Pair of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Bookends. Detailing on inside and outside. 

Condition: Signs of repair. 

Size: (each) 5 X 4 1/2 X 4 in. 

A bookend is an object that is tall, sturdy, and heavy enough when placed at either end of a row of upright books to support or buttress them. Heavy bookends made of wood, bronze, marble, and even large geodes have been used in libraries, stores, and homes for centuries. The first modern L-shaped bookend was made of simple sheet metal, originally patented in 1877 by William Stebbins Barnard (1849-1887), a biologist who apparently had way too many books and not enough time. It used the weight of the books standing on its foot to clamp the bookend’s tall brace against the last book’s back, and has become the de facto bookend in libraries today to support the end of a row of books, although now most are made of plastic. Elaborate and decorative bookends, sometimes made with exotic or mixed materials, are common as elements in home décor. The word “bookend” has also entered the lexicon as a metaphorical way to refer to any pair of items which frame and define a significant or noteworthy event or place, usually in literature or time. For example, in the United States Memorial Day and Labor Day demarcate the traditional beginning and end of summer, so those two holidays could be referred to as bookends.

Signs of repair.