Ex libris Collection

The National Library of Israel’s Ex Libris Collection is the largest collection of its kind in Israel, comprising some 5,000 highly diverse bookplates, as well as engravings, sketches, professional literature and bookplates catalogues. The collection began in 1964 with the donation of bookplates that had belonged to Dr. Leo Gittelson of New York. Over the years, bookplates were collected on an ongoing basis from books received by the National Library. The bookplates were removed from the books in a laboratory-controlled process and kept separately. In 2022, the private collection of Mr. Bernard Goldblum, who passed away in August 2021, was donated to the National Library. Born in London in 1926, Bernard Goldblum collected books and bookplates for decades, sorting them according to category, theme and name of author. In 1979 he immigrated to Israel, settled in Jerusalem and continued to develop his collection. After Mr. Goldblum’s death, his family donated the collection of some 2,500 bookplates and selected ephemera to the National Library. With the generous support of Jack Lew and Ruth Schwartz, in memory of Jack Lew’s father, Irving Lew, the entire NLI Ex Libris collection is being registered and made accessible. Read more