Ex libris van Christelijke Jongemannen Vereeniging Excelsior 1916

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet created this bookplate for the Christian Young Men's Association Excelsior using the woodcut technique. The image's overt symbolism requires a bit of unpacking. Produced in the Netherlands, we can assume that the imagined scene reflects the values of the association. The figure, perhaps an angel, wears a headdress while standing over a sword and what appears to be penguins. Birds appear above, and the scene is bracketed by decorative borders. Excelsior means "ever upward," and we might consider the ways in which the symbols allude to the association's mission. Is the sword a metaphor for the battles of youth, or a call to the crusades? Are penguins a sign of colonial engagement? Historians rely on institutional records, personal letters, and publications like this one to interpret the image and reflect on the meaning of art as something contingent on social context.