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Message:: [QUOTE="afantiques, post: 150217, member: 25"]It would be unusual for a book from any upper class person's library not to have a bookplate inside the front board. I once sold a large bookplate collection which as far as I recall included a QV example. Without a bookplate the provenance remains anecdotal. If it did have a bookplate, a bookplate collector would be a natural customer. Without some actual evidence a pencil inscription at least 100 years later would not count for much. That bookplate collection was a real goldmine, it was formed by a local provincial newspaper editor who wrote to distinguished people and institutions such as libraries and universities asking for a copy of their bookplate, so many were accompanied by autograph or signed letters from the respondents such as Graham Green or Winston Churchill which hugely added to the value. I sold the lot off on ebay as individual items or small related groups (such as US universities) and many fetched quite high prices because of the letters or autographs with them. Some of the most famous people replied through a secretary, our present Queen, for example, who does not scatter autographs randomly. People have been collecting bookplates since the 18th C at least so many in the collection were quite early. I am prepared to bet that not many antiquers will have heard of bookplates as a collecting subject, but being aware of them will give you one more thing to look out for.[/QUOTE]