The Washington times., 1922-04-08
j. COLLECTOR
|NDS ROMANCE
N RARE BOOKS.
Spends $25O,OOO In London
Shop-Pet Volume, How
ever, Cost 81.
BY Universal Service.

LONDON, April s.-Dr. A. S.
W. Rosenbdch, an American, ,Uho
travels all over tho World to secure
copies of rare books, spent nearly
S250,000 at Sotheby's book sale in
Ne1o Bond street.
In the following article he dis
cusses the romance of his unusual
profession.
By DIR. A. 8. w. ROSENBACH.
have often been asked how it is
possible that book should be worth
q large sum Of money, and how, for
instance, l could cheerfully pay $15,-
600 for a copy of Robert Chester's
Love Martyr" Q601) which bought
At the great Britwen sale.
A very easy retort would be that a
Frenchman last summer was quite
satisfied in obtaining for $26, 900 two
particularly ugly postage stamps
printed seventy years ago in British
Guiana
The real reason for these high
prices is far from being so flappant.
England proudly enjoye the posses.
sion of such great literary store
houses as the British Museum and
the Bodleian. The American nation,
though Anglo Saxon in language, has
only recently realized the necessity
OF supplying its students and literary
men with the indispensable tools Of
their trade.
GREAT COMPETITION.
So many of the most important
monuments of the English tongue
are only known by a few extant cop
les that a great competition to Sc
cure them is unavoidable. For in
stance, of Chester's Love Martyr"
only one other copy Is believed to be
In existence. 1t belonged to Fred
erick Locke Lampson. and is now in
the library Of Mr.. Henry E. Hunt
ingdon. the most ambitious and the
can collectors. 1t contains Shakes
peare's celebrated verses on "The
Phoenix and the Turtle" printed
there for the first time. It was Mr..
Huntington who three years ago Sc
cured for $4,000 the little Shakes
pearean volume containing Venus
and Adonis" and THE Passionate
Pilgrim"
Mr.. j. Pierpont Morgan's library is
known throughout the world as tho
choicest assemblage of manuscripts
any ono man ever brought together,
but there are in America many other
important libraries Of which the Eu-
ropean public has seldom heard and
which do much credit to the taste
and judgment Of the owners.
SLUMP IS UNLIKELY.
Unfortunately for future collectors.
the slump" in rare books Is very
unlikely to take place. The reason
Is the wonderful public spirit of SO
many American collectors, who, three
times out of four, when they die.
bequeath their libraries to some uni
versity or public institution. In con-
sequence the supply of available cop
les is continually growing smaller
and smaller.
Have ever picked up a bargain7
There Is many a book / would will
lngly buy back at ten times the price
for which 1 sold It. My best pur-
chase I shall never be wiling to sell.
II Is a copy of Johnson's Prologue"
-1747-which picked up for a dol
tar many years ago as q student and
bf which no other copy has yet been
discovered. 1t was reprinted from
this copy with a delightful preface
from the pen of the late Austin
Dobson.
Many other books I have parted
with and regret to sec no longer on
The shelves 1t Is the Joy Of my pro-
session to live with such beautiful as
bociations and the sadness OF 1t to
Zee the most cherished books take
wings one by one towards some
pther nest.