Percy Neville Barnett
Encyclopedia
Percy Neville Barnett was an Australian collector, connoisseur and authority of Australian Bookplate
s which are also known as ex-libris. Barnett is best known for his promotional role during the 1920s and 1930s when bookplates enjoyed a resurgence of interest in Australia, Europe
and the United States
. He wrote, designed and privately published more than twenty limited edition books, and dedicated his life to advancing the tradition of Bookplates.
, New Zealand
. The family moved to Sydney
in 1887 when Barnett’s father, an Anglican
, accepted a job at St. Mary's Cathedral
as an organist.
After finishing highschool Barnett went on to work at the Bank of New South Wales, Sydney. He was married to Gabrielle Joyce Havelock Vidal in 1918, and it was around this time that his interest begun in book collecting
and the study of Bookplates.
Through both his personal collection and publications Barnett traced the subtle progress of the Australian Bookplate tradition by analyzing their formal and stylistic development historically
and aesthetically
. Although they had been present in Australia from the very first days of European settlement, Bookplates remained an expensive and exclusive item reserved only for the literati
, missionaries, military officers, government officials and the occasional landed gentlemen. Up until the mid 1800s convicts accounted for about one third of the population and with low literacy levels in the British colonies, Bookplates were reserved only for people who possessed personal libraries.
Referring to Australia’s slow start to the Bookplate tradition, Barnett stated:
In 1923 Barnett was becoming involved in the conception and formation of an Australian Bookplate Society. Prior to this Barnett had relied upon correspondence with European societies, clubs and individuals in keeping up to date with Bookplate tradition. Barnett himself claimed that:
With the idea of creating a Bookplate society still in progress, the first public exhibition of Bookplates in Tyrell’s Galleries in Sydney took place on 18 May 1923. Artists and collectors came together to promote and enjoy Bookplates and Bookplate design, giving impetus to the official formation of the Australian Ex Libris Society with fifty foundation members.
Barnett’s dedication resulted in his positions as Honorary Secretary of the Australian Ex Libris Society, vice-president of the New Zealand Ex Libris Society and of the Book-plate Association International, Los Angeles. And from 1931-37 he was general secretary of the Australian Painter-Etchers' Society.
Acknowledged for encouraging Australian artists to design Bookplates, two of his most prominent inductions to the art of Bookplate design were Lionel Lindsay
and Pixie O'Harris
. He encouraged artists and designers as a way of obtaining original and rare designs for his limited edition books and personal collections . Pixie O'Harris, referring to the period c.1921-2 recalls:
Barnett also convinced artist Sydney Long
, who had not produced a bookplate since 1921, to etch one as the frontispiece to Pictorial Book-plates (1931). It depicted a close copy of his iconic 1897 art nouveau oil The Spirit of the Plains.
Encouraging the local industry, Barnett also directed substantial work toward the local book-plate designers. Commissioning Adrian Feint
and George David Perrottet to design plates which were to be gifts to the Prince of Wales
and Princess Elizabeth
, and which would also be included in his Woodcut Book-plates (1934). The following year he also commissioned Feint and Perrottet to execute royal designs, this time for King George V and Queen Mary
. Through efforts in commissions and promotion Barnett made a position for himself as an intermediary between prospective owners and artists.
Bookplate
A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs [Latin, "from the books of..."], is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner...
s which are also known as ex-libris. Barnett is best known for his promotional role during the 1920s and 1930s when bookplates enjoyed a resurgence of interest in Australia, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He wrote, designed and privately published more than twenty limited edition books, and dedicated his life to advancing the tradition of Bookplates.
Early life
Barnett was born 13 September 1881, son of Neville Barnett and his wife Mary Constance Isabel, at ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The family moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1887 when Barnett’s father, an Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, accepted a job at St. Mary's Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
as an organist.
After finishing highschool Barnett went on to work at the Bank of New South Wales, Sydney. He was married to Gabrielle Joyce Havelock Vidal in 1918, and it was around this time that his interest begun in book collecting
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
and the study of Bookplates.
Career
Barnett spent much of his life documenting the Bookplate movement in Australia through his own publications. His books are rare as there were only limited copies available due to the high level of detail and craftsmanship put into each publication. Each book was often issued in both standard editions and small deluxe genuine colour-prints, each selected carefully and pasted by hand by Barnett himself. Barnett took great care in each publication, researching and collecting for up to nine of ten years for his most major works.Through both his personal collection and publications Barnett traced the subtle progress of the Australian Bookplate tradition by analyzing their formal and stylistic development historically
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and aesthetically
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. Although they had been present in Australia from the very first days of European settlement, Bookplates remained an expensive and exclusive item reserved only for the literati
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
, missionaries, military officers, government officials and the occasional landed gentlemen. Up until the mid 1800s convicts accounted for about one third of the population and with low literacy levels in the British colonies, Bookplates were reserved only for people who possessed personal libraries.
Referring to Australia’s slow start to the Bookplate tradition, Barnett stated:
In 1923 Barnett was becoming involved in the conception and formation of an Australian Bookplate Society. Prior to this Barnett had relied upon correspondence with European societies, clubs and individuals in keeping up to date with Bookplate tradition. Barnett himself claimed that:
With the idea of creating a Bookplate society still in progress, the first public exhibition of Bookplates in Tyrell’s Galleries in Sydney took place on 18 May 1923. Artists and collectors came together to promote and enjoy Bookplates and Bookplate design, giving impetus to the official formation of the Australian Ex Libris Society with fifty foundation members.
Barnett’s dedication resulted in his positions as Honorary Secretary of the Australian Ex Libris Society, vice-president of the New Zealand Ex Libris Society and of the Book-plate Association International, Los Angeles. And from 1931-37 he was general secretary of the Australian Painter-Etchers' Society.
Influence
During his life Barnett witnessed the peak of the Australian Ex Libris movement of the 1920s and 1930s. In that time thousands of individual Bookplates were designed, and the concept of Bookplates developed an Australian character. Following Barnett’s success and involvement in the founding of the Australian Ex Libris Society, rival Bookplate societies were established to better serve and support the growing needs of artists and collectors.Acknowledged for encouraging Australian artists to design Bookplates, two of his most prominent inductions to the art of Bookplate design were Lionel Lindsay
Lionel Lindsay
Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay was an Australian artist and brother of artist and illustrator Norman Lindsay.-Early life:...
and Pixie O'Harris
Pixie O'Harris
Pixie O'Harris MBE , was a Welsh-born Australian artist, newspaper, magazine and book illustrator, author, broadcaster, caricaturist and cartoonist, designer of book plates, sheet music covers and stationery, and children's hospital ward fairy-style mural painter...
. He encouraged artists and designers as a way of obtaining original and rare designs for his limited edition books and personal collections . Pixie O'Harris, referring to the period c.1921-2 recalls:
Barnett also convinced artist Sydney Long
Sydney Long
Sydney Long was an Australian Artist.Born on 20 August 1871 at Ifield, Goulburn, New South Wales, Sydney Long began formal art classes at the New South Wales Art Society in 1890. in 1894 his Heidelberg School-influenced painting 'By Tranquil Waters' caused a small scandal, but was purchased by the...
, who had not produced a bookplate since 1921, to etch one as the frontispiece to Pictorial Book-plates (1931). It depicted a close copy of his iconic 1897 art nouveau oil The Spirit of the Plains.
Encouraging the local industry, Barnett also directed substantial work toward the local book-plate designers. Commissioning Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint was an Australian artist born in Narrandera, NSW and who worked in various media but is noted for his bookplate designs....
and George David Perrottet to design plates which were to be gifts to the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth
-People:* Elisabeth of Bohemia, eldest daughter of Frederick V* Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor* Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary, and Saint...
, and which would also be included in his Woodcut Book-plates (1934). The following year he also commissioned Feint and Perrottet to execute royal designs, this time for King George V and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. Through efforts in commissions and promotion Barnett made a position for himself as an intermediary between prospective owners and artists.
List of publications
- The Bookplate in Australia : its inspiration and development. Sydney : Tyrrell's Galleries, 1930.
- Pictorial Book-plates : their origin and use in Australia. Sydney : Beacon Press, 1931
- Armorial Book-plates : their romantic origin and artistic development. Sydney : Privately printed, 1932.
- Souvenir of "Armorial Book-plates". Sydney : Beacon Press, 1932.
- Woodcut Book-plates ; foreword by Lionel Lindsay. Sydney : Privately printed by Beacon Press, 1934.
- Japanese Colour-prints". Sydney : Privately printed by Beacon Press, 1936.
- Hiroshige. Sydney : Privately printed, 1938.
- De luxe publications. Sydney : Privately printed by Beacon Press, 1939.
- Australian Book-plates and Book-plates of interest to Australia. Sydney : Privately printed, 1950.
- Fun with Book-plates. Sydney : Privately printed, 1951.