ATHE ITE

uf The Boston Letter from ufthenteum

No. 50 NOVEMBER 1950

Two memorial exhibitions URING the next two months exhibitions will be arranged in memory of two devoted friends and proprietors of the Boston Athenccum who have recently died. In December there will be shown on the second floor a selection of and prints published during the past fifty years by Charles Eliot Goodspeed, and in the month of January 1951 decorated papers designed and produced by Rosa­ mond Bowditch Loring will be exhibited. Mrs. Loring, who died on September 17, was the daughter of Alfred Bowditch, Treasurer of the Athenreum from 1899 to 1918, and the wife of Augustus Peabody Loring, Jr., the present Vice-President. By some extraordinary combination of abili­ ties she was able both to carry on the best of the older traditions and to break ground in new fields of her own devising; she managed to be at the same time the ideal wife, the mother of a numerous family, a highly successful working craftsman and a dis­ tinguished and original collector. Having somehow found the leisure to take up book­ binding, Mrs. Loring discovered that good decorated papers were not easy to come by, and so experimented with making both marble and paste papers. Gradually the papers crowded out the binding, for the beauty and originality of her designs caused her work to be sought after by the Merrymount Press, the Club of Odd Volumes and publishers concerned with fine bookmaking. The search for examples of decorated papers led her to form a unique . If a fine paper appeared on the binding of Benjamin Franklin's of Cato Major she bought it with no less enthusiasm than she would acquire a French children's book or a German Lutheran sermon. Li­ brarians and collectors who came to 2 Gloucester Street to see her papers marvelled no less at the books that they enclosed. Although the most modest of scholars, she was unsurpassed in her field, and her books Marbled Papers, published by the Club of Odd Volumes in 1933, and Decorated Book Papers, published by the Department of and Graphic Arts of the Harvard College Library in 1942, are unique sources in regard to the craft that she practiced with such skill. As a trustee of the Peabody Museum of Salem, of which her great-grandfather Nathaniel Bowditch was a founder, Mrs. Loring was invaluable, and in a multitude of places and ways she will be sorely missed. Although her great collection of papers will be a perma- nent addition to the Harvard College Library, it is only fitting that the Athenreum should in January show some examples of her own designs. Until a few weeks before his death on October 31, Charles Goodspeed was far more apt to be found at 10Y2 Beacon Street than in his place of business at No. 18. His accomplishments as one of the great booksellers of his time are widely known, and some of the details of his career have been told with skill and humor in his auto­ biography, Yankee Bookseller. It is not surprising that, with a Cape Cod background, he should have made his mark in his chosen profession in the old New England way, but those who knew him well came to discover that he possessed qualities but rarely found in the successful New Englander. A devout disciple of Izaak Walton, he had much of Walton's simplicity and sweetness of character. In recent years, when he had left the routine cares of his shop to younger members of his family, he spent much of his time on a hillside at Shirley where, looking across a valley towards Wachusett, he gardened and read the seventeenth-century writers that he loved. There he both experimented with the latest evolutions in iris in his perennial beds, and lovingly nur­ tured the wild things of the New England countryside in his woodland. It seemed hardly surprising that Scotch heather grew readily for him or that the rarer ferns re­ sponded to his wishes. It seemed equally natural, when one knew him, that, having gone to work at the age of fourteen, he should have received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Brown University, have been elected to honorary membership in the Phi Beta Kappa, and have been made president of the Colonial Society of Mas­ sachusetts. The variety of his historical and literary interests is well shown not only in his writings but in the books and prints of which he was the publisher, and these­ lection of these that will be on display in the Athenreum Exhibition Room during December will be a tribute to a valued friend of the library.

Books by Mail _NTHOUGH some three hundred and seventy persons use the mailing service of the Athenreum, there may be some readers of this letter who are not familiar with it. Any Proprietor who has paid the annual assessment of fifteen dollars or any holder of a Book Ticket may ask to have books sent by mail. There is a charge of five cents per to cover packing and mailing, for which bills are sent semi­ annually. Readers may request specific titles, or may ask that certain types of books-for example, one French biography or one "thriller"- be sent every so often. The best results are obtained from leaving a reasonably long list at the Delivery Desk so that something may be sent regularly even if certain titles are out. When long lists of books are to be sent by parcel post, however, please request them by mail. While the staff can readily handle telephone requests for two or three books, longer lists tie up the telephone for too long a period. While ticket holders are welcome to new books if they are on the shelves when their requests are received, they are not entitled to reserve them. Consequently, lists from ticket holders should consist of a mixture of new and old books. NEW BOOKS OF V ARlOUS INTEREST SELECTED FROM THE FULL LIST OF ACCESSIONS

Art BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART. Baltimore FOOTE, H. W. John Smibert, Painter. Furniture. FRIEDLANDER, M. J. Landscape, Portrait, BRIDENBAUGH, C. The Colonial Craftsman. Still-Life. CHRISTENSEN, E. 0. The Index of American STRINGER, G. E. New Hall Porcelain. Design. WILLIAMS, S. B. Antique Blue and White CLAUDEL, PAUL. The Eye Listens. Spode. Biography and Reminiscence ASQUITH, Lady C. Haply I May Remember. HALE, W. H. Horace Greeley. A VILOV, LYDIA. Chekhov in My Life. HINKLEY, L. L. The Stevensons; Louis and BARZUN, JACQUES. Berlioz and the Romantic Fanny. Century (2 vols.). KRAVCHENKO, VICTOR. I Chose Justice. BOWEN, C. D. John Adams and the American LAMPORT, FELICIA. Mink on Weekdays. Revolution. LATTIMORE, OwEN. Ordeal by Slander. BRITTAIN, V. In the Steps of John Bunyan. LEWIS, LLOYD. Captain Sam Grant. BULLETT, GERALD. The English Mystics. LIPSKY, G. A. John Quincy Adams. CAMERON, K. N. The Young Shelley. MAcDONALD, B. Anybody Can Do Anything. CARTON DE WIART, Sir A. Happy Odyssey. MILLER, L. G. The Story of Ernie Pyle. CHASE, M. E. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. NANDA, S. D. The City of Two Gateways. CRAWFORD, MARION. The Little Princesses. NEWBY, P. H. Maria Edgeworth. CRICHTON, K. S. The Marx Brothers. PIGGOTT, F. S. G. Broken Thread. DANIELS, J. The Man of Independence. PIGGOTT, STUART. William Stukeley. DYER, J. P. The Gallant Hood. REYNOLDS, QUENTIN. Courtroom (Leibowitz). FISCHER, L. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. SITWELL, Sir OsBERT. Noble Essences. FITZGERALD, B. S. V. Lady Louisa Connolly. THOMSON, E. H. Harvey Cushing. GALZY, JEANNE. George Sand. VACHELL, H. A. Methuselah's Diary. GILBRETH, F. B., and CAREY, E. B. Belles on VAN DOREN, C. Jane Mecom. Their Toes. WEBSTER, N.H. Spacious Days. GOULD, R. E. Yankee Boyhood. WHITE, W. L. Bernard Baruch. GRYLLS, R. G. Trelawny. WONG, J. S. Fifth Chinese Daughter. GUNTHER, JoHN. Roosevelt in Retrospect.

Description and Travel BESTON, H., ed. White Pine and Blue Water. HUTTON, EDWARD. Rome (new ed.). CHAMBERLAIN, SAMUEL. Princeton in Spring. MANGIONE, JERRE. Reunion in Sicily. CHAMBERLAIN, SAMUEL. The Yale Scene. MUEHL, J. F. Interview with India. ETHERTON, P. T. Haunts of High Adventure. PAUL, E. H. Springtime in Paris. FARSON, NEGLEY. Last Chance in Africa. PUTNAM, G. P. Up in Our Country. FORBES, R. Islands in the Sun (West Indies). ROBERTS, C. E. M. And So to Rome. GRA YES, C. P. R. Italy Revisited. SCARFE, LAURENCE. Rome. HENREY, R. Matilda and the Chickens. SIEGFRIED, ANDRE. Switzerland. HEYERDAHL, THoR. The Kon-Tiki Expedition. SITWELL, SACHEVERELL. Spain. HURLEY, FRANK. Shackleton's Argonauts. THORNHILL, M. Explorer's England.

Fiction CADELL, E. Brimstone in the Garden. GIBBS, Sir PHILIP. Thine Enemy. COOKE, R. C. Brass Farthing. GUARESCHI, G. The Little World of Don Ca- CRONIN, A. J. The Spanish Gardener. millo. DUFFUS, R. L. Non-Scheduled Flight. HAHN, EMILY. Purple Passage. DU MAURIER, ANGELA. Reveille. HARWOOD, ALICE. Merchant of the Ruby. ELVIN, HAROLD. The Story at Canons. HENRIQUES, R. D. Q. Too Little Love. ERTZ, SusAN. The Prodigal Heart. HEYER, GEORGETTE. The Grand Sophy. G£BLER, ERNEST. The Plymouth Adventure. HODGINS, ERic. Blandings' Way. LANE, JANE. Fortress in the Forth. PAYNE, RoBERT. The Great Mogul. LINKLATER, ERic. Mr. Byculla. SARTON, MAY. Shadow of a Man. MACAULAY, RosE. The World My Wilderness. SHUTE, NEVIL. The Legacy. MENEN, AuBREY. The Backward Bride. SINCLAIR, UPTON. Another Pamela. MILNE, A. A. A Table near the Band. THIRKELL, ANGELA. County Chronicle. NATHAN, RoBERT. The Married Look. WALTARI, MIKA. The Adventurer. O'FLAHERTY, LIAM. Two Lovely Beasts. WILLIAMS, B. A. Owen Glen.

General Literature ANDREWS, K. R. Nook Farm. LASKI, MARGHANITA. Mrs. Ewing, Mrs. 11oles- BAUDELAIRE, C. My Heart Laid Bare. worth and Mrs. Hodgson Burnett. BOWEN, ELIZABETH. Collected Impressions. LAVRIN, JANKO. Ibsen. BROWN, IvoR. Having the Last Word. McCORD, D. T. W. A Star by Day. CAPOTE, TRUMAN. Local Color. PROUST, MARCEL. Pleasures and Regrets. HUXLEY, ALDOUS. Themes and Variations. SKINNER, C. 0. Nuts in May. JAMESON, S. The Writer's Situation. TRILLING, LIONEL. The Liberal Imagination. KEYES, F. P. The Cost of a Best Seller. WHITE, T. H. The Age of Scandal.

History and Politics ALLEN, R. S., and SHANNON, W. V. The Tru- McCUNE, G. M ., and GREY, A. L. Korea Today. man Merry-Go-Round. NEHRU, J. Visit to America. BACKER, GEORGE. The Deadly Parallel. OLIVER, R. T. Why War Came in Korea. CAM, H. M. England before Elizabeth. P ADOVER, S. K. and I. R. France; Setting or CARR, A. Z. Truman, Stalin, and Peace. Rising Sun. CARR, E. H. Studies in Revolution. PETRIE, Sir C. The Jacobite Movement (Vol. 2). CARTER, HooDING. Southern Legacy. REISCHAUER, E. 0. The United States and Ja- CLAY, L. D. Germany and the Fight for Free- pan. dom. RENIER, G. J. History; Its Purpose and Method. COOKE, ALISTAIR. A Generation on Trial. SEABURY, SAMUEL. The New Federalism. DEAN, V. M. Europe and the United States. SETTEL, A., ed. This Is Germany. ESTORICK, ERIC. Changing Empire. STEINBERG, J., ed. Verdict of Three Decades. EYCK, E. Bismarck and the German Empire. TAFT,. C. P. Democracy in Politics and Eco- HALL, D. G. E. Burma. nomiCS. HANAY AMA, S. The Way of Deliverance. TAYLOR, A. J. P. From Napoleon to Stalin. HOLBROOK, S. H. The Yankee Exodus. TOYNBEE, A. J. War and Civilization. LOCKHART, Sir R. H. B. The Marines Were WINSTED, Sir R. 0. The Malays. There. ZACHARIAS, E. M ., and FARAGO, L. Behind LoWENTHAL, F. News from Soviet Germany. Closed Doors.

Miscellany ARDLEY, GAVIN. Aquinas and Kant. PITTENGER, W. M. The Historic Faith and a CAREY, M. C. Wild Flowers at a Glance. Changing World. HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM. The PURCELL, W. E. Five Minutes to Twelve. Catholic Church and Politics. RAISTRICK, A. Quakers in Science and Indus- HERSEY, JEAN. Garden in Your Window. try. JOHNSON, H. E. Symphony Hall, Boston. REDDING, J. S. They Came in Chains. LOCKRIDGE, F. and R. Cats and People. SCHUSTER, Sir C. Postscript to Adventure. O'DONNELL, B. The Old Bailey and Its Trials. WILLIAM, J. H. Elephant Bill. PALMER, E. L. Fieldbook of Natural History. WOODBURY, G. The Story of a Stanley PEATilE , D. C. and N. A Cup of Sky. Steamer.

Mystery and Detective Stories BENTLEY, E. C. Elephant's Work. LORAC, E. C. R. And Then Put Out the Light. CARNAC, C. Upstairs and Downstairs. RINEHART, M. R. Episode of the Wandering COLES, MANNING. Dangerous by Nature. Knife. EBERHART, MIGNON. Hunt with the Hounds. STOUT, REx. In the Best Families. FORD, ELBUR. Poison in Pimlico. WENTWORTH, PATRICIA. Through the Wall.