Ex Libris and Visual Culture

An ex libris or bookplate is originally a graphic work of small size and often of high artistic value usually fixed to the interior side of the cover of a book to indicate its owner. Today it is mostly considered a collectable individual piece of small graphic work.

Our volume offers a rich selection of these small graphics, for the first time in a comprehensive way. The author, who is academic researcher at National Széchényi Library, presents the Hungarian ex libris of the 20^th and 21^st centuries in thematic order. The illustrations depicting symbolic persons and events reflect the owners’ interest in Hungarian and world literature, history, mythology and religion, but music, dance, animals, plants, eating, crafts and books are also represented. The selection is followed by an index of pictures and names.