In Slovenia, the tradition of bookplates, symbols of ownership that are usually printed and carry the owners name and an artistic motif, is quite old. One of the oldest preserved bookplates on Slovenian ground is a bookplate from 1540 that belonged to a Carniolan noble family Apfaltrern. It is carried by the Seminary Library of Ljubljana. Bookplates were growing ever more popular from the beginning of the 20th century. The most prominent bookplate makers of this era were painters S. Šantel, I. Vavpotič, M. Gaspari, G. Birolla, H. Smrekar, B. Jakac, and M. Maleš. In the following decades, many more Slovenian artists began dealing with this form. Their enthusiasm culminated in the foundation of the Exlibris Sloveniae Society in 1967.

Yet, bookplates were not of interest only to their owners or the artists making them, but also to collectors. Dagmar Nováček, the first and later on the honorary president of the Exlibris Sloveniae Society, and her sister Beti are considered to be the greatest collectors of bookplates in ex-Yugoslavia. In this digital collection we present a part of their collection that was donated to the National and University Library.