Victorian and other vintage bookmarks can be inexpensive collectibles in a wide range of materials and styles.
Bookmarks have been made in various sizes and shapes and in a diversity of materials, from ribbon, paper and cardboard to silver, ivory, celluloid and wood, Betty Rivera wrote in an article in the Hearst magazine Country Living.During Tudor times, when books were rare and handled with care, even Queen Elizabeth I made needlepoint bookmarks.
In the late 1800s, Victorians spent evening hours making bookmarks dedicated to favorite relatives - especially "dear Papa" - and friends. Anniversaries, birthdays and other occasions were commemorated. Schoolgirls in female academies "painted" memorial or mourning pictorials, now highly prized by collectors. They were made from scraps of silk and further enhanced, at times, with painting or beadwork.
The advent of perforated cardboard that could be cut to size to fit a piece of ribbon heralded a new way to create designs. Cardboard permitted crafters to embroider quotations from the Bible on bookmarks intended as meaningful gifts.
Thomas Stevens, an inventor and manufacturer in Coventry, England, used his Jacquard loom to produce woven silk bookmarks known as Stevengraphs. At a Crystal Palace exhibition in London in 1868, and at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, Stevens set up a loom and sold souvenir Stevengraphs.
Many Stevengraphs proclaim religious themes, while others display characters from Shakespearean plays and Victorian novels, or feature portraits of Queen Victoria or Robert Burns. Florals, sentimental verses, locomotives and ballooning scenes also had their place.
These novelties generally are priced from about $50 to $300, depending on subject matter.
Most true Stevengraphs have folded-back or mitered corners at the base of the marker and carry Stevens' name on the reverse side. This identification is not on Stevengraphs woven at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1892-1893.
In late Victorian years, thin cardboard was favored for bookmarks. Some reflect the Victorians' high regard for religion. Colorful lithographs also served as advertising devices, promoting such products as soap. Lithographed advertising bookmarks - some with likenesses of George Washington, Walter Scott and other luminaries - often are available for $10 or less.
Victorian Americans rich enough to travel abroad often returned home with souvenir bookmarks made of sycamore by the Smith family of Mauchline (Ayrshire, now Strathclyde), Scotland. Known these days as Mauchline ware, examples tend to date from 1880 to 1900. Scottish souvenir ware, now avidly collected, includes tartan bookmarks made of sycamore and covered with plaid paper.
Victorians and Edwardians who could afford them were fond of bookmarks made by English and American silversmiths, including Tiffany, Kirk and Unger. Sterling markers often were embossed with repousse and, at times, were monogrammed. At the turn of the century, silver markers, as well as those made of brass, bronze and other metals, had such art nouveau designs as tulips, lilies and nymphs with long, flowing hair. Art nouveau markers today range in price from about $50 to $250.
Ivory bookmarks with silver mounts still tempt collectors. Less expensive celluloid examples, also called French ivory, made in imitation of ivory, frequently sport heads of dogs, parrots and other figures. They can be found for less than $25 - sometimes for no more than a few dollars.
The art deco period spawned bookmarks made of copper, brass and silver, often handmade in art classes. Commercially made bookmarks of the art deco period were often made of chrome and served as souvenirs of such events as the New York World's Fair of 1939-40.