In the personal plate of the designer, of all those here reproduced, we catch glimpses of the artist’s own personality. We see him as a book-lover and something of his inspiration is spread out before us. He goes reading along, carrying reserve volumes in case the one that engages his attention in the portraiture is happily finished. Mr. Fisher has been producing book-plates only since 1898, since which time he has to his credit some forty examples of work in this field. He is perhaps happiest in his rendition of the plate pictorial, and he has sometimes tinted his plates most charmingly. Mr. Fisher prepared for Cornell at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. At Cornell he studied architecture for two years, with especial attention to drawing. He also studied, for six months, at the Art Institute, Chicago, Ill., whither he went from Cornell. He has been largely self-taught in the matter of designing, but his work indicates that his teacher was a good one. He has privately but carefully studied the work of the best modern pen-and-ink draughtsmen, and from this he has formed his personal style. The methods and craftsmanship of reproduction were the subject of special study on his part while he was with one of the large Chicago engraving houses. Anything that comes from his hand will be sure of the most kindly reception, so long as his work is maintained at the present high standard.
By Wm. Edgar Fisher
BOOK-PLATES OF TO-DAY
TONNELÉ & COMPANY
NEW YORK
NINETEEN EXAMPLES OF DECORATIVE BOOK-PLATES BY MODERN BRITISH DESIGNERS
From THE LONDON “STUDIO”