A Vintage & Antique Bookmark Collecting Guide

Would it surprise you to hear that a large number of people avidly collect vintage and antique bookmarks? Made from an assortment of materials, including paper, silk, silver, and plastic, these charming little collectibles range in value from $1 to $200+.

It was only after I picked up an antique document box (see below) filled with bookmarks that I learned of their collectibility. I paid just $20 at a local estate sale for the almost 100 vintage and antique bookmarks in that box!

And thus began my infatuation with bookmarks and my first steps into discovering their history and values. Many of the examples in this bookmark collecting guide come from that initial document box treasure trove.

Table of Contents

Bookmark History
Bookmark Materials
Bookmark Types
Bookmark Values
DIY Bookmarks

History of Bookmarks

Ever since books came into existence readers have needed to find a way to “save their place” whenever they had to take a break. Cheaters will fold down a page corner or leave the book open face down, but those are surefire ways to injure your books.

Back in the day, the rarity of books made them almost invaluable, so readers (most often monks and the rich) had to find a safe way to mark their spot.

Enter the silk ribbon bound directly into the book and slightly longer than the page. Think of some modern-day Bibles that have a ribbon running through them that can be moved to whichever page you want to mark.

Of course you could simply shove a scrap piece of paper into your book, but paper was extremely expensive. It’s much more likely that fabric or ribbon scraps were used if no ribbons were bound into the book.

According to Lois R. Densky-Wolff in an article she wrote for the Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc. of America, the earliest reference to bookmarks dates to 1584 when Queen Elizabeth I received a fringed silk bookmark from her royal printer.

Over the years, many people, organizations, and businesses have produced enormous numbers of bookmarks. Most contain a message of some sort, whether through words or images, that they’re trying to convey to the recipient.

The bookmark changed in the course of time from the mere text marker to a carrier of communication; from a marker for reading, it turned into a mark which can be read for itself.

HeidiMarie Fischer-Kesselmann

This metal document box that I previously mentioned, contained many of the bookmarks that you’ll get to see in this article.

Video of the Document Box & Bookmarks

Vintage & Antique Bookmark Materials

Through the years, bookmarks have been made out of numerous materials, including silk ribbon, paper, various plastics, Sterling silver and other metals, and even wood. Below are some examples of each.

Silk & Ribbon

It’s quite common to find silk bookmarks, both plain and with painted decoration, tucked inside Bibles and prayer books.

Here you see an antique ribbon bookmark in red silk with fringed ends. Simple but it did the trick.

This decorated example shows off a hobbyist’s painting skill. I would date it to the Victorian period (1837-1901), the heyday of bookmarks.

Here’s an example of a newer “silk” ribbon bookmark, commemorating Father’s Day. I include it, and other newer examples, because some of them may be collectible in their own right one day.

Paper Punch

During the Victorian period, many women and young girls took up the popular hobby of stitching on punched paper.

Women’s magazines often featured patterns for bookmarks, samplers, and mottos. Later, you could buy the punched paper with designs printed directly onto them.

This excellent paper punch example, “Remember Me,” sold recently on eBay for $25.

Celluloid

A very early form of plastic, celluloid made for excellent bookmarks as their extreme thinness prevented harm to books.

Manufacturers produced this plastic in many colors but the most commonly found is pale yellow, usually with almost imperceptible parallel lines running through it.

A cute [celluloid] bookmark will keep your place in a book or magazine without mutilating the leaves. Mailed on receipt of 4 cents in stamps and mention of this publication. CC Briggs & Co. Pianos

Advertisement for a celluloid, heart-shaped bookmark

After die-cutting the celluloid into bookmark shape, it could be imprinted with text and decoration. Shop owners would have given away the first two bookmarks above for free, as advertisement, much like magnets with business information are given away today.

The bookmark on the right, dating to 1892, would likely have been given as some type of award, perhaps for Bible memorization. As you can see, it’s made so you could thread a ribbon through it.

One of the biggest manufacturers of celluloid products, Whitehead & Hoag, also made a wide assortment of bookmarks out of the same material. In fact, teeny tiny print at the bottom of the rose bookmark (above) spells out their company name.

This bookmark, advertising Whitehead & Hoag itself, could also be used alternatively as a letter opener, or to release unseparated pages in some books that at the time arrived at book seller uncut.

Resource: Charting the Course of Celluloid Bookmarks

Silver

The Victorian era produced a plethora of bookmarks made from all kinds of materials, including Sterling silver.

Silver made an ideal material for creating bookmarks (for the wealthy in particular). Artisans could shape it into beautiful designs, and make the lower part thin enough to avoid unsightly indentations on book pages.

You can find them in numerous other metals, including gold, brass, and pot metal.

This lovely Sterling silver bookmark with repousse work, serves as a wonderful Victorian era example. The mark on the back is “S. Kirk & Son,” an American maker.

I’ve included this newer pot metal bookmark specifically because the sword was as a common motif for bookmarks during the Victorian period.

Paper

Of course billions of paper bookmarks have been produced and continue to be produced for all kinds of purposes, but especially advertising. This set, dating to the 1940’s and 50’s, advertises a variety of insurance companies.

Photographs

Photography came into its own in the late 1800’s and it didn’t take long for the idea of photographic bookmarks to come into being. This antique charmer, featuring a young Dutch girl carrying buckets of water, may have been a souvenir of some sort.

I’m not sure if these antique photographs were meant to serve as bookmarks, but they certainly are bookmark size (2 1/2″ x 8″).

Plastic

Modern plastic, as we know it today comes in many forms, including laminant, which is applied to many fabric and paper bookmarks.

Cracker Jacks, still in production, come with a toy in every box. These molded plastic examples showing a seal and an elephant, date to about the 1960’s.

Even Tupperware got into the bookmark game with this chunky brown example. If you’ve ever been to a Tupperware party, then you know, they often give away small Tupperware pieces like this 1970’s one as game prizes.

Made out of clear plastic, this newer bookmark celebrates Mother’s day with a “Hallmark” style poem.

This super thin plastic bookmark, put out by the Buccaneers football team, encourages reading with a nifty slogan, “Make reading your goal.” On the back it lists the season’s game dates for Buccaneer fans.

Sonnet to a Bookmark

Though drowned in coffee stains and many a tear,
Soldier-like you stand and keep the guard;
When weary heads begin to nod, you’re there,
Between the pages keeping watch and ward.

Four lines from “Sonnet to a Bookmark” author unknown

Vintage & Antique Bookmark Types

Advertising

Paper bookmarks offer an exceedingly thrifty way to advertise one’s business. Among the first examples, were the “trade card” style.

Companies produced beautiful lithograph images on heavy paper cards to advertise their products, sometimes in bookmark shape.

You could find a selection on your grocer or druggist’s counter, free for the taking. They were popular in the last half of the 19th century and tend to sell for $2-10 each depending upon their condition and beauty.

These attractive trade card examples advertise, coffee, rugs, and cold cream (in that order).

Later advertising bookmarks were produced more cheaply without the lithographed images. I frequently come across bank bookmarks, like this one featuring a die cut Scottish fellow, which advertises the National Savings Bank of Albany and listing local libraries.

Taking one home with you to use with your current book, kept the bank top of mind. At least that’s what businesses hoped for.

Book publishers, like Macmillian and Harper & Brothers, advertised their popular novels on bookmarks. These three announce: The Street Called Straight, Dawn and Islanders, and Mark Twain’s Extracts From Adam’s Diary.

Publishers continue to produce bookmarks telling the world about their publications, like these two for John Grisham novels.

Religious Bookmarks

Churches and other religious organizations and merchants take advantage of the opporunity that bookmarks offer to both spread the Good News, announce events, and advertise services.

This collection of paper bookmarks date from the turn of the century (far right) to 1949 (center).

Here’s another example of a paper punch bookmark, religiously themed and with a pretty lacy border.

And a celluloid cross with the words, “the Lord is my shepherd” in German.

A pretty cross-shaped bookmark, crocheted by hand with a ribbon running through it. Bookmarks can be found in such a variety of materials(!).

Lastly, a set of newer religious bookmarks made of paper, though the center example is laminated.

Special Occassion Bookmarks

Bookmarks make wonderful little gifts to tuck inside a book or a stocking at Christmas. Just like greeting cards, they can be found commemorating all sorts of holidays and events.

For example, previously in this article I included a Father’s Day ribbon bookmark and a plastic Mother’s Day bookmark.

This set, with pithy poems written on each, celebrate Christmas and a graduation (#1 & #2), while the last carries a “get well” wish.

When I see hearts, I think Valentine’s Day, but clearly you could give this Hong Kong made bookmark from the 1970’s (on its original card) to celebrate any number of ocassions.

Library & Bookstore Bookmarks

Of all the bookmarks that came in that $20 document box, these are two of my favorites. They are 3.5″ x 5.5″ replicas of posters made to encourage reading.

You can download a FREE printable featuring these two (with no overlap) in the Member Library. Get access when you subscribe to my weekly newsletter!

Libraries and schools could purchase 100 of these Children’s Book Week bookmarks for just 50 cents(!). Jessie Wilcox Smith, a famous illustrator, designed the card on the left in 1919.

This set of paper bookmarks from the 1930’s or 40’s advertises a bookstore: The Place and a book publisher: Grosset & Dunlap.

This charming, hand-drawn bookmark advertises the Village Booksmith, a local (to me) bookstore that has unfortunately closed. I think it’s just the sort that will one day have some value.

Souvenir Bookmarks

Souvenir bookmarks likely make up one of the largest categories out of all the ones we’ve discussed. Gift shops around the world, including those at museums and historic sites, continue to pour millions of these into the marketplace.

Most souvenir bookmarks made of paper, like those above, cost a $1-4 new and wouldn’t be worth any more than that currently, but someday, they might.

Depicting famous artwork (and one with castle Neuschwantstein), they make pleasant reminders of a museum visits (or travels).

The same is true for this metal Carlsbad Cavern example. It likely cost about $5-7 when new and would be worth that (or less) on today’s market.

Stephengraph

Stephengraph bookmarks are the brainchild of Thomas Stevens, an Englishman who invented a method of automatic weaving that had the look of embroidery in the late 1800’s.

This style, adopted by many companies in the UK, can bring upwards of $100 for a beautiful, good condition example.

The Easter bookmark above with pretty violets serves as a fine example of a Stephengraph type book mark. It can be had for just $28!

Here you see a 1970’s version of a Stephengraph-type bookmark. Though it appears embroidered, it’s machine-made and laminated (by Weve-a-Gift). The back of it looks similar to the back of an antique Stephengraph bookmark.

Handmade

We’ve already looked at three types of handmade bookmarks: painted silk ribbon, paper punch, and crochet. But bookmarks can be made of wood, birchbark, and paper as well.

This inventive bookmark, carved from wood, features a pair of pretty roses. It’s absolutely one of a kind and therefore difficult to value. Perhaps $10-30?

This antique birch bark example with bible verse and small flowers is equally difficult to evaluate due to its rarity. Perhaps $10-30?

Bookmark Values

Celluloid	$10-75
Metal	$1-15
Paper	$1-15
Paper punch	$10-75
Photograph	$5-15 (depending on the subject)
Plastic	$1-5
Ribbon	$1-15
Stephengraph	$25-100
Sterling Silver	$25-250
Tradecard	$5-10

DIY Bookmarks

Over the years, I’ve shared several bookmark projects on the website. While I’m certainly not making any claims as to their value or collectibility, it seemed like a good time to mention them.

The first three paper bookmarks sell for $4 each, while the last (made of metal) sell for $10 each.

Mixed Media Bookmarks

I created a tutorial for making these mixed media bookmarks back in 2016. They’re made from dictionary, music, and atlas paper and other pretty cut-outs.

Other mixed media projects you might enjoy:

• Clipboard Wall Art
• Decorated Tray
• Mother’s Day Art
• Valentine’s Art

Sewing Pattern Bookmarks

These sewing pattern bookmarks are one of the most popular projects on my website–crafters love them!

Children’s Book Bookmarks

I thoroughly enjoy using images (and music paper) from old worn out children’s books to create Christmas-themed bookmarks like these. I also regularly use books about snowmen and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

I’ve expanded into using any children’s books with wonderful images, like these from a book about farm animals. I’ve also used nursery rhyme, Dr. Seuss, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Disney books with great success.

Buyers at Christmas are always on the hunt for stocking stuffers and/or a little something extra to tuck inside a book they plan to gift.

Found Object Bookmarks

Note: This post contains affiliate links for [the same or similar] products used to complete this project. This is both for your convenience as well as to support my website, since I receive a small compensation whenever you click on a link and make any sort of purchase, for which I thank you 🙂 See my full disclosure here.

This year I added metal bookmarks with “found object” charms to my Christmas craft show inventory. I picked up these metal feathers (and these metal “hooks”) and used a jump ring to add various bits and bobs. Get all the details HERE.

The above charms include a sailboat pendant, an earring, and a newer brass charm. I attached them to a heavy card and I sold about a dozen for $10 each.

Related Article: Vintage Christmas Crafts to Make & Sell

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about vintage and antique bookmarks as much as I have over the past year or so. I’d LOVE to hear about any experiences you’ve had buying or selling them yourself.

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