Bookends: The Art on Your Shelf

by Julia Buckley

I love bookends. I realized this recently when a friend had a baby shower, and instead of pondering what sweet onesie or diaper bag I might buy, I immediately wondered what sort of bookends I could buy to frame the baby's board books.  When my sister's first child was born, I bought her these Winnie the Pooh Bookends, which she still has.

I loved the fact that it captured a moment from a book as a way of framing other books. This of course is the famous scene in Milne's classic in which Pooh has had too much honey.  The original maker is Charpente, but I found this on both Etsy and Ebay.

Aren't these vintage typewriters beautiful?  I typed my high school term papers on something not much different. This set is made by Restoration Hardware, but it looks like they're no longer available.

I love this whimsical snake charmer and snake, designed by Knob Creek Metal Arts. It's clear that people who design bookends love books; there is a story to be told in the art itself, echoing the stories between the structures.  I found this pair on Etsy.

I'm not a chess player, but I love the visual beauty of a chessboard.  Aren't these bookends beautiful?  You can find them at Home Decorators Collection.

Dragon bookends make me feel that books Beowulf or Edith Hamilton's Mythology should be pressed between them--or a complete set of Game of Thrones.  These are designed by MJ Allaire.

Restoration Hardware offers this beautiful set, between which one might appropriately contain Hart Crane's Bridges, in which is his famous Ode to Brooklyn Bridge.

I love the whimsy of these gumball bookends from Sterling Industries.  That burst of sugar might be just the thing to get a reader through another few chapters when they don't want to put down the book.  :)

 Doesn't this just capture the nature of life and relationships?  It reminds me of Dr. Doolittle's Push-Me-Pull-You.  But these men will certainly keep your books upright. Find them at Lindero Brands.

Jeri Westerton, these are for you.  The Knights Templar bookends would give a touch of class and history to any shelf.  Find them at Phoenix Masonry.  (By the way, I think I posted these once before as likely Christmas presents--I must really like them.  :)

Finally, for Star Wars fans like me, there is this classic scene from the VERY FIRST Star Wars (now known as Episode 4).  Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca are trapped in the garbage chute. I still remember the excitement of this moment in the movie.  Find this great scene at Urban Collector.

What sort of bookends do you have on your shelves?  My sons current favorites are some sleek black panthers that they got for Christmas (one bookend each: hey, Christmas can be expensive!) which were precursors to their own cat named Panther, who came a couple years later.  I also have some beautiful globe bookends that I bought as a new teacher.

Tell us your favorites--and have a fun time reading the books between your bookends--that lovely and oft-neglected art in your home.