The self-taught Belgian illustrator, engraver and graphic artist Mark Fernand Severin is best known for designing bookplates or ex libris, of which he created more than five hundred during the course of his long career. In many ways he was probably the most important figure in the revival of the erotic engraved bookplate, creating both an extensive library of designs and a growing market for them.

Severin grew up in Ixelles, a southern suburb of Brussels, and from an early age had a passion for drawing. He moved to England during World War I and studied at Oxford University, completing his education back in Belgium at Ghent University, where he studied philosophy, art and archaeology. In 1922, while still a university student, Severin began drawing for several German magazines.

In December 1931, Severin met Nina Holme, a children’s book illustrator and daughter of Charles Holme, founding editor of the illustrated fine arts and decorative arts magazine The Studio. They married, moved to England, and had two sons.

From 1931 to 1939 Severin served as art Director of the London advertising agency C.R. Casson, then moved back to Belgium to serve in the army for the duration of World War II. In 1944 he returned to England for four years before finally settling in Belgium.

Though largely self-taught, Severin received art instruction from the engravers Eric Gill, John Buckland Wright and Eric Ravillious. Over the next three decades he worked illustrated more than thirty books, and designed postage stamps for Belgium and the Belgian colonies in Africa. His work has been published by Oxford University Press, the Folio Society, and the Golden Cockerel Press. He was also active as an advertisement designer, creating posters and campaigns for Imperial Airways, London Underground, Shell, Whitbread, and Imperial Chemical Industries.

During the 1940s Severin’s artistic focus shifted gradually from painting to engraving. In 1948, he became a university professor of engraving at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts in Antwerp, and was Professor of Graphic Design at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Typographiques Plantin from 1956. He was elected to the Belgian Royal Academy in 1950.

We are very grateful to our Russian friend Yuri for suggesting the inclusion of this artist, and for supplying most of the images of Severin bookplates.

A website dedicated to Mark Severin’s work, created and curated by his son Geoffrey, can be found here.