The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-30
Frederick Haskin's Letter
sp.a.a Arxusl
BOOM IN FIRST EDITIONS

will have to be sold because. nm
fortunately, the wealthy collector
died before the monumental vor-
was completed, and his heirs ala
not have the same interest in sun-
porting 1t. The library of congress
which is an extensive buver al
these rare book auctions, is said h
be interested in obtaining the ma
terial
BY the way, gentle reader, IL yon
should suddenly come across anv
ancient historical data packed away
in your garnet or cellar, don't gfvs
it to the ashman, but look it over
carefully and then consult a book
expert. 1t may turn out to be ex-
tremely valuable, like your great
aunt's old bureau, which you fool
~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 in
to the Anderson galleries a few
historical pamphlets handed down
by his grandfather, estimating their
worth at SIS. In the auction which
occurred a few days later they
brought $1,400. The subject Of the
pamphlets was the early asFslno-
ment 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.
Gradually 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 fam
lily traditions, the remonstrances Of
British book lovers and the scorn
of an indignant government, the
owners of some the most remark
able book collections abroad are
reluctantly putting them up for
auction. They have one consola-
ton. The prices now being offered
by American collectors are from
three to six times as great as those
offered before the war.
DR.. Dosenbach of New York, who
is one of the largest buyers at the
British sales, also points out an
other consoling factor: In bring
ing these rare volumes to the Unit
ed States" he says, there is no
real loss to the scholarly world.
ask you, where is rarity more &C
cessibIe, in an Englishman's pri-
vate library, where not even great
scholars can get always get it, or
in the collection of one of our great
American collectors? Mr.. Hunting
ton has announced that he intends
to leave his art treasures to the
University of California, and only
last year he published two fac
SMILES of notable works which
anyone interested could acquire
Surely, that is much better for
book lovers than to leave these
books where no one examines them
from years end to years end"
At any rate, the rarities are com
ing here. whether it will be Of ben
eft to the world or not. In the
last two years, most of the early
editions of Shakespeare seem to
have left England in the hands Of
American collectors. Early editions
of Milton, Pope, Byron and Swift
are also steadily vanishing from
the British empire. If the exodus
keeps up, in the future English
biographerS may have to come 70
this country to consult the only
genuine early editions of their own
national authors.