Little Leather Library

Bookends

Below are some bookends sold by the Little Leather Library Co. in special deals or as promotional items. Many of these were crafted by Louis V. Aronson (1869 - 1940). Aronson also created Ronson lighters, inventing the matches used in the trenches of WW1, he was also a master metallurgist. Click any photo below to view larger in another tab.

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  Ronson Elephant Bookends

  In terms of their association with LLL, these also seem to have only been advertised in brochures, with it's page titled "Elephant- Symbol of Good Fortune". From an eBay listing I found - "The elephant, beautifully detailed and in the imperial bronze finish by Ronson, stands on top of a stack of ornate nicely engraved and bound classical volumes of literature. The finish is black with touches of verdigris, meant to simulate aged bronze by Ronson, and it does. The bookends are of cast heavy pot metal and weigh 4 pounds the pair. They measure 4 -1/2 inches tall". Book titles in the stack are: Dreams, The Tempest, Dr Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, Speeches by Washington, Midsummer Night's Dream and Man Without A Country.

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  Abraham Lincoln Bookends, 1923

  These were included in sets of 30 leatherette books through 1924. They measure about 3.25” tall and 2.25” wide. From an advertisement, "It is hard to justice, in an illustration, to the beauty and character of these book-ends. They are of heavy bronzed metal."

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  Roycroft Hand Hammered Copper Bookends, 1921

  These were given for free with any purchase of a set of 30. They were made by the Roycroft community in East Aurora, NY founded by Elbert Hubbard, author of A Message to Garcia. Some other Roycroft bookends and products can be found here in this Roycroft catalogue.
  
  Photo source: Leo Design Handsome Gifts

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  Ten Commandment Bookends, 1924

  Heavy bronzed metal. Could be purchased with The Holy Bible 30-volume set for an additional 69 cents ($11.25 in today's money).
  
  Photo source: WorthPoint

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  Child Health Library Bookends, 1924

  Purchaseable with the 10 volumes of Child Health Library books put out by Robert K Haas. This photo advertisement of them is from the back of a brochure for The Christmas Carol. The set, including the bookends, was $3.00

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  (Ronson?) Buddha Bookends

  In terms of their association with LLL, these seem to have only been advertised in brochures, with it's page titled "Buddha- The Spirit of Serenity". They look to be the same height as Little Leather Library books in the advertisements. These seem scare in the marketplace, the one photographed on the right is unmarked and listed as being 6" tall instead of the 4" tall ones advertised, but it is the closest I've found in terms of design. A similar one to this looks exactly the same but with a blue robe instead of red and is marked "A.M.W Newark". Ronson did make 4" tall Buddha bookends during this time, but these depict Buddha sitting on a pillow with his robe in slightly different way and holding something in his hands.

  
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  Ronson Monk Bookends, 1920-1922

  In terms of their association with LLL, these also seem to have only been advertised in brochures, with it's page titled "The Monk- Ancient Custodian of Wisdom". The initials L.V.A or L.V. Aronson (for Louis V. Aronson) can be found on these. There seems to be variation in detail of these that I've found across the marketplace. Some are polychrome, others are wholly bronze or gray color. Similarly, some listings say them to be just over 4" tall, others say them to be just over 6". They are quite easy to find for sale, I believe they may have been purchasable seperate from LLL.

  

There are some additional bookends that were possibly used as promotional items as well, but after looking through all the ads, I've been unable to find any connection. These are Praying Hands, Knight, and Longfellow.