![Fellows diploma, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Fellows_diploma%2C_Royal_Society_of_Painter-Etchers_and_Engravers.jpg)
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
bookplates and also several important British stamps. He was an authority on
heraldry, a member of the
Heralds' College, a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers 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 a ...
. 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 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 mid-13th centu ...
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
Gesso (; "chalk", from the la, gypsum, from el, γύψος) is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these. It is used in painting as a preparation for any number of substrates suc ...
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 royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original c ...
. 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 stamps 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
*''Decorative heraldry: A practical handbook of its artistic treatment''. London, 1897. (Second edition, George Bell & Sons, London, 1908.)
*''Heraldry as art: an account of its development and practice, chiefly in England.''
B.T. Batsford, London, 1907.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eve, George W.
1855 births
1914 deaths
British designers
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) 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 ...
Heraldists