Timothy Merrill, age 13, of Lynn, Mass., for his question:

WHEN WAS THE FIRST BOOKPLATE MADE?

A bookplate is a printed or engraved label that is pasted in a book as a mark of ownership. The first bookplates were made in Germany sometime after 1475.

The first bookplates were crude and usually colored by hand. The earliest known printed copy was used about 1480.

An artist named Albrecht Durer designed the first dated bookplate in 1516. For many years afterward, a favorite design was the coat of arms of the owner.

Later designs often represented the interests or occupations of the owner. English engravers made bookplates for Americans in the late 1700s.

Today most bookplates are made of paper, but vellum, leather and other materials are sometimes used. The best bookplates are engraved by hand. But good bookplates are also engraved by mechanical processes.

A simple label printed with the owner's name and address makes a satisfactory bookplate.