Shelf marks and ownership marks of the Princeton University Library

1897 bookplate engraved by E.D. French.

For over two centuries, the Princeton University Library has marked its books with various marks of ownership as well as shelfmarks. The links below provide visual evidence of those marks over time. Also supplied are images of property markings of books once owned by various local groups but are now absorbed into the Library’s collections. The marks date from the early 19th century down to the late 20th century.

1. Shelf marks and ownership marks of thePrinceton University Library [link]
2. Shelf and ownership marks of selected libraries and collections absorbed by the Princeton University Library [link]
3.Variants of shelf and ownership marks of selected libraries and collections absorbed by the Princeton University Library [link]

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About Stephen Ferguson

Stephen Ferguson is Librarian Emeritus, Princeton University Library. He came to Princeton in 1975 to be Curator of Rare Books, after several years of professional work at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.). Between 2014 and 2026, he held various posts as an Associate University Librarian at Princeton. He has degrees from Bowdoin (A.B.) and Rutgers (M.L.S.). His scholarly interests include book history, provenance research, and the history of collecting. He has taught at Drew University on the latter topic.

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