Rare Book Monthly

Articles - August - 2009 Issue

USF: Collecting Dust

William J. Monihan, collector of collectors

William J. Monihan, collector of collectors


Peter Stansky, Frances and Charles Field Professor of History Emeritus, Stanford University, in a message to the head of the university wrote,

"In my view, to diminish the collection [by selling material] not only violates the faith of those who have donated, as I have in a minor way, but verges toward vandalism and philistinism."

Terry Belanger, University Professor, Honorary Curator of Special Collections and Director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, visits the consequences such sales may have.

"I think a central point here is what actions like those taken by Father Privett [President of the University] do to future gift-giving - not only to USF, but books generally to institutions generally. I suspect that a great many more donors than is now the case will begin to add disposition conditions to their gifts to institutions [e.g. if at any time in the future the institution no longer wishes to undertake care of my gift then it is to be sold at auction for the benefit of the Red Cross/SPCA, home for unwed mothers [choose one]."

What has been a gentleman's club of understandings and courtesy could become a dogfight over regulations and requirements.

An assessment of the Donohue Rare Book Room, issued several weeks after the recent sale, made essentially the same points. Issued by two well-placed and well-regarded rare book library advocates, Susan M. Allen and Mark Dimunation, the report damns the University for shortsightedness, raises ethical concerns and openly questions the appropriateness of future gifts to an institution that is not demonstrating a commitment to maintaining its collections.

At the center of this maelstrom stands Father Stephen A. Privett, current President of the University of San Francisco and recently appointed to a third 5-year term. He is both responsible for his institution and responsible to a 42-member Board of Directors. Perhaps the structure of a Jesuit institution affords him a bit more latitude than the typical university president, where powerful faculty senates, boards, alumni and contributors can tie up virtually any controversial action forever. While responsible to those above him, it does appear Father Privett was able to act without consulting the various constituencies below or outside of his authority that usually tie a university president's hands. He acted, and his failure to consult these constituencies led to even greater resentment by those who felt left out of the process.

The rare book staff and supporters of the library in general, not just at San Francisco, but at libraries across the land, are deeply troubled. They realize that once material locked in the security of institutional collections is opened to public bidding, it may be lost forever. That is a nightmare of the first order to those who have devoted their lives to the preservation of cherished rare books. Add to this the fear that this may be just the tip of the iceberg, and their sharp, even harsh criticism becomes understandable.

Additionally, the various constituencies each have their own particular concerns. For those who have built their careers in the rare book rooms, there is the obvious concern about job security and the very purpose of their lives. The closing of a rare book room may take not only their livelihood, but their identity as well. The same may be said for the booksellers who supply the rare book rooms. Some may see them simply as merchants, but their role is much more complex than that. Dealers do more than provide books. They build collections. They frequently provide the research and intellectual perspective that determines what belongs in a collection. Oftentimes, they even steer donors to the library, for they are the ones who know the collectors. What they do may seem easy, but it is not. It's valuable, important and often under appreciated.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: A Rare Complete Run of the Cuala Press Broadsides. €5,500 to €7,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Rare First Edition of a Classic Work. [Stafford (Thos.)] Pacata Hibernia, Ireland Appeased and Reduced…, 1633. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Signed by author, limited edition. €1,250 to €1,750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Fishing: Literal Translation into English of the Earliest Known Book on Fowling and Fishing, Written originally in Flemish and Printed at Antwerp in 1492. London (Chiswick Press) 1872. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Fishing: Blacker's - Art of Fly Making, etc., Comprising Angling & Dying of Colours..., Rewritten & Revised. Lond. 1855. €250 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Joyce (James). Finnegans Wake,, London (Faber & Faber Ltd.) 1939, Lim. Edn. No. 269 (425) copies, Signed by the Author (in green pen). €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Synge (J.M.) & Yeats (Jack B.) illus. The Aran Islands,, D. (Maunsel & Co. Ltd.) 1907, Signed Limited Edn. €4,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Meyer (Dr. A.B.) Unser Auer -, Rackel-Und Birkwild und Seine Abarten, Wien (Verlag Von Adolph W. Kunast) 1887. €2,500 to €3,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Carve (Thomas). Itinerarium R.D. Thomas Carve Tripperariensis, Sacellani Maioris in Fortisima iuxta…,, Moguntia (Mainz) impriemebat Nicolaus Heyll, 1639. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Grose (Francis). The Antiquities of Ireland, 2 vols. folio London (for S. Hooper) 1791. First Edition. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Heaney (Seamus) & Le Brocquy (Louis) artist. Ugolino, D. (Dolmen Press) 1979, Signed Limited Edition No. 87 (125) Copies. €3,500 to €4,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Heaney (Seamus). Eleven Poems, Belfast (Festival publications - Queens University) [1965], First Edn., (First Issue) Signed. €2,500 to €3,500.
  • Bonhams, Dec. 17: Kelmscott Chaucer: The Finest Book Since the Gutenberg Bible. $60,000 - $90,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Inscribed by William Morris to Edward Burne-Jones. Poems Chosen out of the Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Morris's Original Manuscript Title-Page Design for Rosetti. Ballads and Narrative Poems. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Printed on Vellum: The Founding of the Kelmscott Press. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Inscribed by William Morris to Edward Burne-Jones. Voragine, Jacobus De. The Golden Legend. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Inscribed by William Morris to Edward Burne-Jones. Lull, Ramon. The Order of Chivalry. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Inscribed by William Morris to Swinburne. Morris, William, translator. Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Printed on Vellum: One of Only 15 Copies. Morris, William, translator. Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile. $15,000 - $25,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: William Morris Association Copy in Fine Binding. Morris, William. Child Christopher and Goldilind at the Fair. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Morris, William. 1834-1896. The Earthly Paradise. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 17: Nuremberg Chronicle. Schedel, Hartmann. 1440-1514. $30,000 - $50,000
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Discover Upcoming Auctions
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 9: Coronelli, Vincenzo Maria. "Epitome Cosmografica." With the 6 circular celestial and terrestrial charts. 7,000 – 10,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 9: Hurley, Frank. Collection of 69 photographs taken during Ernest Shackleton's Endurance Expedition. 80,000 – 120,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 10: Sendak, Maurice. Original artwork for the inaugural "New York is Book Country" poster, 1979. 300,000 – 600,00 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 10: [Brontë, Emily, and Ann Brontë] — Ellis Bell and Acton Bell. An outstanding survival of the sisters' debut novels Estimate. 90,000 - 130,000 USD
  • Bonhams, Dec. 18: A Very Fine Composite Atlas Magnificently Illuminated and Heightened with Gold in a Fine Contemporary Hand Throughout. $300,000 - $500,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Saint-Exupéry's Revised Ending for Wind, Sand and Stars. $40,000 - $60,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Edith Wharton's Gold Medal from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1924. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Salinger on the Glass Family and on Detachment. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Fanny Burney's Groundbreaking First Novel. Evelina, Or a Young Lady's Entrance into the World. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Kafka's Earliest Extant Piece of Writing. Autograph Note Signed ("Franz Kafka"). $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Wagner Signed "Ride of the Valkries." $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Dickens on the Death of Little Nell. $5,000 - $8,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Sylvia Plath's Copy of Joy of Cooking. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Walt Whitman and Friends: Whitman to James Russell Lowell. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Dec. 18: Walt Whitman and Friends: The Genesis of his Lincoln Lectures. $6,000 - $9,000
  • High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 67. Book Press
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    Lot 68. J. W. Daughaday Printing Press
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    Lot 69. C. & P. Pilot Press
    High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 73. Vandercook Cylinder Proof Press
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    Lot 76. Showcard Proof Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 80. C. & P. Printing Press
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    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 81. C. & P. Printing Press
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    Lot 82. Kelsey Star Printing Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 83. Pilot Press
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    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
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    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 212. Kelsey Letterpress
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Wood & Metal Type. Many fonts and faces.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Print Shop Miscellany including type, tools, and equipment.

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