What are pseudo-exlibris and what are homage plates?
For nearly a century, there has been much discussion between collectors as to the objects of their collection. Some persons are of the opinion that an ex-libris is only an ex-libris if it has been pasted into a book (and subsequently removed) or was meant to be pasted and somehow escaped. For others, it is sufficient that it was conceived as an ex-libris, even if it never came close to a book… Still others think that if a few prints of an edition of a plate have been pasted into books, this is enough to make it qualify as a bookplate. It is generally agreed that contemporary ex-libris must include the words “ex libris” (or an equivalent phrase such as “from the books of”, “from the library of”, etc.) followed by the name of a living person or an existing institution, or at least his or her initials. The owner must be able to paste it in a book (it cannot be two meters by three, nor on paper so thick that the binding would break!). Bookplates which do not comply with these basic norms a
