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The bookplate or ex libris has put bread and butter on many an artist�s table, and over the course of time has developed into a flourishing art form all of its own. I don�t pretend to know very much about the history and development of ex libris, but seem to have acquired some anyway. I think this little group of Austrian, Czech and German bookplates of the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) period are particularly charming. They come from the Vienna art revue Die Graphischen K�nste , from the years 1911, 1912, and 1914. Maximilian Liebenwein (Austrian, 1869-1926) Ex libris Josef Kundrat Lithograph, 1910 Maximilian Liebenwein Ex libris Karl Stark Lithograph, 1910 Maximilian Liebenwein Ex libris der Verbindung von Wiener Kunstakademikern �Athenaia� Lithograph, 1910 Alfred Cossmann (Austrian, 1870-1951) Ex libris Arthur Graf Etching, c.1912 Alfred Cossman Ex libris Franz J. Kaiser Etching. c.1912 Alois Kolb (Austrian, 1875-1942) Ex libris Gertrud Kolb Etching, c.1914 Rudolf Junk (Austrian, 188

The boldly graphic woodcut style developed independently and concurrently by William Nicholson in England and F�lix Vallotton in France inevitably inspired others to follow their lead. One of the first and most influential was the Czech artist Emil Orlik (1870-1932). Orlik studied at the Munich Academy from 1891-1893. In 1899 he joined the Vienna Secession. From 1905 Emil Orlik taught graphics at the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, joining the Berlin Secession in 1908. Emil Orlik, Die N�herin (The Seamstress) Woodcut, 1896 Emil Orlik, On the Victoria Embankment, London (also known as In the Park) Lithograph, 1898 Of course, not all of those who worked in this style achieved the lasting fame of Nicholson, Vallotton, and Orlik. The German artist Fritz Lang (1877-1961) is hardly known today, though I like the boldness and the humour in my two examples of his work. Lang was born in Stuttgart, where he studied at the art school before completing his studies at the Karlsruhe Academy. Fritz Lang,