Mark Fernand Severin (5 January 1906 at

Ixelles (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...

, Belgium – 10 September 1987 at

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

, Belgium) was a Belgian artist and graphic designer who lived in England for most of his life.

Life

Mark Severin was the son of Fernand Severin (1876–1931), a poet. Described as one of the most outstanding engravers of his generation,Bookplates
/ref> Mark Severin specialised in fine miniature work, including

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

and book illustrations. He made close to five hundred

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. ...

, of which a great number are on erotic subjects. He was also active as an advertisement designer in Great Britain, including posters for

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

and the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. In 1935, Severin married Nina Holme, a children's book illustrator, daughter of Charles Geoffrey Holme, editor of The Studio (magazine), ''The Studio'', an illustrated fine arts and decorative arts magazine founded and, until 1919, edited by his father, Charles Holme. Mark and Nina had two sons: Erik and Geoffrey. A ''catalogue raisonné'' of Severin's works was published in 1993.

Published works

*''Making a Bookplate'' (How to do it series) London: The Studio Publications, 1949 *''Your Wood Engraving'' London: Sylvan Press, 1953 Joint authorship *Mark Severin and Anthony Reid ''Engraved Bookplates, European Exlibris 1950-70'' Pinner: Private Libraries Association, 1972

His work illustrating others' books

*''Thomas & The Sparrow'' by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Mark Severin. Oxford University Press, 1946 *''Woman in Detail'' by Patrick Miller. 5 collotype plates after drawings by Severin. London: The Golden Cockerel Press, 1947 *''The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite'' A New Translation by F.L. Lucas, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Ten Engravings by Mark Severin. London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1948 *''Circe and Ulysses'' Translated by William Browne. Illustrations by Mark Severin. London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1954 *''Aollonius of Tyre. Historia Apollonii Regis Tyri'' Translated by Paul Turner. Six engravings by Mark Severin. London: Golden Cockerel Press London, 1956 *''Eve's Moods Unveiled'' by Jonathan Hanaghan. Copper engravings by Mark Severin. Dublin: Runa Press, 1957 *''Five Japanese Love Stories'' by Ihara Saikaku, illustrated with wood engravings by Mark Severin. London: Folio Society, 1958 *''Stories'' by Karel van de Woestijne, illustrations by Mark Severin. Amsterdam: World Library Association, 1959 *''Beowulf the Warrior'' Ian Serraillier, illustrations by Mark Severin. New York: Henry Z. Walck, Inc., 1961.

Bibliography

*Chambers, David. ''Mark Severin's book illustrations'' in ''The Private Library'' Autumn 1980, published by the Private Libraries Association *Chambers, David. ''Mark Severin's Bookplates'' in ''The Private Library'' Spring 1993, published by the Private Libraries Association *Lee, B. N., 1983, "Mark Severin" ''The Bookplate Journal'', vol. 1, no. 1, March 1983. *Leytens, Fr., ''Mark F. Severin En Zijn Werk'' Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek 1954 *Rousseau, Antoine and Gastmans, Andre (preface), ''Marc Severin Graphiste/Grafisch Ontwerper/Graphic Designer'' Sint-Martens-Latem, uitgeverij De Dijle 1993. The oeuvre catalogue of Severin's work, with texts in three languages (French, Dutch and English). Contains a list of all the ex-libris he designed, as well as all his other works; this is the most complete book so far, although it does not contain any frankly erotic documents, so as to be accessible to all publics!

References

External links

an example of his work at the bottom of the page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Severin, Mark Belgian engravers Belgian wood engravers Belgian illustrators Belgian poster artists Belgian stamp designers 1987 deaths 1906 births People from Ixelles 20th-century engravers