A Collection of 4 Eugene Marais Bookplates (3 by J.H. Pierneef)
These bookplates belonged to the famous South African lawyer, naturalist, poet, and author Eugène Nielen Marais (1871–1936) and his estranged only child, Eugène Charles Gerard Marais (known as Eugene C.G. Marais).
Eugene C.G. Marais (The Linocuts in Blue, Black, and Green):
The three woodcut/linocut variant designs bearing the text "EX-LIBRIS EUGENE C.G. MARAIS" belonged to Eugène Marais’s son, Eugene Charles Gerard Marais.
Born in 1895, Eugene C.G. Marais was raised away from his father following the tragic death of his mother, Aletta Beyers, shortly after childbirth. His father’s severe morphine addiction and turbulent life led to a complex, strained, and distant relationship between father and son throughout their lives.
Eugène Nielen Marais (The Detailed Line Illustration):
The bottom-right bookplate bearing the text "EX-LIBRIS EUGENE NIELEN MARAIS" belonged to Eugène Marais senior.
J.H. Pierneef (Jacob Hendrik Pierneef):
Designed the block-print linocut for Eugene C.G. Marais. Pierneef, one of South Africa's most famous landscape artists, was a close friend and contemporary of Eugène Marais and his intellectual circle in Pretoria (including Gustav Preller).
Pierneef’s signature stamp style and geometric woodcut lines are clearly visible in the lettering and structural layout.
Symbolist / Art Nouveau Artist (Bottom Right):
The detailed pen-and-ink style illustration for Eugène Nielen Marais was created in the distinct late Art Nouveau / Symbolist style reminiscent of late 19th- to early 20th-century illustrators.
Symbolism & Meaning
The Tree of Life, Baboons, and "Dit In Of Dood" (Eugene C.G. Marais Plate):
The Motto: Embedded within the canopy of the tree inside a circular halo/ring are the Afrikaans/Dutch words "DIT OF DOOD" ("This or death"). This cryptic, stark phrase directly reflects Eugène Marais's lifelong obsession with mortality, suffering, and the fragile line between life and death. Some say it’s a reference to his addiction.
The Baboon & Human Figure: Below the tree, a human figure sits on the left, facing a baboon sitting on the right. This is a direct reference to Eugène Marais’s pioneering ethological studies of primates in the Waterberg region (later published in his landmark work The Soul of the Ape / My Friends the Baboons). It illustrates the deep evolutionary and behavioral connection between humans and apes that Marais spent years investigating.
The Skull and Roots: At the base of the central tree, a human skull rests among tangled roots, anchoring the design in themes of decay, nature, and memento mori.
The Cloaked Figure, Snake, and Rose (Eugène Nielen Marais Plate):
The Snake (Cobra): In the bottom-right corner, a cobra rises with its hood flared. Snake venom, danger, and nature played major roles in Marais’s scientific and literary fascination with the African veld, while also symbolizing temptation and mortality and possibly his addiction.
3 Pierneef bookplates: 128mm x 170mm
? :130mm x 178mm
All are slightly torn; minor stains and creases.
R15,000
