George William Eve, (1855-1914) was an English

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, who designed

bookplate An , also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. Simple typographical bookplates are ...

s and also several important British stamps. He was an authority on

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, a member of the

Heralds' College The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...

and a member of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of al ...

. When the Painter-Etchers and Engravers required a new diploma, it was Eve who was chosen from amongst their ranks to create it. Given his background, it is not surprising that most of Eve's work was

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coat of arms, coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the m ...

in nature and black on white. Only later in life, in conjunction with Mr F.G. House, did he begin to experiment with more pictorial forms, but he died before this could be developed very far. In addition to the bookplates and stamps mentioned below, Eve designed a number of invitations to important civic events, material for the Welsh Investiture, shields and

gesso A restored gesso panel representing St. Martin of Tours, from St. Michael and All Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire Gesso (; 'chalk', from the , from ), also known as "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso", is a white paint mixture used to coat rigi ...

decorations for the Earl of Mar and Kellie's Alloa House, Clackmannanshire, and many other items. On his death, Eve left a widow, Mary Ellen, and one son.

Bookplates

Eve was a noted bookplate designer, when that was a more important form than it is now. His designs were shown at the annual exhibitions of the Ex Libris Society (formed 1891, disbanded 1908) and he designed the royal bookplates for the library at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. He also designed a large number of bookplates for private clients.

Royal bookplates

File:Royal bookplate for Queen Victoria by G W Eve.jpg, Queen Victoria, 1890s. File:Royal bookplate for King Edward VII by G W Eve.jpg, King Edward chose to retain the same basic design. File:King George V bookplate by George Eve.jpg, King George, 1911. File:George W. Eve's medium-sized ex-libris for the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, etched in 1911.gif, King George, 1911.

Stamps

As a bookplate designer, Eve was a natural choice to design the frame of a number of British stamps. He did so for the first British postage due stamp, in around 1912-13, which he did in a style similar to that of a bookplate with the central area blank. He also designed the frame for the British Post Office Savings Bank receipt stamp and the low value

definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...

s of King George V for which his "pillar" and "wreath" designs were used."Postage dues" in ''BPMA Newsletter'', No. 3, February 2014, p. 12.

Other works by George Eve

File:Invitation to the Lord Mayor's banquet 1902 designed by George W. Eve.jpg, Invitation to the Lord Mayor of London's banquet, 1902. File:George Eve sketch for the frame of British P.O. Savings Bank receipt stamp.jpg, Sketch for the frame of the British P.O. Savings Bank receipt stamp, 1911. File:George Eve design for frame of British postage due stamp.jpg, Design for the frame of the first British postage due stamp, c. 1912-13.

Publications

* Retrieved April 3, 2025. .

* .

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eve, George W. 1855 births 1914 deaths English designers

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

British heraldists