Sidney Lawton Smith (1845–1929) was an American designer, etcher, engraver, illustrator, and

bookplate An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), 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. ...

artist.

Early life

Smith was born in

Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 at ...

to Lawton and Lucy Thompson Smith on June 15, 1845. He was the third of three sons. In 1847, his family moved to

Canton, Massachusetts Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,370 at the 2020 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of downtown Boston. Hist ...

, where he was educated in the public school system.Smith, Amy Gertrude; Teall, Gardner Callahan; and Lombard, Herbert E. (1931) ''Sidney Lawton Smith, designer, Etcher, Engraver, with Extracts from his Diary and a Check-list of his Bookplates.'' Boston, C. E. Goodspeed & Co. Smith showed an interest and aptitude in artistic efforts from a young age, and in 1863, his parents sent him to apprentice to Reuben Carpenter in Boston to learn steel engraving. Although his mother admonished him to stay in his apprenticeship, in 1864 Smith enlisted with the Union Army and saw active service at the end of the Civil War.McNeely Stauffer, David; Fielding, Mantle. (1907) ''American Engravers Upon Copper and Steel: Biographical sketches, illustrated. Index to engravings described, with check-list numbers and names of engravers and artists.'' B. Franklin
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Designer and Engraver

In 1865, Smith returned to Carpenter's engraving shop, but moved on to the shop of Joseph Andrews in 1867. There, he worked on reproductions of the original etchings and woodcuts that had been issued in England with an edition of Dickens's works Smith began his own engraving establishment in Canton, Massachusetts. He worked on government notes for the American Bank Note Company and on book illustrations for the publisher Riverside Press. In 1877, Smith became an assistant to John LaFarge in the decoration of Trinity Church in Boston. He continued to work with LaFarge on stained glass work and decorative projects that came through LaFarge's studio in New York, until 1887. In 1893, Smith moved his family and business to Boston.Finding Aid
for Society Sidney Lawton Smith Papers, 1887–1931, held by the American Antiquarian Society During this period, Smith worked primarily as an etcher and engraver, and a designer of

bookplates An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), 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. ...

. Smith's bookplate clients included notable book and engravings collectors, college and public libraries, historical and research societies, publishing houses, bookstores, and collector's clubs.

Personal life

Smith married Sarah Jane Groves on October 13, 1867, and moved with his family to Canton. He and his wife had children, including a daughter, Amy Gertrude Smith, who later wrote a memoir of Sidney Lawton Smith. He and his family moved back to Boston in 1893.

Death and legacy

Smith died in 1929. The American Antiquarian Society holds his papers and other materials, including several bookplate drawings and engravings, copper bookplates, photographs, and his engraving tools.

Bookplates

Collections of bookplates designed, etched, and engraved by Sidney Lawton Smith are held in the Lewis Stark Bookplate Collection at the University of New Hampshire, and the William Augustus Brewer Bookplate Collection at the University of Delaware. File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Public Library.jpg, Bookplate for a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Harvard College Library.jpg, Bookplate for the Harvard College Library File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Sallie W Hovey.jpg,

Bookplate An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), 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. ...

for a patron named Sallie W. Hovey File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Library MMA.jpg, Bookplate for the Library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Bolton Public Library.jpg, Bookplate for the Boston Public Library File:Sidney Lawton Smith Bookplate-Bangor Public Library.jpg, Bookplate for the Bangor Public Library

References

External links

*
Finding Aid for the Lewis Stark Bookplate Collection
at the University of New Hampshire

in the University of Delaware Library's ttp://www.lib.udel.edu/digital/index.php?id=gra0115 William Augustus Brewer Bookplate Collection* ttp://cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16057coll22 Boston Athenæum: Bookplates Engraved by Sidney Lawton Smith, Boston, 1897–1925. Digital Collection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sidney Lawton 1845 births 1929 deaths American engravers Artists from Massachusetts People from Foxborough, Massachusetts