely alphabetical arrangement, according to the family names of the plate owners, is at once the easiest to plan out, and the simplest for the purposes of reference. It also lends itself well to the tracing of family history, and the comparison of the modifications of heraldry in successive generations.

In libraries, public institutions, and very large private collections, this alphabetical method must almost necessarily be adopted, each plate being as readily accessible for reference as is a word in a dictionary. But it involves a large number of albums to allow sufficient room in each letter for additions, and the plates are all mixed in one heterogeneous mass, with little regard to age, style, or beauty in design. In the department of engravings in the Biblioth?que Nationale in Paris, there are upwards of sixty large volumes full of ex-libris, arranged alphabetically. This collection was commenced about twenty years ago, and, under the energetic supervision of M. Georges Duplessis, it has rapidly increased, and the alphabetical arrangement has been adopted to facilitate easy reference and comparison.

But M. Henri Bouchot, who, being an official in the print department there, speaks with authority, remarks that enthusiastic collectors are also students of history in their special branches, and will be certain to prefer some more regular and distinctive system of classification than the simple alphabetical arrangement.

He therefore recommends the second plan, namely, the division by countries first, and next, the arrangement in strict chronological order. There are, however, many difficulties in the way of this seemingly ideal plan. One may, it is true, soon learn to distinguish, with a fair amount of accuracy, between French, German, Italian, and British book-plates; but with other nations the distinctions are less marked, and Spanish, Dutch, Swiss, or Belgian plates can be easily confounded with those of their immediate neighbours.

Again, in dealing with plates which have neither name, artist's signature, nor date, the chronological subdivisions can only be decided by a constant comparison of the styles in use at various periods, and by well-known artists and engravers.

This practice gives the collector a great insight into the progress of art, and the development of taste, yet it demands both time and patience to carry it out. Finally, it is true, the collector will have formed a continuous series of heraldic devices illustrating family history more completely than can be arrived at in any other manner. It is only by this constant study and comparison that the student of French ex-libris can hope to acquire a knowledge of their details, so as to be able to arrange his collection with a due attention to time, place, and families.

The third system advocated, namely, the arrangement according to the styles of the designs on the plates, may be interesting from an artistic point of view, but is certainly not very methodical.

A collector might divide his French plates under the following heads:

The great difficulty of any system of classification by the design is, that some plates might very properly be placed under three or four categories, so that, unless the collection be carefully indexed, the trouble is great in seeking hurriedly for any particular plate. The labour involved in writing an exhaustive index can only be appreciated by those who have once made one, and many who start zealously to work at the outset, let the new additions fall in arrear, and the whole scheme is then abandoned as being too troublesome.

In conclusion, I can only repeat that the choice of the system of arrangement depends more upon the tastes of the collector himself than upon any other consideration; but that, on the whole, the balance of advantages appears to incline in favour of the alphabetical classification under surnames, keeping each family as distinct as the information, heraldic and other, on the plates will allow.

Arrange the plates on one side only of each leaf in the album, allowing ample room for additions in each division of the alphabet. On no account fasten the plate down firmly on the paper, fix it only at one or two corners with a hinge made of gummed paper, or of the outside strip which surrounds sheets of postage stamps.

This method allows of the easy removal of any plate without damage, either to the plate or the album, as often as may be desired. The convenience of this will be readily appreciated by veteran collectors, who know how often one wants to exchange one plate for another, and how many good examples have been damaged in the attempt to remove them when once they have been firmly fixed down with gum or "stickphast" paste.

Albums are more convenient for large plates than the cases. They are also better adapted for showing off several varieties of a plate on one page, whilst, for collections in large numbers, they are certainly rather cheaper.

A FEW NOTES ON FRENCH HERALDRY.

Although the nomenclature and fundamental rules of heraldry in France are somewhat similar to those in use in Great Britain, yet in many important details the two systems differ materially.

ABR?G?

DU BLASON EN VERS.

"Le Blason compos? de diferens emaux, N'a que 4 couleurs, 2 panes, 2 metaux. Et les marques d'honeur qui suivent la naissance, Distinguent la Noblesse, & font sa recompense. Or, argent, sable, azur, gueules, sinople, vair, Hermine, au naturel & la couleur de chair, Chef, pal, bande, sautoir, face, barre, bordure, Chevron, pairle, orle, & croix de diverse figure. Et plusieurs autres corps nous peignent la valeur, Sans metal sur metal, ni couleur sur couleur. Suports, cimier, bourlet, cri de guerre, devise, Colliers, manteaux, honeurs, & marques de l'Eglise, Sont de l'art du Blason les pompeux ornemens, Dont les corps sont tir?s de tous les Elemens, Les astres, les rochers, fruits, fleurs, arbres & plantes, Et tous les animaux de formes differentes, Servent ? distinguer, les fiefs & les maisons, Et des Communaut?s composent les Blasons. De leurs termes precis enoncez les figures, Selon qu'elles auront de diverses postures. Le Blason plein echoit en partage ? l'ain?, Tout autre doit briser comme il est ordonn?."

The introduction states that the author, the Reverend Father Claude Fran?ois Menestrier, was born in Lyons in 1631, and had been for many years a member of the Society of Jesus . He wrote many other learned treatises on heraldry.

The conventional system above mentioned of engraving the tinctures is also the same in France as in Great Britain, and these devices may be easily fixed on the mind of the merest novice by a short study of Mr. J. Ashby-Sterry's entertaining work on "Heraldry made Easy:"

As most of the principal heraldic devices used on British arms were adopted when Norman French was our courtly language, and are described in that tongue, it does not require much study to enable anyone who can decipher a British coat-of-arms to do the same with an ordinary French shield, or even to understand the written description of one.

Yet coming to more advanced heraldry, dealing with such questions as descents, marriages, arms of assumption, of succession, of concession, and the proper marshalling of arms, the difficulties increase, and many apparent contradictions arise.

One of their most cherished rights was that of bearing coat armour, but little by little a rich middle class sprung up , which misappropriated coronets and coats-of-arms, and shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution, heraldry in France was in a most confused and chaotic condition.

Henceforward heraldry became generally popular, and many works were written to define the rules of chivalry, each one more elaborate than the preceding. King John of France devoted much attention to heraldry, as did several of his successors, and then the historians Froissart, Monstrelet, and Olivier de la Marche introduced it into their chronicles. Indeed, there is scarcely one early French romance which does not contain the full blazon of the imaginary arms conferred upon its fabulous personages.

When at length heraldry became fully recognized, its signs and emblems were chosen as the badges of hereditary nobility. In the course of time this attracted the envy of vain and unscrupulous people, who usurped the insignia of nobility which they were not by law entitled to wear.

These malpractices gave rise to great confusion, and were not only severely reprehended by all true lovers of heraldry, but were the subject of many royal edicts, commanding that all offenders should be heavily fined.

Before the year 1555 it had been a recognized custom that a member of any one of the great families of France might change his name and his arms without royal authority, a practice which was particularly useful in certain marriages.

Thus, supposing the last inheritor of a famous family name to have been a female, on marriage her husband could assume her name and armorial bearings, and thus perpetuate a line which otherwise would have become extinct.

But all these regulations were to very little purpose, and towards the close of the eighteenth century the confusion in heraldry became extreme, especially in the matter of coronets and supporters, which, as the book-plates of the period show, were assumed in a reckless manner by many who had no right to carry them.

Marshal of France, prince, duke, marquis, count, baron, all flourished once again. Very new and very grand, but of origin most doubtful. Coats-of-arms were granted, and Louis David, Napoleon's favourite artist, was called upon to design a new style of head-dress to denote the ranks which had, in former days, been indicated by various forms of coronets and helmets, as in British heraldry.

The blazonry under the Empire, being military in its origin, was conceived in the true spirit of military uniformity, each grade being as distinctively marked as the colonel, officers, and rank and file would be in a regiment of infantry drawn up for a general inspection.

The result of blending these three distinct systems--the old style, the Napoleonic, and that of the Restoration period--is somewhat confusing. A few families adhere to the old style, some to the Napoleonic, and the student of French heraldry must make himself acquainted with all.

But reverting to the pre-Revolution period, it appears that about 1700, helmets, wreaths, and mantling began to go out of use on ex-libris, and were replaced by coronets, which at first indicated with some certainty the rank of the owner. But after a time individuals assumed coronets to which they were not entitled, whilst members of the lower ranks of nobility promoted themselves, without ceremony, to the higher grades; the baron became a marquis, and the count assumed the coronet of a duke. An ordinance of 1663, which forbade the usurpation of the insignia of nobility under the penalty of a fine of 1,500 livres, stopped these abuses for a time. But the law soon became a dead letter, and one might suppose, at the present time, that no such regulation had ever existed, so systematically was it evaded.

As, however, in early unnamed ex-libris the coronets have a certain small value in assisting in their identification, a brief description of the distinctive features of the principal coronets may be useful to collectors.

Dukes carried a golden crown having eight ornamented strawberry leaves , of which, in engravings, only three leaves and two halves are visible.

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