For anyone who knows the work of Mark Severin, the first category of art that is mentioned is invariably the ex libris, particularly of the erotic variety. Severin was clearly infatuated by the naked female body, as were his clients, and was a pioneer in the depiction of unclothed women in every possible context, pose, and situation. His miniature engravings often showed his fantasy women in libraries, reading books, appearing in doorways, sometimes to the satisfied gaze of the bookplate’s commissioner.

Severin was a great experimenter, his engravings covering a multitude of styles from the classic and traditional all the way to the modernist and minimalist, even the kitsch.

The earliest bookplates or ex libris – a Latin phrase meaning ‘from the library of’ – are woodcuts from the fifteenth century, displaying the owner’s name and coat of arms. Through the centuries ex libris designers came up with ever more artful and imaginative designs for their clients’ libraries, inspiring a mania for collecting bookplates which lasted from the final quarter of the nineteenth century until the 1930s.

Today ex libris are once again in demand, eagerly sought by specialised collectors, and there are websites, fairs and exhibitions dedicated to the artform. Many plates are now produced as signed and numbered small format fine art prints, known as ‘free’ ex libris, never intended to be glued inside books but instead to be framed and displayed in the library of the client fortunate enough to be able to afford to commission it. In recent years there has been a definite trend towards erotic subjects for bookplates, partly a throwback to the 1920s and 30s and partly to explore the potential of engraving techniques.