Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-30

ingly good conoltlon' NaoA-"o
was a great collector for his Day
and took excellent care OF his DOCKS.
Fortunately, so did those who later
acquired them"
Americans Are Collectors
Americans have always displayeo
an unusual interest in collecting
rare books, according to Mr.. Ba1e''
although they have not been given
much credit for it. There were
book catalogues as far back as 1881.
Fortunately many of these collsc-
tors took "a patriotic interest In n
DEVELOPMENT of the United states
and carefully collected all material
relating TO its historic growth. Ihus
there is a great deal of valuable data
scattered about the various private
libraries of the country, which some
day will doubtless be turned over TO
universities or otherwise made avail
able to the public.
In one case a wealthy American
collector financed the preparation
OF a compile history of all the carl
Gus tribes of American Indians. Sew
eral of the finished volumes, con-
tanning infinitely exact historical de-
tails and accompanied by large
numbers of remarkable photo
81 pllAO Pl1LtoT Wv
brought to the Anderson Galleries
and placed on exhibit. They Will
have to be sold because unfortunate
ly the wealthy collector died before
the monumental work was COM
pieted, and his heirs have not the
same interest in supporting 1t. The
Library of Congress, which is an ex-
tensive buyer at these rare book
auctions, is said to be interested in
obtaining the material.
BY the way, Gentle Reader, if you
should suddenly come cross any
ancient historical data packed away
in your garnet or cellar, don't give
it to the ashman, but look it over
carefully and then consult a book
expert. 1t may tur out of be ex-
tremely valuable, like your great
aunt's old bureau, which yousfool-
ishly sold to the secondhand man
only later to discover that it was a
true product of the brothers Adam.
Not long ago a man sent to the
Anderson Galleries a few historical
| pamphlets handed down by his
grandfather, estimating their worth
at 5. In the auction which occurred
a few days later, they brought
s1,40O. The subject of the pamph-
let's was the early development Of
the American West.
Rare Books Coming Here
The majority of the high-priced
volumes which are handled by the
Anderson Galleries, however, come
from European, instead of Ameri-
can private libraries. This has been
especially true since the war. Grad
ually the worlds greatest book
treasures in the English language
are coming to this country. as the
result of the dwindling fortunes of
the English nobility. No man can
enjoy luxury while he is hungry, so,
in spite of their cherished family
traditions, the remonstrances of
British booklovers and the scorn OF
an indignant government, the own
ers of some of the most remarkable
book collections abroad are reluc-
family putting them up for auction.
They have one consolation. The
prices now being offered by Ameri-
car collectors are from three to six
times as great al those offered be-
fore the war.
DIR. Rosenbach of New York, who
is n of the largest buyers at the
British sales, also points oyt another
c%onsoling factor: I'm bringing These
rare volumes to the United States
~ oNsoF AAACAO 10 ~ lCai lOoo ~ tile
scholarly world. 1 ask you, where
is a rarity more accessible, in ar
Englishman's private library, where
not even great scholars can always
get it. or in the collection Of one O.
our Great American collectors? Mr.
Huntington has announced that h,
intends to leave his art treasures I,
the University of California, ant
only last year he published two fac
SMILES of notable works which any
one interested could acquire. Surel
that is much better for booklover
than to leave these books where n
one examines them from years en-,
to years end"
At any rate, the rarities are com
ing here, whether it will be of bene
fit to the world or not. In the pas
two years. most of the early edition
OF Shakespeare seem to have lef
England in the hands of America
collectors. Early editions of Milton
Pope. Byron and Swift are ais
steadily vanishing from the Brit:sl
Empire. II the exodus keeps ur
in the future English biographer
may have to come to this countr,
TO consult the only genuine earl,
editions Of their own national au
thors,