Rare medieval bookmark exceeds expectations at auction

A rare “rotating” bookmark made in the early 15th century has sold at a Dorset auction for six times the high estimate. There are only 30 or so known examples of this type of marker found in libraries on the continent, and another six known in England.

The bookmark is 10 inches long and has a circle mounted to it about 1.5 inches in diameter that was created from two parchment discs. A strip of parchment threaded through a loop attached to the circle served as the long part of the bookmark that would have been tucked between the pages.

Both sides of the disc have Arabic numerals 1 through 4 written on them, with the four being an early looped form. The disc can be turned between two semicircular folded pieces of parchment which cover three figures at a time leaving the last remaining one visible. One side of the parchment semicircle is painted with symbols of sun, moon and stars. The other side has only a sun with the inscription “Rota versatil[is]” written in a cursive script.

It pre-dates the printing press, so the maker was almost certainly a transcriber who used it to keep his place on the page and note the column he was writing in when he stopped. The wheel would be moved to the stopping point and the circle turned to the number of the column he had been writing in when he stopped. The phrase “Rota versatilis,” meaning “a wheel which turns,” may be a reminder to the scribe to turn the wheel before walking away.

There is no evidence of where this bookmark was made or who used it. Its first documented owner was Newcastle-upon-Tyne shipowner and book collector Alfred Brewis in the early 20th century. It has remained in his family by descent until the sale. The pre-sale estimate £800-1200 ($1073-1610). It sold for £7,000 ($9390).

* This article was originally published here