The January 2022 meeting checked out Libraries as its topic. Collectors selected books about libraries and librarians from both fiction and nonfiction works. Several nonfiction books focused on well-known libraries started as private collections, such as the Morgan, the Huntington, and the Lilly libraries. Librarians, such as Bella Greene, David Randall, and Abdel Kader Haidara were highlighted for their work curating and preserving library collections. Some infamous and tragic library stories were also shared. In fiction, mysterious libraries raised more questions than they answered.
The collectors also considered Ex-Library Copies. While some collectors eschew ex-library copies—primarily because of the damage done by library stamps and labels—and won't acquire them, others are willing to accept these flaws in order to have a copy of the title or edition in question… at least until a better copy becomes available. A couple of ex-library copies—which the respective collectors are quite pleased to have in their personal libraries—lead off this month's selections of books.
Ex-Library Copies
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| Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament |
Wesley, John. Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament. London: William Bowyer, 1755. This is the first edition of Wesley's translation of the New Testament, especially made for "plain, unlettered men who understand only their Mother Tongue, and yet reverence and love the word of God and have a desire to save their souls." The biblical text, considerably revised from the King James Version, is printed at the top of the page, with notes printed below. Wesley began his translation in 1729 but moved slowly because of his lack of confidence in his ability to complete the work. In the early 1750s he became very ill and was not sure that he would live to complete the work, so he made a promise to God that if his life were spared, he would diligently strive to complete his translation. He did survive and soon published his complete New Testament in 1755.
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| Frontispiece and title page with ex-library stamp |
The collector describes the acquisition of the ex-library copy: "This copy of the first printing was purchased from a bookseller in Oxford, England, whom I had dealt with in the past. It was very reasonably priced, and in his description he stated that the only "flaw" was a library stamp on the title page. I wouldn't let that stand in my way of purchasing it, and when it arrived a few weeks later, I saw that the library stamp was from Emory University School of Theology (now Candler School of Theology), about 3 miles from where I worked at Columbia Seminary. When I emailed the seller to tell him the Testament had arrived, I mentioned that we could have saved a lot of postage if I could have just picked up the book at Emory! A few weeks later, the Director of the Pitts Theology Library at Candler and a couple of his rare book associates were coming to have lunch at my house and visit my library. I was a bit uncomfortable about showing the book to him, since I didn't know how it got released from Candler. I told him the story, and he said the library had a duplicate copy and sold this one to the dealer in Oxford. When my Bible collection eventually goes to the Pitts Library, this copy of Wesley's Testament will find its way back into its earlier home!"
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| The Library Edition of the Works of Graham Greene |
The Library Edition of the Works of Graham Greene is a uniform series issued by William Heinemann Ltd. in 1959 and 1960. The series consists of 13 titles—12 novels and 1 nonfiction travel book—marketed exclusively to libraries and schools. The 13 titles issued in series order include:
|
L1: The
Power and the Glory (1959) |
L8: The
Ministry of Fear (1960) |
|
L2: Brighton
Rock (1959) |
L9: The
Man Within (1959) |
|
L3: Stamboul
Train (1959) |
L10: A Gun
for Sale (1959) |
|
L4: The
End of the Affair (1959) |
L11: The
Confidential Agent (1960) |
|
L5: The
Heart of the Matter (1959) |
L12: The
Lawless Roads (1960) |
|
L6: It's a
Battlefield (1959) |
L13: The
Quiet American (1960) |
|
L7: England
Made Me (1960) |
|
Somehow, the last two titles printed in 1959 were
leapfrogged by the first two titles printed in 1960 in the order in which they
were released. The series remained in
print until 1963.
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| Select dust jackets by Peter Edwards |
The books are desirable because of the dustjackets, illustrated by Peter Edwards. The wrap-around illustrations poignantly capture the ethos, setting, or a key moment in the book. Because of the ways libraries often discard or damage dust jackets—including labels, permanently affixing them to the books, and trimming them—copies with intact dust jackets are difficult to locate.
Many of the copies in this collection are ex-library copies
with the usual stamps and markings. A
few copies, instead, were awarded to children for spelling bees or essay
contests, and bear school award labels.
It took the collector 15 months to assemble the full set; one title,
with a damaged dust jacket from a label on the spine, was upgraded three years
later.
The Morgan Library & Bella Greene
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| Twenty-first Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984-1986 |
Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Twenty-first Report to the Fellows of The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984 – 1986. New York: The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1989. Annual reports of the Morgan Library detail the year's acquisitions. Each report includes a comprehensive list of new acquisitions and essays highlighting some of the significant works, including medieval manuscripts, printed books, music manuscripts, and autograph letters. The reports are generally published biennially and limited to 1,000 to 1,200 copies. The 1984-1986 report was limited to 1,000 copies; it was edited by Charles Ryskamp, the third director of the Morgan library from 1969 to 1987.
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| An Illuminated Life |
Ardizzone, Heidi. An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 514 pages. Bella Greene was initially hired by John Pierpont Morgan to organize his personal library; she went on to curate his personal collection. See was a self-taught expert on illuminated manuscripts and built J.P. Morgan an impressive library of incunabula, rare manuscripts, and bindings. She traveled all over the world for him, buying individual items and entire libraries. As a light-skinned African American woman who passed as white, she gained access to collectors and booksellers whom she might not have otherwise been able to approach, even on behalf of Morgan. Ms. Greene eventually became the first director of the newly public Morgan Library in 1924.
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| The Personal Librarian |
Benedict, Marie and Victoria Christopher Murray. The Personal Librarian. New York: Berkley, 2021. 352 pages. A novelized story of Bella Greene and her role as the curator of J. P. Morgan's library. The authors seem to focus more on Ms. Greene's Black heritage than her intellect. The book flap states ''she was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white....to protect herself from racial persecution." The overarching theme of the narrative is that "Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs."
The Huntington Library
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| Henry E. Huntington's Library of Libraries |
Dickinson, Henry C. Henry E. Huntington’s Library of Libraries. San Marino: Huntington Library Press, 1995. 286 pages. Henry Huntington did not fool around buying one or two rare books at a time; he purchased other collectors' whole rare book libraries. He had the assets to accomplish this time and again. Huntington made his fortune in the railroad industry before setting out to build a rare book and manuscript library by gathering unequaled collections from private collectors. From 1911 to 1927, he dominated the book markets of New York and London. He formally founded the Huntington Library in 1919 and in 1928, shortly after his death in 1927, the library and art museum based on his own collection opened to the public.
The Lilly Library
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| Dukedom Large Enough |
Randall, David A. Dukedom Large Enough. New York: Random House, 1969. 368 pages. First Edition. In 1955, Josiah K. Lilly, Jr. donated his book collection to Indiana University, forming the basis for the Lilly Library, which opened in 1960. In 1956, David Randall became the Lilly Librarian, then director of the library once it opened. His memoir highlights some of the rare books, high-priced manuscripts, and entire collections he was able to acquire for the Lilly Library, including Ian Fleming's collection of important books.
Libraries: Nonfiction
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| Cataloging the World |
Wright, Alex. Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 360 pages. In the 1930's, Paul Otlet, a librarian, envisioned a network of "electronic telescopes" which would allow anyone to search printed materials not just in his native Belgium but anywhere in the world. He sought to expand the potential of the catalog card system to link libraries together, providing access to books, newspapers, and other sources of information anywhere. He envisioned a worldwide web fifty years before it would become a reality. His work was cut short in 1940 by the Nazis, who raided his collection and confiscated his work, while pilfering and destroying libraries throughout Europe. Wright's biography seeks to restore Otlet to his rightful place on the timeline of thinkers and visionaries in the field of classifying and organizing knowledge.
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| Improbable Libraries |
Johnson, Alex. Improbable Libraries: A Visual Journey to the World's Most Unusual Libraries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2015. 240 pages. In 250 color photographs, Johnson highlights a wide range of unusual libraries around the world. From the tiniest of spaces to large open-air gardens, the author shows how librarians are changing the face of library architecture; and from mobile libraries moved about by camel, donkey, or elephant, librarians are changing the way books get to the people who want to read them. Phone booths are not very common anymore, but next time you see one you might want to take a second look; it might be a library.
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| The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu |
Hammer, Joshua. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016. 288 pages. In the 1980s, as Al Qaeda established a stronghold in Mali, Abdel Kader Haidara, an archivist for the government library, and a band of librarians and other volunteers began smuggling tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts out of Timbuktu and to the safety of southern Mali. They also tracked down and salvaged more manuscripts throughout the Sahara Desert region. Using any means of deception and transport at their disposal, Haidara and his team preserved fragile manuscripts and saved them from sure destruction by Al Qaeda.
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| Torn from Their Bindings |
McDade, Travis. Torn From Their Bindings: A Story of Art, Science, and the Pillaging of American University Libraries. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2018. 240 pages. Robert Kindred was an antiquarian print dealer struggling to keep his business afloat. The print market was competitive, and the supply of desirable prints was becoming scarce, when Kindred realized a solution to his problem. Kindred identified university libraries as a treasure trove of the types of prints, maps, and plates he brokered; and the libraries were easily accessible and rarely well-guarded. He damaged and destroyed countless priceless and irreplaceable books as he deftly removed their prints and then sold them to collectors. McDade chronicles Kindred's crime spree and the clues and paper trail which led to his capture.
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| The Library Book |
Orlean, Susan. The Library Book. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. 336 pages. Orlean chronicles the April 28, 1986, fire which tore through the Los Angeles Public Library, destroying 400,000 books and damaging 700,000 more. The fire investigation could not determine whether the fire had been purposefully set; and, if it was an act of arson, who set it? Orlean delves into the investigation and reexamines the case of an actor suspected of setting the fire. The book is part "whodunit" and part social analysis; as the author examines the Los Angeles Public Library fire, she also reflects on the roles libraries play in American society. Detailing the aftermath of the 1986 fire and its impact on the Los Angeles community, Orlean also broadly considers the past, present, and future of public libraries.
Libraries: Fiction
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| The House of Paper |
Domínguez,
Carlos María. The House of
Paper. New York: Harcourt, 2005. 103 pages.
Translated by Nick Caistor and illustrated by Peter Sis. When a professor of Latin American literature
at Cambridge receives a package containing a Conrad novel encrusted in cement
and bearing a mysterious inscription, she sets off to Buenos Aires, Argentina,
to find the mysterious sender, who has built a house out of his books. The novel offers an examination of
bibliomania and the relationship between people and their books.
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| The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository |
Connolly, John. The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository. New York: The Mysterious Bookshop, 2013. 82 pages. An avid reader who prefers books to people witnesses a shocking incident which seemingly recreates the climactic scene of Anna Karenina. Seeking to unravel this mystery, the man is led to the Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository, where he discovers some of the world's best-known literary characters, alive and well. Reality and fiction become blurred as the reader tries to comprehend his discovery.
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| The Library of the Dead |
Huchu, T. L. The Library of the Dead. New York: Tor Books, 2021. 336 pages. Ropa earns her living as a ghostalker, transmitting messages from the dead to those they left behind. The dead begin to communicate a warning directly to Ropa, however, that someone is bewitching children. Seeking to solve the mystery, Ropa discovers the world of underground Edinburgh, including an occult library which may provide the answers she seeks and more. The Library of the Dead is the first book of an intended series, Edinburgh Nights.
