Evening star., 1924-11-09
Valuable Volumes Are Picked Up
On the Book Stalls Of the Seine

She still mourns The Gentle Art Of
Making Enemies by the painter
Whistler. which she 'let go like fool
for 10 francs" before the war, land il Is
now worth So"
But it was 1.-THE Armenian who
started the Dodemans to keeping their
finds for more leisurely sale, after re-
tirement from the daily business fever.
The Armenian. vague foreigner. found
in Mrs Barlow's onefranc so box "a
certain brochure by Remy de Gourment,
which he sold the same day for 500
francs"
Charles Dodeman, the brother. had
his bitter adventure double-"whip
sawed" says the lady, got it going
and Coming
In his box of fine books, mostly
classics. there was handsome old
Morocco binding which a fancier want
ed. on give 25 francs for the cover"
he said. You can keep the book
Twenty-Five francs was s., quite
sum in those days. Charles consented
In disgust, he saw the stranger rip the
binding from the volume.
"Fandal," murmured voice. as
Charles sat meditating n1oodily. A fine
old fellow stood there, handling the
mutilated pages. NO book lover
would have done that
NO, agreed Charles
"I desire to buy this damaged book"
continued the other. at Is like a poor
shorn lamb. I will have it rebound
How much do you want for it 90
Charles said one franc, and it was
done.
But. all the time" says Mrs. Bar
low, the fine old fellows hands were
trembling, as he handled the old
volume, peeking, peering. here and
there. at pages of it; and, when
bought, he rammed it swiftly into his
pocket Charles thought, afterwards,
that it was queer"
TT was queer, indeed Two days
later. it went up and down the
by the hand of Racine, had been
picked up, with its binding recently
ripped off for one franc!''
Later. it sold for 10000 francs,''
says Mrs. Barlow. 1T was Charles
virgil annotated. page after page.
by the great Racine. Today. 1t would
fetch $4,000. But, of course, Charles
did not know
L have heard a lot about 1.-The
fine old chap" who recognized Ra-
cine's handwriting. He calls himself
a dealer in rare books, in another
big French city. But, as fact. he
seldom sells; but when he does
Each time he buys a book from
me-" says another dealer of the
Seine, II know that he has put some
thing over-I am done for sufe!'
Each time he buys a book from
me-" spoke up a third, IT know that
he has pocketed something, when ]
was not watching, SO I charge him
double"
Among other things. it seems. he
owns 1.-The rarest book in the world"
Certainly, no other copy has ever
been repofted as existing. in the past
200 years.
1t is "De Obsidione Fontarabiae"
cot the Siege of FontarabiaD, by
the Rev. Father Moret of Pampeluna,
published by the Society of Jesus in
1854. According to the Didot His
toric Dictionary" 1t is, squarely. "the
rarest hook in existence" Certainly,
least known happenings of history.
least knokn happenings of history.
Also, mysterious. What became of
all the other copies? No S. J. library
in the world contains one. Mystery
The old fellow picked up, under
French Latin poets. Pontus de Tyaro
of Paris, volume of verse that. you
might say, almost nobody has heard
of. published by Galiot du Pre-, in
1873. Perhaps there are not two
volumes in New York or London that
| speak of it!
Yet 1t is quoted as worth $1,000
| and it cost the old boy s cents.
Miss Antoinette Gammell, painter
of merit. in and out of the Cafe du
Dome, is not of the Rhode Island
| family of the name. There are
others.
Along the quais she fancied and
| bought for IL francs "The British
Warblers," by H E. Howard, three
parts bound into one volume, quite
fragmAntAry bot pretty.
SAs - surprised to learn, new, that
she can sell the thing for Just S12