The sun., 1919-11-05
DIVERTING RARITTES
IN AVERY BOOK SALE
Volumes Owned by Royalties
and President Will Be
Offered.
WHISTLER LETTERS SEEN
Collection Is Placed on View at
Anderson Galleries Be-
fore Disposal.

An event Of no small Importance to
the world Of art and letters is the dis
persal of the library of sAe late Samuel
p. Avery II Is now on view In the
Anderson Galleries and will be sold
there on November 10. IL and IL.
Mr.. Avery was such a generous giver
10 public institutions that It Is some-
thing OF a surprise to all except his
personal friends to find that he had not
given all and that there remains still
another public benefaction in the shape
Of his fine librsry--for the sale OF such
n collection ts nothing less than a favor
to the wide army OF searchers for fine
things.
Mr.. Avery appears to have touched no
field OF the art OF collecting without
adorning 1t with rare "inds," for he was
a genuine collector. "His acquisitions
says Mr.. Weitenkampf. were not based
on the facile persuasiveness of the Pile
thoric pocketbook. In fact he was apt to
be ahead Of the game, as when he was
one Of the first to collect Whistler's prints,
or when he was picking up Daubigny's
stchings on the quays OF Paris at a
couple of francs apiece" The friendly
relations he was able to assume with
artists In his years as a picture dealer
also greatly aided him, and from the tips
given to him by them and from the
correspondence he maintained with some
Of the most celebrated among them re-
suited a mass of Association material"
notes, clippings. drawings, &c. that gave
q piquant value to many items.
His books, therefore. make an appeal
in several directions. There are books
Of great interest to bibliophiles, such as
Grolier's copy of Cicero; Sturt's Book
Of Common Prayer specimen of
Clovis Ewes binding; the famous
'Hypnerotomachia Poliphi'r' of the AL
dine Press: an Aldus that was once
owned by Grolier and a book by Wyn-
kyn de Worde. There are works from
the libraries Of royalties and presidents,
some of them from Mount Vernon bear
ing the bookplate and autos sraph Of
George Washington; and there are, nat
urally, many rare volumes that have a
direct bearing on art. The bindings in
clude specimens OF the work of Derome,
Roger Payne. Maioii, Cobden-Sanderson,
Meunier, Louis Hague, Pagnant and
others.
The Description of the Villa Of
Strawberry Hili' is Horace Walpole's
own copy, with his explanatory notes in
addition. Mr.. Avery also secured the
first edition Of the first work printed on
Horace walpole's press-the 'odes'' Of
Thomas Gray. Hale's Golden Re
mains" was owned by Izaak Walton
and has an inscription by him upon the
title page. Washington 1rving's His
tory of New York" was a presentation
copy to Mrs. Thomas Moore; and the
"Fleur du Nal" has the addition Of two
letters from Baudelaire. two from
Champfeury. and one from Bracque-
mond, who made ornamental drawings
for the book
The Whistler items have character
istic vivacity. One Is an original draw
ing dedicated to Mr.. Avery. Another
is a COPY Of the rare Paris edition OF
the Gentle Art of Making Enemies"
with two letters of Whistler's to Theo-
dore Child and one from Child In re-
buttal, for the Whistler letter Is par
ticularly scathing.