Walter von Gunten was a Swiss master of scherenschnitte who introduced that fine art of papercutting to the United States when he moved to Wisconsin in 1961. (He demonstrated his skill on the national television quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret” on the September 20, 1965, episode.)
Antioch Bookplate Company founder Ernest Morgan considered von Gunten ”the finest scherenschnitte artist of which we know,” and adapted the following bookplate designs in the mid-1960s from greeting cards produced by von Gunten.
W-26
W-27
W-28
I’ve loved reading about the bookplates! I actually have a box of the ones labeled W-26 that my mom picked up for me somewhere. It’s great to read a bit about the artist behind them!