Abigail Pile
Upon
her retirement from the College Presidency in 1997, Mary Patterson McPherson
was honored by the establishment of a fund for the purchasing of books in
all branches of the humanities. Appropriately named the McPherson Fund in
the Humanities, it now has its own bookplate, designed with McPherson's Scottish
heritage in mind and displaying a thistle engraved by Leonard Baskin.
The use of the Baskin engraving brings together several important figures associated with the Rare Book Collection in Canaday Library. It was originally created as an illustration for one of Robert Frost's famous Christmas cards, many of which were given to Bryn Mawr by Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant '12. Sergeant was a literary critic and friend of Frost who left the Library many of her own inscribed and annotated copies of Frost's works, thereby providing the College with a body of research material unavailable through any other source. Frost's 1957 card is the source for the thistle and features the poem "My Objection to Being Stepped On," as well as additional wood engravings by Baskin.
Leonard Baskin's friendship with the Library began as a result of his correspondence with the late Seymour Adelman, benefactor to the Library and its Special Collections. The two shared a passion for the artist Thomas Eakins, as well as an interest in collecting rare books. Baskin became a de facto friend of the Library through Adelman, and has continued his friendship by graciously allowing the use of his engraving, pictured here as part of the bookplate, in a tribute to Pat McPherson and her many years of service to and leadership of the College.