Ex Libris — A Symbol of Homeland

Logo.  Monogram.  Coat of Arms. Calling card.  Personal brand.   When my husband Charles was a boy he called it his Ex Libris.

The Ex Libris is a miniature work of art that has existed since approximately the fifteenth century. It appeared handwritten in early books to signify ownership of the book. The portrait Ex Libris became popular around three hundred years later. It consisted of images reflecting its owner’s profession or interests or even the owner’s spirit or character.  The Ex Libris was used as a way to conveniently identify a person and his or her possessions.

Charles loved to sketch. He drew his own Ex Libris. It symbolized the homeland of Czechoslovakia that he loved―the land of natural beauty with the towering fir trees, majestic Tatra mountains, wide valleys, and rolling hills of Slovakia and Moravia.

Charles’ mother took one of his Ex Libris design sketches and transferred it to a 9” x 12” needlepoint canvas. She stitched a background of earthen wool with a black border. Inside the border, also in black, she stitched the design of the trees, mountains, hills and clouds. Sewing another piece of cloth to the back and stitching in a zipper  and the sides, Maria Novacek turned the needlework Ex Libris into a pillow cover.

The cover was carefully preserved by the Novacek family and Charles received it after his mother’s death.

I have scanned the Ex Libris pillowcase and uploaded it as the cover for the new FACEBOOK page for Charles’ memoir: Border Crossings: Coming of Age in the Czech Resistance. Won’t you please click the blue Facebook link at the top of this page and visit the book page? Make a comment. Ask a question. “LIKE” the page.  And look at the beautiful Ex Libris that represents the beauty of the homeland that remained forever in Charles’ heart.

IF YOU HAD AN EX LIBRIS WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT IMAGES WOULD YOU INCLUDE TO REPRESENT YOURSELF?