Ex-libris (bookplate) - The Lady Literary Society

H.Nelson was first of all known as a book-illustrator, for his delicate, subtle, artistic pieces. Avoiding illusionistic effects, he uses a flat surface and mainly contours, and he apparently enjoys the playful lines that enframe the favourite motifs of the turn of the century: a female figure reading a book and flowers and leaves that can hardly be botanically identified. An earlier piece of similar topic and composition is also attributed to him. The ex libris described above was made for The Lady Literary Society, the topic of the reading lady itself suggesting the significant role women played in the cultural life of the turn of the century.