Bound for glory

“I just love books,” Gloria Upson gushed in the 1958 comedy “Auntie Mame.” “They’re so decorative.” Though the line was meant to highlight how dimwitted a debutante could be, the concept was never truer. Like the coffee table, a bookshelf can be the stage upon which we strut our stuff, be it slim volumes of poetry, thick tomes on design or the bookends that keep everything in line. “They can be a classic accent that matches the decor, or a piece that says ‘Look at me,’ ” says Dan Jordan of Silver Lake’s Now/Again, (323) 662-4338, which sells vintage bronze and midcentury glass bookends and a pair made from brass fire hose nozzles. “They make bookshelves look more interesting, but I prefer them free-standing on a table, with three or four intriguing titles.”

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[see photo listed below, 20050407ie3ahrkf]

GLASS ACT

Decorative objects can double as bookends. These two weighty hand-blown pieces from France, $25 to $35, are from the Wabi-Sabi store inside the H.D. Buttercup marketplace in Los Angeles, (310) 558-8900.

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CROWNING GLORY

This literary amphibian enjoys a good book while waiting for a kiss. Frog prince bookends, solid brass with bronze finish, are $65 per pair at Restoration Hardware.

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ODDS AND ENDS

Tchotchkes such as ceramics and a hand-painted marionette, $55 each, can serve as visually arresting bookends. All are from the Twenty Gauge store inside the H.D. Buttercup marketplace in Los Angeles, (310) 558-8900.

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PUSH ON

With a nod toward 1980s matte black design, this figure updates an Art Deco classic. A pair are $33 at Areo in Laguna Beach, (949) 376-0535.

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HELPING HAND

For oversized art books, a cast-iron hand in black granite adds the gravitas of Old World sculpture. It’s $225 from Global Views; call (888) 956-0030 to find a local retailer.