Tuesday 21 July 1668
Up, and to St. James’s, but lost labour, the Duke abroad. So home to the office, where all the morning, and so to dinner, and then all the afternoon at the office, only went to my plate-maker’s, and there spent an hour about contriving my little plates,1 for my books of the King’s four Yards. At night walked in the garden, and supped and to bed, my eyes bad.
- This passage has been frequently quoted as referring to Pepys’s. small bookplate, with his initials S. P. and two anchors and ropes entwined; but if looked at carefully with the further reference on the 27th, it will be seen that it merely describes the preparation of engravings of the four dockyards. ↩
Terry Foreman Link to this
"my little plates, for my books of the King’s four Yards"
The plates in question were evidently intended to show the layouts of the dockyards @ Woolwich, Deptford, Chatham and Portsmouth.
L&M say the plates are not in the Pepys Library; no comment (here) on the books.
Mae Link to this
"Two anchors and ropes entwined"
Did these symbolize the Royal Navy or were they some sort of personal crest?
Terry Foreman Link to this
"Did these symbolize the Royal Navy or were they some sort of personal crest?"
Samuel Pepys's bookplate and motto: "Mens cujusque is est Quisque"
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Pepys_...
Any thoughts?
Terry Foreman Link to this
"On the front of the [ Pepys Building at Magdelene College, Cambridge ] is the painted inscription Bibliotheca Pepysiana 1724 which records the date of arrival of the library; above it are painted Pepys's arms and his motto "Mens cujusque is est quisque" ("The mind's the man" taken from Cicero's De re publica)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepys_Library#Pepy...
LKvM Link to this
Sort of like "Cogito, ergo sum"?
Jesse Link to this
re: Samuel Pepys’s bookplate and motto - thoughts?
Well, if you're asking. I think it's clear Pepys identified closely with his job which, in short, involved materiel administration. If you think about it, I suppose anchors and ropes are a good choice to represent the materiel while the moto represents the administrative aspect.