Open Collections

[Bookplate for Vincent Massey and Alice Massey by Alexander Scott Carter]

1928

1 bookplate : offset ; 8.8 x 12.6 cm

Canada

Prints

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Charles Vincent Massey (1887-1967) was born in Toronto, Canada and attended school at the University of Toronto and Balliol College at Oxford University. While lecturing history at Victoria College at University of Toronto he married Alice Parkin, (1880-1950), in 1915. In 1926 he was made a diplomat to the United States, a position he held until 1935 when he became the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. From 1949 to 1951 he headed a royal commission on the arts in Canada which resulted in the Massey Report, which argued for Canadian cultural protectionism and resulted in the establishment of the National Library of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts. In 1952 he became the first Canadian-born Governor General, a role he held until 1959. <br /><br /> His coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms in London in 1927 and was designed by Alan B. Beddoe. <br /><br /> This bookplate was designed by Alexander Scott Carter (1881-1968), one of Canada's most famous heraldic artists. Some of Carter's well-known works include ; the seal for the bank of Nova Scotia, heraldic carving on the Queen Elizabeth Highway at St. Catherine's, Ontario, the ceiling of the Lady Chapel at St. Thomas's Church in Toronto, as well as various halls around the University of Toronto. Alexander Scott Carter was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England. Having previously studied art, Carter worked as an architect after graduating from the Polytechnic in London. He moved to Toronto in 1912 and he became a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. According to the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, he was "one of Canada's pre-eminent heraldic artists," and he also "specialized in architectural decoration." He designed many heraldic bookplates for patrons, such as, the Art Gallery of Toronto, Hamnet A. Dixon and Ian Waldie. Waldie's plate is also in the Thomas Murray Collection. For an additional example of Carter's work, see the bookplate of Joseph Wesley Flavelle. This ex-libris has a noticable plate mark, which may be the result of a lithographic print process.
References:
1) 'RHSC Roll of Arms: Massey' Royal Heraldry Society of Canada (RHSC). 2008. 9 Nov. 2009 http://www.heraldry.ca/arms/m/massey.htm
2) "Vincent Massey." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Sep 2009, 15:57 UTC. 9 Nov 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vincent_Massey&oldid=315730173>.
3) "Alice Massey." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 3 May 2009, 10:28 UTC. 9 Nov 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alice_Massey&oldid=287618006>.
4) Granastein, J. L. 'Charles Vincent Massey' The Canadian Encylopedia. 2009. 9 Nov. 2009 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005147
5) Macpherson R.G.M. 'The herald painter: A. Scott Carter' Heraldry in Canada. 1990. 9 Nov. 2009 http://www.heraldry.ca/art/painter/carter/carter.htm
6) Prescott, Winward. A list of Canadian bookplates: with a review of the history of ex libris in the Dominion. Edited by Winward Prescott together with biographical and historical notes; compiled by Stanley Harrod and Morely J. Ayearst; illustrated with prints from the original coppers and blocks. Toronto: Printed for the Society of Bookplate Bibliophiles, 1919.
7) Stacey, Robert. Canadian Bookplates. Toronto: Subway Books, 1997.

RBSC Bookplates

2010

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