LIBRARY NOTES
Gabriel Austin
Letter to the Library
Thursday, June 1, 1995
Dear Mr. Piel,
What a boon the Library has been. I first used the Library in 1971 to help in cataloging a collection of Riche family papers of the 17th century (mostly on the explorations and colonization of Bermuda). The Library had the Public Records Office papers which were great help, as well as older books of U.S. history to help in identifying persons and places. Justin Winsor's books come to mind. Many of these have become scarce for having been used to pulp in the larger libraries.
About five years ago, I was looking up Jefferson's letters to one of the promoters of lithographers in France - Lasteyrie - discovering that he had been made a member of the American Philosophy Society. I found their proceedings at the Library. A couple of months later, I had copies of all letters from the various libraries.
Just a year ago, I was checking on Sarah Bernhardt and the Paris of her time. For my own project (a list of French book sale catalogs), I have been pulling out significant happenings in Paris which might have affected the auctions -- not only revolutions but also floods, cold snaps, plagues, and such. To those who have not done precise work of this kind, it seems easy enough: "There must be something already written." Alas, it is not the case. The wonderful collection of memoirs in the New York Society Library is a great help.
For one who might wish to get a handle on what was really going on politically in Paris form the turn of the century to 1940, for example, Richard Hale's Democratic France is an excellent book. Hale knew many of the politicians and was aware of the rivalries. It is much like trying to explain to a foreigner just why the head of the Appropriations Committee is among the top five most powerful positions in U.S. politics.
The quick access to the shelves saves having to request three or four dozen books just to have a look. The 42nd Street Library (my alma mater) has become mired in technology and the too many demands of academics and their term-paper producing students. One might almost say, it attempts to have to much information and ends by losing the pertinent information.
Gabriel Austin
Bibliophile and book appraiser
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