John Pine (1690–1756), engraver
The Royal Library bookplate

In 1736 John Pine was paid nearly £38 for engraving and printing 28,200 bookplates in four sizes to be added to the King’s books. Featuring Apollo and Minerva flanking the University’s arms, the bookplate was usually pasted to the back of the title page or on a front endpaper. It is also found in some post-1715 publications which were purchased using the proceeds from later sales of duplicates within the collection; these were, after all, also acquired Munificentia Regia, through the generosity of the King. This small size, measuring barely 6cm across uncropped, is found inside a Latin translation of Froissart’s Chroniques printed in Frankfurt in 1584.