“Think of a bookplate as a wedding ring binding the reader to the book, and vice versa. The symbolism isn’t so far apart: ownership, possession, desire. […] The digital book has no front or back covers; there is no place to assert ownership, and there is nothing to own.”
Alex Beam is worried about the future of bookplates (the marker inside a book’s cover that allows the owner of a book to leave their mark… think “This Book Belongs to…”) in the coming digital age.
Also, be sure not to miss the slideshow of Yale’s bookplate collection. (via PW)
