This page provides access to some images of the marks of ownership of some important book dealers and collectors of manuscripts, and is intended as an aid to identifying the provenance of books whose history is unknown. (Beyond this, it is also hoped that it will encourage cataloguers to record apparently meaningless inscriptions, which may furnish vital evidence to researchers). It is not systematic, but reflects personal interest and especially the availability of images. It also provides access to lists of dispersed MSS that were formerly in important private collections.
Examples of dealers' catalogues
Numerous marks of ownership can be found among the thousands of image available through the Digital Scriptorium, based at Columbia University.