The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-22
THE LITERARY OUTLOOK
The Book Of the Week-Rare Treasure in BooksA Terse
Review-~JuIie de Lespnasse as Lady
Roses Daughter"
By HERBERT BREWSTER.

One of the most important books of
the week without doubt is THE Story
of My Life" by Helen Keller. A great
deal of the material used in the book
has been brought out serially. but.
nevertheless, the publication in book
form is worthy of note. Helen Keller
has never ceased to interest scientists
and psychologists since her remarkable
case first became known, and her new
ly acquired power of speech is only
another evidence of the wonderful de-
Velopment she has made. Those who
have read her story will recognize
something more than story of blind,
deaf mute. 1t has a rare literary value
aside from all this. Only the other day
she made speech before the Massa-
chusetts Legislature which gave an
other view of her versatility. She made
an appeal for legislation for the blind,
and the appeal had that quality of
value which did not depend alone on
her own sightlessness. When one stops
to think that this girl cannot see any,
thing in the world and cannot hear
a single sound, the wonder over her
remarkable intellectually is most pro-
found.
At the present time Miss Keller is
an active student in Radcliffe College.
She spends seven or eight hours every
day reading and studying hard, and
now that the strain of her first college
work is over, she is in first rate health
and spirits. Her powers of enjoyment
are most marvellous and her eagerness
for study is the cause of worry on the
part of her friends. Her autobiog-
raphy was brought about through the
cooperation of her teacher, Miss Sulli-
van, and Mr.. John Macy, one of the
editors of The Youths Companion Mr..
Macy is the authority for the state
ment that the story is exactly as Miss
Keller prepared and approved it. 1t is
to be hoped that the book will have
a large sale, both because of the value
of the book and because of the benefit
which Miss Keller would receive
through a handsome return in royal
ties.
Now and then it is the good fortune
of the rare book dealers to secure at
a ridiculously low rate, the rarest kind
of manuscripts or books. In nine cases
out of ten the owners of the old books
do not know their value Not long
ago a New York secondhand book
dealer bought for a song a Confeder-
ATE government record DOOh WNlCu was
secured during the raid on Richmond.
1t had been stored away for more than
thirty years in an old warehouse. AS
a matter of fact two carloads of almost
equally valuable Confederate material
were destroyed before the bookseller
learned of the matter. Now the for
tunate possessor of the record is Of
fered $1,000 for his find.
Once in a while even the wealthy
collectors of books do not realize the
value of their possessions. Not long
ago a New York millionaire told his
coachman that he might throw away
a barrel of old books that were stored
in the stable. The coachman offered to
for 81. After the book dealer looked
over the lot, he told the coachman that
i, he would get "A letter from his en-
ployer authorizing the sale of the
books he would give him $50 This was
done and the book seller made a pro-
fit of close to a thousand dollars in
disposing of this one purchase.
A few days ago there was sold in
New York the first book printed in
English about New York city. The
book brought $625. 1t is said that a
retired business man, who is collec-
tor of Americana, is the purchaser.
No copy of this book has been sold
at auction in the United States in
twelve years. and the book so rarely
comes into the market that no price
is quoted on it in the current price re-
ports. There has been a report that a