GEORGE DAVID PERROTTET
1890-1971
Bookplate for N. Hutchinson
1932 Linocut,
Australian Library of Art
State Library of Queensland
Acc. 7230
(c) Christine Randall,
used with permission
George David Perrottet (1890-1971)
Perrottet was born in Victoria and trained as a book-keeper. In 1928, he moved with his young family to Sydney, where he met Percy Neville Barnett and other members of the Australian Ex Libris Society through a local library.He designed his first bookplate using the lino-cutting technique in 1929. This was the start of a new artistic career. From 1930-1942, he designed over 170 bookplates. For three successive years, 1934-1936, Perrottet, a self-taught artist, was given the Award of Merit from the Los Angeles based Bookplate Association International.
In 1931, Perrottet joined the Australia Ex Libris Society and became an active member. In 1934, the society commissioned him to design a bookplate for presentation to the then Princess Elizabeth of York, who is the current Queen.
Perrottet was an avid letter writer and bookplate collector. He developed a friendship with New Zealand bookplate artist, Hilda Wiseman, who also worked mainly in lino-cuts, and they corresponded for almost 40 years. His vast collection was purchased by Harry B. Muir and donated to Flinders University in Adelaide.
Due to ill-health, Perrottet moved to Rockhampton in the late 1940s and managed the local cinema until his retirement in the early 1960s. Then came a late revival of bookplate design, but he designed only 13 bookplates from 1961-1964.
Bookplate collector Harry Muir said that Perrottet’s "contribution to bookplates is a commanding one, and no student of ex-libris history can ignore it."
Last updated: 23rd November 2011
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