Evening star., 1938-01-09
By Lucy Salamanca.

~ NE of the most diversified and
fascinating of the many col,
lections that rave been
~ displayed from time to time
in the Library of Congress in Wash
ington has just been opened to the
public More than / 500 books of all
literatures and ages, manuscripts, fine
bindings, illustrations and broadsides,
each chosen for five intrinsic values,
represent the ever-growing. lifelong
collection of John Davis Batchelder
given into CUSTODY Of the Library.
Every item is distinguished for, first,
its fundamental value in the subject
it covers; second, for its printing
usually a first edition. or the work
of some famous printer; third, for its
illustrations, usually the originals Of
some famous artist; fourth. for its
| binding-the work of famous binder;
and fifth, for its association value
that is to say that every item has at
some time been part of the personal
possession of distinguished indi-
vidual and has been autographed or
otherwise inscribed in way that
enhances it's interest for collector and
public alike.
Some idea of the great worth of this
last requisite in a collection of this
kind may be gained from the fact that
the autographs of Goethe, Gibbon,
Pepys, Duse, Pavlova, Newton are only
a few of the illustrious signatures on
the fly leaves Of certain Of the books.
Gathered in every corner Of the
world, pursued throughout years Of
travel, reading and study, the items
possess, for this writer, sixth value,
unnamed by the collector. That IS
his own devotion to literary pursuit
and the vitality and universally OF
his selections. They represent, in very
truth, a cross-section of life down
through the ages, from the earliest
days of printing to the present, from
Aristotle's first work on physics, genet
les and zoology, to Mark Twain's
"Huckleberry Finn" inscribed with the
dashing young signature of Jackie
Coogan. Science, music, the dance,
crime, politics, law are all here repre-
sented; in fact, 100 subjects, running
down the alphabet from art, athletics,
Bibles" to "witchcraft" and zoology"
make up the list.
HERE are fan books from Burma
and Ceylon, inscriptions on Jade,
a prayer wheel from Tibet, and
saddle book containing cards inscribed
with the Koran. Ancient Sanskrit
manuscripts, the first wireless news
paper ever published, the document
authorizing the beheading of the in
| famous wholesale poisoner, Catherine
des Hayes; the oarlock from the gon-
dola of Richard Wagner; Charles
Dickens walking stick-to mention a
few-add to the allure Of this exhibi-
ton, which high lights, by means Of
such historical trifles, the panorama
of life itself.
DR.. Bachelor, erstwhile professor
at the Sorbonne In Paris, France, Is
the modest and unassuming gentleman
who has spent his life in collecting,
assembling, cataloguing and studying
these treasures, and he is himself .
verttable treasure house Of fascinating
information, If 1t be 4th or goth
century knowledge, that reflects the
colorful and exciting existence that
has been his.
He has turned his collection over
to the Library Of Congress, where it will
be preserved, exhibited from time to
time and added to as DR.. Bachelor
sees At. In this way it will be given
the expert attention such a collection
deserves, retaining its ASSOCIATION with
the donor, bearing his name.
More and more are private collectors
coming to understand and appreciate
the value and convenience Of such