Bookend
The bookend is an object tall, sturdy, and heavy enough, when placed at either end of a row of upright books, to support or buttress them. Heavy bookends—made of wood, bronze, marble, and even large geodes—have been used in libraries, stores and homes for centuries; the simple sheetmetal bookend (originally patented in 1877 by William Stebbins Barnard) uses the weight of the books standing on its foot to clamp the bookend's tall brace against the last book's back; in libraries, simple metal brackets are often used to support the end of a row of books. Elaborate and decorative bookends are common as elements in home decor.

The word "bookend" is also used metaphorically to refer to any pair of items which frame and define a significant or noteworthy event or place. For example, regarding the practice in the United States whereby Memorial Day and Labor Day demarcate the traditional beginning and end of summer, those two holidays could be referred to as bookends. Bookends are usually made of metal and plastic.
Q571
book
Concept
Q331900
buttress
Concept
Q287
wood
Concept
Q34095
bronze
Concept
Q40861
marble
Concept
Q677371
geode
Concept
Q179232
home decor
Concept
Q30
United States
LOC
Q371781
Memorial Day
Concept
Q848352
Labor Day
Concept
Q1313
summer
Concept
Q1445650
holidays
Concept
Q998891
Bookend
Concept
1877-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1877
DATE
public holiday
public holiday
country
instance of
country
instance of