Evening star., 1933-07-30

tentious room lined to the ceiling with
boOkshelves. half empty. Against one
wall stands a high wooden structure
which looks like q pulpit. In front
of it are two narrow tables at which at fac
ing each other. two rows of men. several spec
tacled or bald-headed bot1l and all clothed
in a hushed. nervous expectancy.
Great events are reverberating through the
world The Economic Conference. In session
two miles or away Is muddled roar OF
recfiminations cross purposes. threats and Dip
lomatically worded curses. The dollar Is sink
ing like foundered ship and Wall street Is
a bedlam.
But no sound of economic thunder pene-
tfates to this quiet spot. The gentlemen who
have gathered here are not concerned with
anything SO ephemeral as farm products. ma
Chimes trade barriers or political regulations.
Their interest is in the more enduring products
of the imagination. the emanations from the
spirit of genius. They have come to vie with
much desired book.
There is sound in the room but the re-
strained voice Of the auctioneer. The rivals
make their bids by a nod Q lifted eyebrow a.
slight move of the hand It is the ultimate
in drama-this breathless, almost completely
silent struggle between titans of the book col
lecting arena.
The bidding begins at $4,000 (ss.52O, but
climbs quickly. At ten thousand the last British
bidder reluctantly drops out, leaving several
carry on the fight with each other
Ten thousand. five hundred pounds"
eleven thousand pounds"
Eleven thousand five hundred"
The silence deepens. The watchers stand
m0tiOnless, like suddenly stilled children in a
game of status
Now the fight has narrowed down to two
men, One of them ficks the edge of his
catalogue:
Fourteen thousand two hundred pounds"
There is pause; then the other bidder mods
his head:
Fourteen thousand five hundred pounds"
But the first bidder does not come back He
has shot his bolt. The contest is over.
The listeners gasp and burst into rueful ap-
plause. Another Shakespeare first folio will
go overseas to Dr. A. S. w. Rosenbach. 1t
has brought the highest price ever paid for
this prize, approximately $4,000.
Corn and wheat, sugar, hogs and hemp have
fallen tragically in value during the depression,
but q good book. as proved by this sale. stands
above economic tides
when the doctor (Ph. d., waiting anxiOusly
at his seashore home near Strathmere. N j..
received a cable announcing that the treasure
was his. he donned a pair OF dilapidated white
duck trousers and an even more dilapidated
white duck hat and boarded his fishing boat
the First Folio On the after-deck Of this lit
tie vessel with the pleasantly prophetic name
he composed himself comfortably received
from the hands Of the captain a neatly baited
rod and line threw the line out into the sunlit
waters Of Corson's Inlet. closed his eyes and
settled back in his chair perfectly at peace
with himself and the world.
A fellow b:bliophile recently said of DR..
Rosenbach Among American book collectors
he is No. land the collector next to him Is
No. TO-"
This pre- -eminence does not seem remarkable
in view Of his upbringing The good doctor
was not as far We know actually born in
a library, nor did he cut teeth ON old bindings.
but he could hardly have developed bibiomania
G. an earlier age if he had done So At 9.
when his playmates were absorbed in marbles.
plump little Abraham Rosenbach was hanging
around the Philadelphia bookshop of his uncle.
Moses Pollock listening to the bibhophiles gath
cred there. filling his lungs with the deiectable
smek Of old leather and soaking up facts about
first editions, Association copies" Americana.
incmabula and other enthusiasms OF these
gentle lunatics. Uncle Moses was ostensibiy
publisher and book seller, but once he had
gotten possession of a rare book he found
parting with it as difficult selling child
and almost as unlikely. Mot only months"
says his nephew, but very often years Of
tireless perseverance were necessary to make
him sell favorite volume and even when he
was finally persuaded to do so he would not
part with the original until he had first made
G pen and ink copy of it, word for word-a
task which naturally required weeks to accom-
plish."
TO the bookshop in which Uncle Moses was
] first clerk and then an owner had hocked
many Of the well known publishers and writer's
of an early day-the lean and hungry Poe. the
more prosperous Cooper. Bryant, Noah Webster.
Melville and others. BY the time. however.
that little Abraham had grown big enough to
prowl around the dusty corners Of the place,
it had become primarily the haunt Of leisurely
book collectors, and it was book collecting
which he absorbed through every pore. He
began his own collection at the age Of II by
purchasing at auction. an illustrated edition
of "Reynard the Fcx," for which he paid $40