Collection of Bookplates by John W. Evans
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a number of bookplates designed by John W. Evans (1855-1943), a master wood engraver born in Brooklyn, NY. The bookplates were designed primarily for private individuals, including several for his friends and family. The collection also includes four woodblocks for Evans’s bookplate designs and a letter written by Evans to his sister, Ada Hopson.
Dates
- 1917-1942
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been transferred to Yale University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Yale Bookplate Collection was formerly housed in Sterling Memorial Library. The collection was incorporated into the Arts of the Book Collection in 1984 and then moved to the Seeley G. Mudd Library in 1990. In 2011, it was transferred to the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library.
Arrangement
Organized into three series: I. Bookplates. II. Correspondence and Ephemera. III. Woodblocks.
Extent
0.42 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
This collection includes bookplates designed by John W. Evans (1855-1943), a master wood engraver born in Brooklyn, NY.
Biographical / Historical
John William Evans (1855-1943) was an American engraver and graphic artist born in Brooklyn, NY. A master wood engraver, Evans created reproductions of famous paintings and other works to illustrate magazines such as Century, Harper’s, and Scribner’s. In “retirement,” Evans took up bookplate design. His award-winning wood engraving was exhibited in the Paris Exposition of 1900, the Chicago Exposition of 1903, and the Panama Exposition of 1915. Evans had close associations with other bookplate artists, including Timothy Cole and William Fowler Hopson, who was Evans’s brother-in-law. He was also a longtime and active member of the Freemasons.
Reference: “John W. Evans, at 84, Still Active Master of Wood Engraving Craft,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 20, 1938.
Processing Information
The collection was removed from filing cabinets which housed bookplates by individual artists.
- Title
- Guide to the Collection of Bookplates by John W. Evans
- Author
- Compiled by Arts Library Special Collections staff
- Date
- September 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library Special Collections Repository
Arts Library Special Collections
180 York Street
New Haven CT 06511
203-432-1712
haasalsc@yale.edu