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Amish "bookplates" are handmade sheets of paper with an inscription written in German in the traditional "Fraktur" script and a coloured design, which were stuck in the front of Bibles and other religious books to show the ownership.
Barbara Ebersol (1848-1922) was the best known and most productive maker of these bookplates. Some 130 have been documented and studied, but it is estimated that she may have drawn more than 300 in all in the course of 60 years. Not surprisingly, her style developed over the years and the later bookplates have little in common with the early ones, or with the existing traditions among the Pennsylvania Germans.
The production of bookplates became popular among the Amish only around the middle of the 19th century. Although Ebersol was not among the first generation of artists, she gave the tradition a new impulse, and influenced succeeding generations with her innovative designs. The tradition of hand-made bookplates continued long after her death.
The earliest known examples of her work are dated 1860, when she was barely 13.
The designs of her plates are simple and balanced. In her early work, she drew the outlines of each letter of the inscription in blue ink, and then filled them in using two alternating colours. Later she used black ink and the letters are plain. The inscription names the owner, and in its simplest form reads along the lines: "XX gehöret dieses Buchlein zu" ("This book belongs to XX") with the year in which it was made.
Below the inscription is a line, and below that a motif such as an eight-pointed star (a favorite in her early plates), a heart, two pears, a geometrical design, or flowers drawn from her imagination.
The entire page is usually surrounded with a border, which may consist simply of two lines, or may be decorated with leaves or tiny flowers, or striped in various colour combinations
Of the plates that have been studied, not quite half include her own name. Occasionally this consists of only her initials, but more than 50 include her full name. In her later work her name appears less and less. This modesty is in keeping with the Amish philosophy, which plays down individual and encourages a feeling of group identity.
When the work was finished, she would cover the whole painted area with a thin layer of lacquer, which explains why the colours have remained so fresh.
Most of the plates were done for people within the family or the Amish community where she lived. A large proportion were given to adolescents or unmarried adults. Others were commissioned by adults to be given to children. It is not known whether she received any kind of payment for her work.
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