Evening star., 1927-03-20

year, is establishing itself more
firmly as the cultural center of
the United States-a gathering
place of scholars and a reposl-
tory OF the literary treasures of all
nations.
But 1t is a place Of something more
In2n books, paintings and mosaics. 1t
- q treasure chest of intimate assoct.
ations with some of the most colorful
characters in history. 1t Is a house,
one might say, of ghosts. The build
ing is full of personal mementos or
dead greatness-the original letters OF
Lincoln, the original diaries of Wash
laston, a speck of the ashes of Colum-
Dus, letters of Voltaire. the scrawled
signatures of Elizabeth and Mary,
sheets of Wagner's music in his own
hand
Richard the Third, dastardly little
cripple that he WIS. is colorful enough
IN English history or in Shakespeare,
but the visitor to the Library OF Con
gress can hardly avoid obtaining
more vivid picture of the snarling
hunchback when he sees a scrap OF
parchment signed with his own hand.
And the same holds true for Mary
Queen of Scots; three of the wives OF
Henry the Eighth, Napoleon, William
of Orange and hundreds of others.
The richness of the Library in such
the life work of John Boyd Thacher
of Albany. whose collections of his
torical material deposited from time
to time over many years, became the
outright property of the Government
this month, through the will of Mrs.
Thacher.
The material not only is of great
educational value, but it gives per-
Sonal touch with the past which could
not be obtained by years OF study:
Cromwells hand wrote the words on
this scrap of paper before the visitor.
The Protector becomes a more VIVld
personality, forever afterward, to the
individual, especially the Schoolboy or
girl. 1t is somewhat like reaching
back across the centuries and shaking
hands with the praying brewer VINO
liberated England. And close by one
can meet in person Charles the First,
whose head Cromwell caused to be put
under the AK of the executioner.
The autograph collection of royal
personages and prominent figures or
the past is one of the four collections
included in the Thacher bequest
Just a partial list is colorful-Ftenry
the Eighth, Katherine Parr, Jane
Seymour, Catherine of Aragon, Ed
ward the Fourth, Queen Anne,
Charles the First. Charles the Second,
Il
Austria, Letitia Bonaparte, mother
of Napoleon: Catherine the Great.
the Empress Josephine, Peter the
Great, William of Orange, Ferdinand
and Isabella, Pope Clement the Sew
enth, Pope Paul the Second. There |
are hundreds of others.
THE Oldest royal document is sign
- ed by Charles the Fifth, King OF !
France in 1874 Manuscripts, broad |
sides and pieces of printed material,
photographs and drawings in this |
autograph group number 1865 pieces. |
arranged under the following neads:
royal family of France, 1873; Napoleon, |
107; French of Napoleonic period, lO7;
royal family of England, 231; royal
family of Germany, 18l; royal family
Of Sweden, "a; royal family of Spain,
48; house of Orange, "a; Russian and
Polish, 48; Oriental, s.; Italian nobi--
ity. IS; Italian patriots, rs; Italian
churchmen, Is; Italian soldiers and
sailors. 10: Italian literary person
ages, 43; Popes. AZ; miscellaneous, 1872.
Only a few of these autographs
have been placed on exhibition. The
names are signed to all sorts of ma
state documents and pictures-but
each is the authentic signature of the
man himself, something produced
directly by his own hand and with
his personality in it. BY means OF
them the student can cover the
course of European history for 500
years, meeting one character after
another in person.
Some of the mementos are torn
scraps of paper salvaged from the
junk heap of time-things to which
the writer hardly could have expected
future generations to attach any i'm
portance Some are imposing docu-
ments and some are letters probably
intended only for the eyes of the per-
sons to whom they were addressed
Mr. Thacher gathered them from
all sorts of places. Some of them he
picked up personally in Europe.
Others came to him after they had
entered the stocks of dealers Much
of the material If placed on the mar