Os ex-libris do Ceará: marcas de proveniência e história cultural

Abstract

This work proposed to research the ex-libris as a component that is part of the characteristics of the book as an object, and as a document capable of representing an individual in their practices, tastes and the historical-cultural context in which they live. In this way, our general objective was to highlight the ex-libris as a significant element of the cultural history of Ceará. The specific objectives were: to relate theoretical conceptualizations of cultural history and history of the book, focusing on provenance marks; characterize the historical context of exlibrism in Ceará; examine and describe the ex-libris of Ceará personalities; verify the contribution of the ex-libris to the memory and cultural history of Ceará. Through bibliographical research, we present the concepts of Cultural History and its relationship with the History of the Book as a field of study. We raised notes about the object book as a historical source. We also discuss the growing field of study of provenance marks. We raise some considerations about the ex-libris and its antecedents, and its consolidation in the fifteenth century, relating the ex-libris with collecting and the representation of individuals. Finally, we present an overview of ex-libris in Brazil, which leads us to empirical research focusing on ex-libris from Ceará, which were cataloged and described based on the methodological proposal of Cortes and Nunes (2020a). From this, we conclude that the exlibris unites, in its structure, traces of the cultural history of a place, and of the individual memory of its subjects, as well as the particularities of a region and period. We reinforce the importance of identifying, cataloging and, finally, understanding these objects as artifacts that carry cultural practices and traces of past times.