Ex libris is used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner.

It’s from Latin, meaning "from the books (or library)".

I have a strong affection to books. To paper. To printed text. I feel somehow sorry for old books getting dusty on shelves.  At the same time I am grateful to internet and other digital products as they offer a great deal of possibility and freedom.

I’m searching a way to combine the beauty of old books and the possibilities of digital technics. I stumbled upon a copy of Volume I of an old Hungarian encyclopedia (Great Lexicon of Révai) printed in 1911. The pages were falling apart and out of curiosity I printed a birthday greeting I made for a friend on one of these pages. The birthday greeting was a letter E (the friend’s name is Edit), made of a few words as a word-cloud.  It came to me that is looks like an old “Ex libris” but with a new, fresh spice added to it. Hence the name, "Ex libris+".

I went on exploring how different images and letters look like on these old printed paper. I got excited and decided to share my experiment with you and offer the possibility to create your own “Ex libris+” which I’m happy to make for you or for your friends.

The pages are 160x240 mm, I use the pages of the original book from 1911 so each page is unique. They will fit nicely in an A4 (210x297mm) frame with passepartout.

I offer the print always with a passe-partout, but you can order it with a frame too (white colour, A4 size) for extra costs.

I attach the print to a white cardboard paper and to the passe-partout (easy to remove if you want) and it’s protected by a plastic sleeve. They are shipped in a thick cardboard envelope.

The photos are illustrations to demonstrate that using different frames and passepartout changes the look and feel of this unique gift and make it even more special.