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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A thrilling experience: Examination of Egyptian Mummy Tutu, Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur

Image
During my internship at Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur in 2018 I got an opportunity to assist Mummy Specialist Rania Ahmad who had come from Egypt to examine the Egyptian Mummy Tutu displayed in the Egyptian Gallery of Albert Hall. It was a thrilling experience as I got to be so close to the Egyptian Mummy. For the first time in my life I had seen the Egyptian Mummy without any box covering it. . I felt so elated and excited to witness the examination process and assist Rania Ahmad in taking measurements of the Mummy. Details of the Mummy: ·          Egyptian Mummy of Tutu, priestess of God Chem of Ptolemaic epoch ·          Found at Akhmin, Ancient Panopolis ·          2340 years old ·          Brought to Jaipur 131 years ago in 1887 by Sawai Ishwar Singh from Cairo, and since 1890 it is kept at Albert Hall Museum ...
Read more

The legend of Maize God

Image
Maize God also known as Corn God is one of the most important deities in Mesoamerica, especially during Classic Maya period. Maize was the staple crop of most of the Pre-Columbian North American, Mesoamerican and South American cultures that redefined their cultural, social and economical parameters. The Corn God was believed to be decapitated once harvesting began and then reborn at the start of the new growing season therefore the god was not just associated with maize itself, but also with the cycle of rebirth, the cycle of seasons and the associated growth of crops. Several representations of Corn God have appeared throughout the Pre-Columbian civilisations. The earliest representations appear during the Early Classic Maya where he is depicted as a young male with stylized maize on the top of the head. In the Late Classic Period, he is depicted with an elongated human head shaved in sections across the forehead and is the prototype for  Hun Hunahpu  from the  Popul Vu...
Read more

Deccan College Archaeology Museum, Pune

Image
Deccan College Archaeology Museum (DCAM) was started for the Masters and PhD students of Deccan College which exhibited the artefacts collected by Prof. H.D. Sankalia and Research Scholars from 1939 onwards. The artefacts were first kept for display in the main administrative building in the year 1940 but since Deccan College took part in many excavations and collected huge amount of cultural material, a new building was constructed in 1962 and the first floor was completely dedicated to museum displaying objects of human past. Aims & Objectives of Deccan College Archaeology Museum- The main aim of Deccan College museum is educational. It displays selective cultural remains of the human past and is aimed to provide information on Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology to students, teachers as well as general public. To introduce archaeology to general public and school teachers in rural and urban areas, through outreach programmes i.e. exhibiti...
Read more