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YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU
What should you do with your
collection? Every collector or their family has to face this
question at some point and it is a tough one to answer. I have an
ongoing internal debate with myself. I am well aware of the
sentiment of some collectors stating that if their books went into
institutions, future collectors might not have the opportunity they
had to acquire some of these treasures. Robert Hoe m, a founding
member of The Grolier Club said it this way: "If the great
collections of the past had not been sold, where would I have found
my books?" My response is that not every book is unique and many
collectors can't afford to just give away their library. I have also
not had any difficulty finding something to collect. Nor did John
Paul Getty Jr. who formed the great Wormsley Library and contended
that great material was still out there. Collectors often feel that
libraries don't appreciate what they didn't have to pay for with
their own scarce acquisition dollars. On the other hand many
collectors don't like to see their years spent hunting and building
then- collections of books be cast off, leaving nothing behind other
than perhaps an auction catalog. As Henry E. Huntington, founder of
the Huntington Library stated "the ownership of a fine library is
the surest and swiftest way to immortality."
Collectors become
concerned when they see libraries weeding and disposing of their
books. When addressing the librarians' problem I believe you have to
distinguish between the different kinds of libraries and how they
are used. Most public libraries don't have special collections and
don't have the space nor need to keep every book although I tend to
think they often discard too quickly. Nicholas Basbanes in his A
Splendor of Letters- The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World
has a whole chapter devoted to "Shelf Life" and wonders, as I do,
why certain books being sold at library book sales have been
discarded in the first place. Librarians usually say it was for
non-use, out of scope or their need for space. In some cases they
state they needed the money for other purposes within the library
that I think is an indication of the management and/or the board
abdicating their responsibility.
I get upset when I read about
research libraries disposing of whole collections claiming they no
longer fit into their special collecting interests or have been
replaced with microfilm copies. Basbanes relates many horror stories
including The Hill Library in St. Paul, MN; the New York Historical
Society; and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library.
Descendants of James J. Hill are quoted by Basbanes as saying "the
sale reflected a basic disregard for the most elementary morality
which trustees of rare and important holdings ought to possess" and
their general observation that "The trust that libraries, museums
and other repositories hold with the public is fragile and is
increasingly threatened." I remember thinking at the time (2002) of
the disposal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society library, one
widely recognized as one of the best collections of botanical and
horticultural Iherature in existence, as being a disgrace. The
citizens of Boston have lost a national treasure. I hadn't realized
that the Society had been hi previous financial difficulties and had
culled a number of their books in the early 1980's and had lost
their Horticultural Hall by foreclosure in 1991. Robert Fraker, a
local bookseller, made a concerted effort to try and convince the
society not to breakup their collection. He told Basbanes that he
had told the Society trustees "that whatever you get for the books
today-I don't care how much you make-it will seem like a pittance in
ten years." I also believe that will be the case.
Every collector
should read about these as well as about Charles Turner if they are
considering donating their collections. Turner had given his
collection of rare mathematical books, including a number of early
editions from the personal library of Sir Isaac Newton, to Keele
University, in Great Britain because they "had not had the
opportunity or good fortune to acquire such an important special
collection." The University Library subsequently disposed of the
books and stated that their library "is notable for its high profile
commitment to information technology rather than to
books."
Collectors themselves are not blameless and can be both
the savior of books as well as their destroyer. There are numerous
examples where a collector's diligent search has turned up a copy of
a book no
longer found in a public collection. On the other hand
books with good prints or maps are subject to being broken with the
illustrations being sold separately. Booksellers are often blamed
for this desecration but they wouldn't do it if there were no
collectors to buy them. Collectors who, like myself, are admirers of
leaf books have to recognize that they might be encouraging the
destruction of old books. You even have to wonder if you read that a
research library is disposing of duplicates if, in fact, it really
is a duplicate. I remember on the FABS tour in Chicago visiting a
collector who was showing one of his prized possessions that was
obtained at a library duplicate sale when in fact rt was unique with
the selling institution not recognizing this. Our member Ronald
Smeltzer, who acquired a Transit of Venus broadside from a duplicate
sale when there was no other copy known, could say the same. (See
Endpapers, March 2002). On this same FABS trip we visited the
Chicago Botanic Garden Library and saw many of their treasures, some
of which had come from the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society.
Basbanes concludes his book with "Proper Passage: A
Coda" in which he describes how one collector, Paul Mellon, went
about dividing his books after bis death among three institutions.
Most collectors do not have that important of a collection but you
can still learn from his method. What it points out to me is the
importance of selecting the right institution. Looking at existing
institutions today I would think that the New York Public Library
would be impacted by their actions of selling their paintings from
their collection or disposing of pamphlets after they had been
microfilmed. It is also important to know something about the
institutions staff and board. One can't govern from the grave but
you should take precautions if the collection is quite
valuable.
All of these recent examples should certainly make
collectors think long and hard before they make their decision. The
librarians and directors of many of these institutions belong, hi my
opinion, hi a Library Hall of Shame. Weighing all these pros and
cons, I lean towards joining other collectors, both past, present
and future in building a partnership with a university or research
library that will hopefully preserve our collections for use by
future scholars and students. As A Edward Newton says in This
Book-Collecting Game "A man may well consider, after he has
accumulated a lot of books and spent a lot of money hi so doing,
what he expects will happen to them after his death. The chances are
ten to one that no one in the man's family cares to accept the
responsibility of caring for a large and valuable library. The
responsibility is real; there is the constant danger from fire,
water, theft, and neglect of servants. Fit is a miscellaneous
collection, it should undoubtedly be sold; it represents nothing
except the momentary whim of the collector. If, on the other hand,
it is a collection of a specialist, it should never be
'disseverated,' to use Gabriel Wells's word-it should always be kept
together as a monument to the industry and patience of its creator."
This might be a good way to arrive at your decision.
I am
reminded of another quote from A Edward Newton and wondered if Bob
Fleck ever followed Newton's instructions which I found in the
separate booklet that accompanied the auction catalogs for The Rare
Books and Manuscripts- Collected by the Late A. Edward Newton which
reprinted his "Introduction to the Catalogue for the Carolyn Wells
Sale, Oct. 18, 1923." He wrote "Coming back to Whitman, I firmly
believe that the first edition of the 'Leaves of Grass' will reach a
higher figure than any other important book published .in the
nineteenth century, and I do not forget that valuable Shelleys and
Keats were published in that century. I may not be around at the
time. If I am not, let some kindly disposed soul go west; 'Change
cars at Paoli'; take a motor, and visit the Washington Memorial
Chapel at Valley Forge, and after visiting the chapel, which is one
of the loveliest shrines hi America, search out my modest tombstone
hi the leaves of grass nearby, sit down upon it, and whisper to me:
'You were right about that Whitman item.' I shall be listening
eagerly for the latest prices of rare books."
I hope that users
of my books will think of me and say a little "thank you" and I
would be just as eager to be brought up to date on the latest
library and book collecting news.
Gordon Pfeiffer
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