Brown University Library News

By: Cameron Lee
Posted: 2/4/08
A first edition copy of “The Great Gatsby” inscribed with a note from F. Scott Fitzgerald to T.S. Eliot was one of three rare books donated to the John Hay Library by Daniel Siegel ’57 in December. In addition to “Gatsby,” Siegel donated a copy of the first English edition of “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” by Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and “The Quadrupeds of North America” by naturalist John James Audubon.
Fitzgerald’s inscription in “The Great Gatsby” reads “For T.S. Elliot/Greatest of Living Poets/ from his entheusiastic/worshipper/F. Scott Fitzgerald/Paris Oct./ 1925.” indicating not only that Fitzgerald was a poor speller, but also that he thought highly of Eliot, said Sam Streit, director of special collections at the John Hay Library.
“The fact that Fitzgerald, who was no slouch of an author in his own right, would be in such praise of Eliot is part of what makes (the inscription) important,” Streit said.
Eliot also made notes along the margins of the book, remarking on Fitzgerald’s word choices and writing his own choices. Eliot may have been making notes on the book’s possible future for a British audience, Streit said.
“I believe there was some talk at that point of there being an English edition of ‘The Great Gatsby’ . . . (so the notes are) probably a commentary on Eliot’s view of American English,” Streit said. But Streit also said he wasn’t sure of the notes’ meaning, since they are “a little hard to decipher.”
The copy of “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” – British intellectual Frank Ramsey’s personal copy – contains notes in English by Wittgenstein himself, Streit said.
While the copy of “The Quadrupeds of North America” does not contain any notes, it is distinctive because it’s still in an original paper wrapper. Works like “Quadrupeds” would come in digest format, so most readers would usually remove the wrappers and bind their combined digests, Streit said. The John Hay Library already houses a large Audubon collection, Streit said, so the gift was especially fitting for the library.
Siegel, the owner of Wayland Square’s M & S Rare Books, said he donated the books from his private collection in part to encourage others to donate their own books. He said that by donating books in three different subjects he hoped to “show different areas where people could donate their own books.” Siegel is also a former member of a board of directors of a group that acquires rare books and manuscripts for Brown’s library system.
Fifteen years ago, Siegel began donating books from his estate to Brown, starting with a manuscript of George Orwell’s “1984.”
“This year was another year to give some,” Siegel said. Siegel’s donation of the “1984” manuscript led others to donate their first editions of Orwell to Brown.
The library’s collection of rare books depends primarily on gifts like Siegel’s, Streit said. Though some of the books in the John Hay Library have their own endowments, tight budgets often make it difficult for the library to purchase these rare books. Streit said donations have come from many different sources. “A lot of our donors are alums, some are faculty, some are just people who live in the city or anywhere else,” he said.
Students taking of ENGL 0450: “Inventing America,” a first-year seminar from last semester that read “The Great Gatsby,” plan to view the donated copy of the book in March, Streit said.
As with all other books in the John Hay Library, the three donated books can be viewed by Brown students and members of the general public, though the books cannot leave the library.
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© Copyright 2008 Brown Daily Herald

The Brown University Library is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the Office of the Dean of the College to offer the second annual Undergraduate Research Awards. These awards recognize students who have undertaken projects that make extensive and creative use of library collections. Two winners will be selected from a pool of applicants. Recipients will be honored at a reception, where they will be asked to give a short presentation on their research and will be awarded a cash prize of $750.
“We hope to build on last year’s success and to encourage more students to apply this year,” said Harriette Hemmasi, Joukowsky Family University Librarian. “The Library plays a central role in connecting undergraduates with the books, journals, and web-based resources that they need to conduct their research. We know that students are busy with school and extracurricular commitments, but we hope that they will take a minute to submit applications and receive well-deserved recognition for their hard-work. Our staff is available to answer any questions that students may have. This is a wonderful resource for undergraduates and a great opportunity to highlight some of the impressive scholarship they produce.”
Applications must be submitted by 5:00 P.M.., February 15, 2008 and all materials should be submitted as a package. Applications may be submitted electronically to Library_Award@brown.edu. Winners will be announced on April 2, 2008. For more information visit: http://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/ugresearchaward.php.

Daniel Siegel ’57, proprietor of M& S Rare Books Inc., has donated three titles from his private collection to Brown University. The items include a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a first English language edition of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and John James Audubon’s The Quadrupeds of North America.

Each of the books includes details that add to their value and importance to scholars and researchers. The edition of Gatsby contains an inscription from the author to T.S. Eliot in which he writes “For T.S. Elliot [sic]/Greatest of Living Poets/ from his entheusiastic[sic]/worshipper/F. Scott Fitzgerald/Paris Oct./ 1925.” There are also notes in the margin, most probably from Eliot. The Wittgenstein features annotations and corrections in the text by the author himself. The Audubon, comprising some 155 color plates, is unusual in that it retains its original printed wrappers.

“Dan has done a wonderful thing for scholarship at Brown,” said Harriette Hemmasi, Joukowsky Family University Librarian. “We are indebted to him for giving so generously from his personal collection. Beyond their obvious historical and scholarly value, the little details in these books are a large part of what makes them so special. For instance, Fitzgerald was a notoriously bad speller as evidenced by the errors in his note to Eliot where he even misspells the author’s name. This helps to humanize authors in ways that are not immediately apparent in their written work, giving us a richer understanding of them as artists, thinkers, and individuals. I am confident that each of these works will contribute meaningfully to research and writing here on campus.”

“I was very pleased that five years after I gave to Brown the extant original manuscript of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Dan and Kathy Leab gave their fine collection of first editions of Orwell to Brown,” Mr. Siegel commented. “This sort of synergy is the plea and the wish of all donors, and I hope that my present gifts, representing three entirely different areas of book collecting, will have a similar affect in the next few years.”

A long-time supporter of the Library, Mr. Siegel contributed to the renovation of the John Hay Library in 1979, underwrote the publication of a guide to Special Collections at Brown in 1988, and donated the manuscript of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four to the Library in 1992. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Library for over a decade, serving as the organization’s first chairman of the Acquisitions Committee. In addition to his philanthropic work on behalf of Brown, Mr. Siegel owns and operates Providence-based M&S Rare Books and M&S Press, which specializes in new annotated editions of important works in American thought and reform, chiefly from the 19th century, and also published a limited edition facsimile of the manuscript of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Since 1938, Friends of the Library members have been advocates for the Brown University Library. The Friends of the Library acquire rare books and manuscripts for Brown’s collection, support web-based programming, and sponsor symposiums and discussions that bring a diverse group of journalists, academics, scientists, artists, and specialists to campus.

For more information visit:http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/friends/index.html.
Image: Daniel Siegel ’57