Remember these reference books? And antiques

[Chuck]

Purging my reference book collection in anticipation of moving, and thought you guys might like to take a stroll down memory lane.

You likely have some of these books from your younger days. Some predate even [name redacted LOL] and are over 100 years old.

[58chevy]

Nice library! It brings back lots of memories. I have some of those books, including the century-old ones, but not all. I hope you will hang onto them instead of diposing of them when you move.

[Chuck]

Nice library! It brings back lots of memories. I have some of those books, including the century-old ones, but not all. I hope you will hang onto them instead of diposing of them when you move.

Nope. These I don’t use. Believe me I’m keeping enough books. 3/4 of my collection is going as well.

[livingplanet3]

I actually do have that Yasuda/Okajima "Beetles of the World" book, although mine is a later printing. It has no English text whatsoever, but the hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations are superb. As for the rest of the books shown, I don't personally have any of those, but I'm certainly familiar with many of them.

[Trehopr1]

Are you donating these books somewhere?
Do you have a buyer for the whole lot?
If someone is interested in a few select titles would you
entertain sending them to an interested party if postage is paid ?

[Chuck]

Are you donating these books somewhere?
Do you have a buyer for the whole lot?
If someone is interested in a few select titles would you
entertain sending them to an interested party if postage is paid ?

Perhaps not surprisingly (though it was to me at first) most institutions have ALL the books, as in every significant publication. I've even seen them pick up a collection, and leave D'Abrera and other books behind; I've seen stacks of early 1900s books with the staff waffling whether they should toss them because they have multiple copies.

My driver is to dispose of the books, all of these. I haven't asked Cornell, but I suspect they either have them, or aren't particularly interested. Certainly, I'd rather have them in the hands of one of our small number of members than Ebay. So if someone wants these I'd be happy to share them out, by photo or as an entire lot, for a nominal cost.

[daveuk]

Wonderful collection of books Chuck. Have a few of them on my own bookcases. Particularly loved the Phil DeVries book on Costa Rican butterflies. I have that one & the one he published on Costa Rican Riodinidae.

[58chevy]

Several years ago I downloaded a copy of "A Naturalist in Cannibal Land" & printed it out. I read part of it (captivating narrative), then loaned it to someone else. Thanks for reminding me to get it back.

[JVCalhoun]

Chuck touched on a very important topic: what to do with a personal library when the time comes. I've attempted to build the most complete library of books on North American butterflies, and it currently totals over 1500 works, dating back to the 18th century. The images below show a portion of the collection. I tremble in my boots every time a hurricane is brewing near Florida!

Although the library is earmarked to go to a particular institution, I'm afraid they won't want some of them -- even those that are rarer -- if they already have copies. I maintain a detailed spreadsheet of every book I've ever purchased, including cost. This would hopefully make it easier for my wife in the event that I go unexpectedly.

Our kids look at it and just shake their heads...

[Chuck]

Wow John, that is impressive.

As I've grown older, the previous generation is aging out (and dying). Many of them were obsessive collectors (of not just bugs, or books, but whatever their fancy was) who built collections that exceeded the scope of most or all museums, and could not be replicated today. I've watched multi-million dollar collections parted out; while that's the seed for younger collector's it's a shame that such an aggregation isn't kept together.

I often thought it horrible that the British rich landowners would pass everything to the oldest son. But it was explained to me that that is the only way to keep the estate and contents together for future generations. When I see (usually on TV) the massive libraries, collections of art and armor, etc., it makes me question the "reboot" approach in USA whereby an estate is divided up, and disappears. The latter, BTW, was intentional from the formation of USA so that no person, no family, would become too powerful.

John- do you need any of the books I pictured? Probably not, but better to ask.

In moving to FL, downsizing is one driver, but so is loss of what I consider to be a scientifically significant collection. The threat of total loss is too much for me to risk. I have two weeks till Cornell shows up and takes a lot away. Will I feel like Nabokov who soon regretted disposing of his hard-earned reference collection?

[JVCalhoun]

I've watched multi-million dollar collections parted out; while that's the seed for younger collector's it's a shame that such an aggregation isn't kept together.

Yes, old book collections are sometimes passed down, but that tradition is all but gone in this country. Today, it's pretty much limited to European estates that stay within families. My children (now in their 30s and 40s) have no interest whatsoever in my books.

Thanks so much for asking if I needed any of the books in your photos. I do have them (in some cases, multiple copies), with the exception of a couple of the foreign works.

Over the years, I have tried to get signed copies when possible. When I was in college, I started sending copies to authors for their signatures, and they were always happy to accommodate my requests (when I sent return postage). Although they are not valuable books, my signed copies of Klots (1951) and Mitchell and Zim (1964) are among my most treasured (see below). I got signatures at meetings etc, all from folks who are now long passed. I have also managed to acquire old books that are signed, such as the second edition of Holland's Butterfly Book (1931), in which his shaky inscription is one of the last before his death two months later (see below).

It's too bad that many younger people don't feel the same way about old books. They just pull them up on Internet Archive or Biodiversity Heritage Library. It's just not the same as holding the original in your hands. Signed books were actually held by the authors. You just can't replicate that connection electronically.

[Chuck]

Yeah, the younger generation has lost interest in books. And coins, and stamps. And mom's glassware and silver...and of that china cabinet, Goodwill won't even take them.

Nice books John, thanks for sharing. You are indeed holding history in your hand.

[JVCalhoun]

Here are a few additional books in my library that are signed.

Sadly, Paul Opler, whom I knew quite well, passed away in 2023.

Brownie and I corresponded a number of times over the years. He passed in 1993.

The signature from J. W. Tilden is from his Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region (1965). His wife, Hazel, wrote that he signed it while recovering from a blood infection in the coronary care unit at Stanford Hospital. It gave him a much-needed "ego boost" to receive my request. He passed four years later.

[kevinkk]

Thanks for the thread. Ever go somewhere and wonder if it's a waste a time because you have more at home than there is at the store?
Things do change, and they're changing faster as each year goes by.
That is an impressive bookcase JV, and these things go unappreciated too often, no way is all that ever going to be in a database.

[Jshuey]

When I retired - exactly three months and 10 days ago, I decided to clean house. Largely because over half my literature was in the office, and now had to come home. So, decades of old journals went into the recycle bin - If it is online - I don't need it! And books, well I'm still dealing with these. About half have already been gifted or will soon be headed out - probably to a university where they can keep what they want, and give the remainder to students who are still amassing libraries. I'm thinking U of Illinois, in part because of their strong commitment to their collection. In the meantime, this is sitting on the back stairs of our house.

john

[Chuck]

When I retired - exactly three months and 10 days ago,

Congratulations! I didn't know. Now what?

Nice book collection. So you somewhat know how I feel. Clocks ticking, and if nobody wants them Cornell gets them, and they can do as see fit.

[Trehopr1]

JVCalhoun that is an absolutely "staggering" personal library of entomological knowledge. I have only met one other collector with a library similar to yours in size. Amazing fortitude and effort indeed...

[JVCalhoun]

JVCalhoun that is an absolutely "staggering" personal library of entomological knowledge

Thank you! My wife would also add that it took a lot of money to build my library, especially the rarer works (since retirement last year, I've been told in no uncertain terms that if I made any more expensive purchases to just keep driving the next time I went out into the field . . . message received!). I began to purchase books when I was in college, choosing them over other, more necessary expenses. John Shuey probably remembers that.

Once you start collecting books, it takes on a life of its own. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to purchase some of the older, rarer works. I sincerely hope that they all far outlive me, and I see myself as merely a caretaker during my brief period of ownership. Many sat unused in university libraries, or in the libraries of wealthy estate owners for most of their existence before reaching me.

Some of my books were previously owned by prominent figures, such as the French entomologists Jean B.A.D. de Boisduval and Achille Guenee, the American entomologists Alpheus Packard and Henry Skinner, and the wealthy Portuguese naturalist Antonio A. de Carvalho Monteiro, whose personal library numbered over 30,000 volumes (most of which was purchased by the US Library of Congress in the 1920s). More recent owners include the English author John Fowles (who wrote the disturbing horror classic The Collector), the English lepidopterist Lionel Higgins, and William S. Hart, Jr., who was the son of the American actor William S. Hart, the foremost star of westerns in the silent era.

Of course, the primary reason to have such a library is to support my own research, as well as that of others. For example, I often provide images for publication. Anyone who has a copy of Magadelena Mountain by Robert Michael Pyle may notice the image of Erebia magdalena on the title page and elsewhere in the book. That is from my copy of the third volume of W.H. Edwards' Butterflies of North America (1897) (see below). Other publications have reproduced images from books in my library, including Cramer and Stoll (1775-1791), Drury (1770-1782), and Smith and Abbot (1797). The resolution of these images is generally much greater than those found online.

These old books are certainly a valuable resource, and hopefully they will continue to serve as such far into the future.

[Chuck]

We need to keep Mr. Calhoun alive forever so that collection is always cared for and available. I'll go start an online donation.

[JVCalhoun]

We need to keep Mr. Calhoun alive forever

Ha! Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass. I don't think I'd want to see all the remaining natural areas be developed. I've seen enough of it that already, and more is disappearing every day.

[by the way, this is a duplicate message; I'm not sure how it happened]