A newsletter for old souls uncovering public domain vintage art books. Subscribe below to get articles straight to your inbox (it’s free to subscribe!).
ex li·bris /ˌeksˈliː.brɪs/ Latin, words meaning "from the books (library) of" written or printed inside the front cover of a book, usually on a bookplate (a piece of paper stuck inside the front of the book), to say who the book belongs to.
It seems only appropriate to name this space Ex Libris, given it’ll be used to uncover my collection of vintage books and bookplates. The term is the perfect amalgamation of art, history and books I want to share. As an illustrator/designer myself it’ll also be filled with my own commentary and critiques on the books, sharing inspiration and making connections between the works. I hope you’ll discover new illustrators and art books here!
A run down of what you can expect in this Substack newsletter:
Vintage books/periodicals on illustration and design
Articles about the Pre-Raphaelite, Arts & Craft movement and Art Nouveau
Historic calligraphy books and exemplars
Old master art books
Vintage art technique books (pencil/ink/watercolour etc)
American/British bookplates
Golden age illustration
You’ll also find my ongoing research into Margaret Ely Webb.
Where possible you’ll also find links to the full book to download and read.
About me
My name’s Jessica Le, I’m an illustrator/designer inspired by golden age illustrators, the Pre-Raphaelites, Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement. Since 2021 I’ve run my own business called Fleur & Fable, specialising in personalised bookplate stamps and stickers using my illustrations. Six years prior I worked as a book designer creating book covers, internal page designs and typesetting commercial books at a publishing house in Sydney. I often travel for art, going across the world to see art exhibitions and taking pilgrimages to see where my favourite artists live and work.
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