Bookmarks: From the Days of Yore to Present

Bookmark is a tool, made of leather, fabric or paper, used by the readers to keep track of their reading progress. As an avid reader, I too use bookmarks and I like bookmarks so much that I have started to make them on my own.

Paper bookmarks made by Yours Truly

Bookmarks have a very interesting history that dates back to the early days of bookmaking where these were used by highly skilled monks in their incunabula. These early bookmarks were made of leftover pieces of vellum or leather used to make book cover. Various shapes were noticed like a plain strand, clip-on triangle and a rotating disc.

Rotating Disc Bookmark made of Vellum

Different types of bookmarks were used on different mediums i.e. if the pages were wet, a blotting or a plain paper was used; if the pages were dry and it was mostly a script, a simple ribbon would appease; and for fine illumination pages, a vellum bookmark was used.

The oldest bookmark found is from 1584. It was a fringed silk bookmark that was presented to Queen Elizabeth I by Queen's Printer, Christopher Barker. The second oldest existing bookmark dates to 16th century and is currently in the Royal Museum of Brunei. It is an ivory bookmark, made in India, and is embellished with a geometrical pattern made by piercing holes into the ivory. A bookmark with plaited silk cords, silver knots and silk tassels was owned by the British and Foreign Bible Society that was made exclusively to be used in the Bible of 1632.

A common type of Bookmark began to be used during 18th and 19th century where a long silk ribbon was attached at the top end of the book and it was long enough to project below the lower edge of the page.

From 1850's detachable bookmarks began to be popularized. One of the first references of such bookmark is in Mary Russell Mitford's Recollections of literary Life. However these were not called 'bookmarks' but were known as 'a marker'.

In Victorian age, bookmarks began to be used as advertisements. The period also saw the use of embroidered bookmarks which were made by young girls in order to show their skills they had learnt on small canvas. Since they were intended to be used in Bible and prayer books, they became a great idea for gifting.

Victorian Home-made Bookmark (Embroidery on Perforated card)

In 1860's, woven bookmarks began to be manufactured and it was Thomas Steven's marks called 'Stevenmarks' that became much popular. These also became popular for gifting and the high society members asked their's to be made of silk added with a text. During the Edwardian era, celluloid bookmarks became cheap alternatives to ivory. Bookmarks were also made of materials like gold, brass, bronze, copper, etc by specialized companies like Gorham, S. Kirk & Sons and Tiffany.

                              

Woven Silk Bookmark                                      Thin Card bookmark

By 1880's the popularity of woven markers gradually declined and bookmarks made of stiff paper or cardboard began to be manufactured. Many companies used them as an advertising tool.

Presently bookmarks come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials however they are no longer used for advertisements.