Original bookplate design for Rosetta P. Carey

Belfast, Ireland, 1923. Original bookplate design by Belfast artist John Carey (1861-1943) for his daughter Rosetta Pasche Carey (1901-1958). The image depicts a young woman in a sunhat, presumably Rosetta, seated in a lawn chair reading a book. At her feet are several other volumes and a copy of the Daily Mail. To the right of the image is the Carey crest, featuring three roses, and the Carey family motto, “sine macula.” The rose motif continues around the stylized trellis that frames Rosetta, echoed by the trellis in the garden where she sits. John Carey was a successful painter and commercial illustrator, a member of the Belfast Ramblers Sketching Club. Carey’s wife was also named Rosetta, but the middle initial “P.” here identifies the intended recipient of this bookplate as their daughter, who would have been 22 when it was designed. A handwritten note on the back of the frame reads: “F.G. Davis & Sons Ltd. / picture framers / and art dealers / 19 North Street Arcade / Belfast, Ireland.” An attractive piece of bookish ephemera. Pen and ink with gouache on tan paper, image measuring 10.5 x 8 inches. Matted and framed to 15.5 x 13 inches. Light signs of wear to old glass and black wooden frame; illustration not examined out of frame. (Inventory #: 1004074)