Darwin's Library

 

READ WHAT DARWIN READ
     I have presented other "private libraries", but this one is different, in that you can actually read the works in it, from the comfort of you own. Simply visit, Darwin Online. 
   The two libraries associated with Darwin, the one at Down House, his home in Downe, and the other at Cambridge, hold only a very small percentage of the books he read over his lifetime. In 1875, Darwin composed a "Catalogue of the Library of Charles Darwin", but many of the items listed on the 426 pages had been lost. Over 18 years, scholars have tracked down everything he read. "Darwin Online" now provides access to thousands of volumes and there are virtual links to over 9,000 of them. The leader of the project notes that:
“This unprecedentedly detailed view of Darwin’s complete library allows one to appreciate more than ever that he was not an isolated figure working alone but an expert of his time building on the sophisticated science and studies and other knowledge of thousands of people. Indeed, the size and range of works in the library makes manifest the extraordinary extent of Darwin’s research into the work of others.”
   This 'new' Darwin library contains novels and philosophical works as well as books in languages other than English. It even contains the works he had with him on the Beagle. See, "Charles Darwin's Beagle Library."
   As an example of the exotica to be found, here is one from Audubon taken from the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. It relates to buzzards, but it is so interesting, I have included the link. 
Audubon, John James. 1826. "Account of the habits of the Turkey Buzzard (Vultura aura), particularly with the view of exploding the opinion generally entertained of its extraordinary power of smelling." Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal 2 (October-December): 172-184.

Sources: 
   Darwin Online is all that most of you will need and here is a press release about it from the National University of Singapore. 
   See also: "Researchers Reveal Lost Library of Charles Darwin For the First Time,"Ashley Strickland, CNN, Feb. 11, 2024 or "Contents of Charles Darwin's Entire Personal Library Revealed For First Time" by Mark Brown, The Guardian, Feb. 11, 2024.
   You can visit Darwin's home in Downe, Kent where there is soon to be a Halloween Celebration. 

Post Script: Private Libraries

  Since Mulcahy's Miscellany has no index, here are some of the other posts related to personal/private libraries, as opposed to, say libraries with people's names on them.

   You could start with "The Old Card Catalogue" which provides the catalogues of several private libraries.
Jefferson's Library

Stalin's Library

Mark Twain and Libraries
Oscar's Library
Library Furniture (the library at Althorp in Northamptonshire.)

Edward Gorey's Library
Professor Macksey's Library 
Professor Macksey's Library (Again)
The Talented Mr. Towles  (Amor Towle's Library)
Boys With Books (The libraries of Norman Mailer and Colin Wilson.)

Fine Books in Bismarck, North Dakota

 

   Mr. William A. Strutz passed away early this year. He was an attorney and a collector of fine books. A few of the items from his collection of 15,000 are pictured above. His rationale for buying so many, was simple: "I'm a reader."
  This important collection is being auctioned and bibliophiles will be interested. I will provide the details here since it is not too late to get out your wallet. [Note in the small print above that the opening bid for these items are all in six figures.]

   "One of the Finest Private Libraries in America, Assembled By William A. Strutz, To Be Offered at Heritage Beginning June 27: Auction includes only privately owned copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in original pink boards, as well as spectacular inscribed copies of The Great Gatsby and The Hobbit, among other important books and manuscripts." 

William Strutz’s library consists of over some 15,000 books — the result of a “lifelong labor,” the attorney’s hometown newspaper, The Bismarck Tribune, once noted. He began collecting books in college in the late 1950s, on subjects ranging from astronomy to psychology, religion to law, philosophy to history. Soon after he began to focus on books of great literary significance, in superb original condition, and with important provenance. This accounts for the profusion of presentation and association copies found in his library, many of which are of great rarity.
   But Strutz wanted more than just a copy of the book itself. He sought out copies held by — touched by, gifted by, loved by — their authors. He wanted books presented from one notable to another. As result, Strutz assembled “one of the most important collections of English and American literature that has come on the market in decades,” says Francis Wahlgren, Heritage Auctions’ International Director of Rare Books & Manuscripts.
   The attorney’s lifelong labor makes its auction debut on June 27 as Important English and American Literature: The William A. Strutz Library, Part I, Rare Books Signature® Auction. More than 225 books, letters and manuscripts from Strutz’s collection are offered in this inaugural event, which is now open for bidding. This auction event includes some of the greatest works of English and American literature from the 16th to 20th centuries. Heritage will then offer selections from Strutz’s coveted collection over a series of auctions throughout this year and next.

“The collection is probably one of the few remaining great private libraries in America, formed over six decades,” says Wahlgren. “Sixty years of collecting is not frequently seen anymore, especially with his focus on depth and quality. Some of these books are so rare they’re likely never to be obtainable — or seen outside an institution — again. He was extraordinarily well-read — Strutz famously cited quotes from his vast collection during trials — and his books reflect that.”

For additional details see the auction website and: "One of the Finest Private Libraries in America" to Auction," Fine Books and Collections, May 23, 2024.

The Bonus:

For an earlier Western auction of books related to natural history in MM, see Sotheby's.