Stories behind the Bookmarks
To celebrate World Bookmark Day on February 25th, I gave a presentation on bookmarks at the Moravian Museum in Bethlehem. As part of the program, I shared favorites from my personal bookmark collection (145 and counting). Here are their stories.
My Bookmark Collection
Sunburst of bookmarks at my World Bookmark Day celebration.
Although I’ve always used them, my bookmark collecting actually began as a result of my travels. I’ve been lucky to visit over 70 countries, and bookmarks are by far my favorite souvenir. They’re lightweight, useful, and they bring back memories.
When I prepared for my World Bookmark Day presentation, I was shocked to realize I’ve been collecting bookmarks for over 30 years. I also did an inventory and discovered that I have 145 bookmarks!
Because I’m an organization freak, I grouped my bookmarks into four categories: The Arts, Inspirational, Novelty, and Travel. I’ll give the backstory of a favorite from each category, but first we’ll look at my oldest and newest bookmarks.
Oldest Bookmarks
Bookmark from my cousin’s wedding
My oldest bookmark is a leather one from Niagara Falls. It looks worse for wear, but it has real sentimental value because my husband Frank bought it for me in 1989 on our first trip together.
My second oldest bookmark is from 1992, and this one also has a Frank connection since he found it just a few weeks ago when he was cleaning out a closet. I’m so glad he did because it’s quite unusual. It comes from my cousin’s wedding, where every guest received a special bookmark. Such a lovely idea!
Newest Bookmark
In honor of Liesl Boeckel
I bought this one to honor the heroine of my book, Liesl Boeckel. It has an unusual design with a pocket that allows it to perch on the corner of the page. I was able to customize it with the letter “L” for Liesl, and best of all, it smells like cinnamon which always reminds me of Moravian sugar cake!
Arts Category: Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne
I love visiting art museums, and luckily, their gift shops often sell gorgeous bookmarks like this one of Bernini’s sculpture, Apollo and Daphne. I first discovered Bernini when I saw his Ecstasy of Saint Teresa in Rome in 1995., a great art experiences. But, I always wanted to see this sculpture, which captures the moment when Daphne turns into a tree rather than succumb to Apollo’s amorous advances.
In 2014, I returned to Rome and finally got to see this sculpture in the Borghese Gallery (you can see I am quite persistent when it comes to art lol). It is a breathtaking piece, especially the delicate carving of her hands turning into leaves.
Those of you who have read The Bookmark may recall that my character Abbey has a favorite coffee mug with this sculpture on it. When her former lover Michael makes unwelcome advances, Abbey doesn’t turn herself into a tree, but she does fight him off—and her coffee mug falls to the floor and shatters.
One of the great things about writing a book is you can throw in all kinds of personal stuff like I did with this sculpture.
Inspirational Category: Cicero
This is a homemade bookmark that I bought and colored in like you would with a coloring book. In addition to collecting bookmarks, I also like to collect quotes, and I love this one from Cicero:
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
With all due respect to Cicero, I might modify this quote just a bit to say: “If you have a garden, a library, and a bookmark (!), you really have everything you need.”
Novelty Category: Hot Air Balloons
I bought this one because I love hot air balloons and the 3-D effect comes close to capturing the feeling of being in one. I’ve been up twice, once in New Zealand and once in France, and it’s hard to describe the peacefulness, the true tranquility of floating above the earth in a little basket. There’s really nothing like it.
After our very first hot air balloon ride in New Zealand, our balloon pilot poured us glasses of champagne to toast our successful ride and shared The Balloonist’s Prayer:
The Balloonist’s Prayer
The winds have welcomed you with softness.
The sun has blessed you with its warm hands.
We have flown so high and so well that God
has joined you in laughter and set you gently
back into the loving arms of mother earth.
Travel Category: Vietnamese Woman
This lovely bookmark from Vietnam displays the national dress, called the áo dài, which is considered a striking display of beauty. A bride will often wear a splendid áo dài, and some high schools require girls to wear the dress for certain events to continue the tradition.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a more in-depth look at some of my favorite bookmarks. As I always like to say, “Every bookmark tells a story!”
