HOW TO GO:
What: “Imprints and Impressions: Milestones in Human Progress” featuring first editions, manuscripts, galley proofs, papyri and illustrations from the Stuart Rose collection spanning the scholarly spectrum from philosophy to physics.
When: Through Nov. 9.
Where: The Roesch Library first-floor gallery on the University of Dayton campus.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Between Oct. 9-11, during the school’s midterm break, hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free.
Parking and Parking Pass: See https://www.udayton.edu/libraries/contact_us/directions.php
Also: Collector Stuart Rose will be speaking at the exhibit’s closing event at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9 at UD’s Roesch Library. His topic will be: “Filling in the Gaps: Remarks from the Collector.”
For more information on the exhibit, including a book listing and a calendar of related events, visit http://go.udayton.edu/rarebooks.
VIDEO: To hear collector Stuart Rose talk about his collection, see MyDaytonDailyNews.com
"I worry about the fact that kids don't like to read and have so many distractions these days. Reading isn't as popular, there are so many other things for young people to do. But Dayton should be proud. I've never seen more appreciation of books than here at the University of Dayton." — Stuart Rose, rare book collector
A local businessman who has assembled one of the world’s most eclectic rare book collections is generously sharing his treasures with the University of Dayton community and with folks throughout the Miami Valley.
The exhibition, “Imprints and Impressions: Milestones in Human Progress,” is currently on display at the University of Dayton’s Roesch Library, and will be open to the public through Nov. 9 . Springboro resident Stuart Rose’s 2,000 book collection includes first editions, manuscripts, galley proofs, papyri and illustrations on subjects ranging from science and philosophy to religion and fiction. Fifty of those special works are being exhibited at UD.
You’ll see an original typed draft of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” a first edition of Plato’s complete books in Greek, page proofs of the first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and a first edition of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species.”
You’ll view the first British and the first American edition of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” along with double signatures of S.I. Clemens and Mark Twain. There’s one of only five copies of the original boards of Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice,” a rare first edition of Copernicus’s “De Revolutionibus,” a Shakespeare Folio and one of only two known copies of the first edition of Galileo’s “Starry Messenger.”
“This is very cool!” said the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s conductor Neal Gittleman at the exhibit opening last Monday night as he gazed at the first edition of the full score of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. ‘It’s smaller than I thought it would be but it’s one of the standard sizes. Beethoven’s original manuscript would have been illegible —he was sloppy!”
Cindy Obringer, an engineer, had tears in her eyes when she looked the 1903 presentation copy of Marie Curie’s thesis — “Research into the Properties of Radioactive Substances.” That same year Curie received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
“I can’t believe I sleep every night within 10 miles of all of these great works!” Obringer exclaimed as she toured the show.
Author Nicholas Basbanes, Monday night’s keynote speaker, said the collection is full of benchmarks in the annals of Western civilization.
“They aren’t just books, they’re artifacts,” he said. “You’re looking at books that have been instrumental in changing the way people think and how they live. There is a materiality to this that is palpable; they bring you as close as you are likely to get to physically touching the creative process.”
Using the collection
Rose said many universities have been interested in his books, but none have found such innovative ways to make use of them.
The 50 books on display at UD were chosen from Rose’s massive library by a range of faculty members representing a variety of disciplines and will be integrated into the school’s first year curriculum. By the end of this academic year, all of UD’s incoming students will have read at least one of the influential works . Professors also helped with the online exhibit and are collaborating to offer co-curriculum programs; students and faculty worked together to produce the 100 page catalog.
“We wanted a selection of titles that would interest faculty and provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary conversation, and that also would challenge students to link aspects of their own lives, majors and careers to a broader world,” said UD’s Dean of Libraries, Kathleen Webb, who said faculty members “were like kids in a candy store” when they first saw Rose’s library. Visitors to the exhibit, she said, are “speechless.”
Rose, 59, said it has given him joy to see his books being used in such a positive and productive manner.
“I hope that the great accomplishments reflected in these books will motivate some of these bright, young students to make accomplishments of their own,” he said.
A Sunday Chat
We had the privilege of sitting with Stuart Rose in his library —surrounded by Cicero and Ernest Hemingway, Ben Franklin and Cervantes — and chatting with him about his amazing collection and how it came to be. Before we got started, Rose and his wife, Mimi, offered a quick tour of the two cozy libraries in which the precious books — most bound in calf — are housed in glass cases and arranged by subject matter. The rooms are both temperature and humidity-controlled.
Q. So why books?
A. Collecting books is unlike collecting others kinds of objects because I'm constantly learning —whether it's about medicine, or art or engineering or fiction. It's all so very interesting.
Q. What are your early memories of books and reading?
A. I grew up in New Orleans and I remember my mom taking me with her. She was a leader of a Great Books group. I remember reading "Red Badge of Courage." I love to read, but I don't read fast and — like most collectors and book dealers — I'm not a great reader. I'm actually better at math.
Q. What were you like as a child?
A. I was mostly into athletics and not that studious. I always collected things — coins, New Orleans Mardi Gras doublons, and baseball cards. Even then, I wanted to have more and the best. If collecting is in your blood you can't stop. I wouldn't say I'm an addict, but I would say I'm marginally addicted to collecting.
Q. Have you read many of the books in this room?
A. A collector never reads his books because he wants to preserve them. If I get a great literary book and want to read it, I'll order it and read it on my Nook or read the paperback.
Q. I'm surprised to see you handling your books without wearing gloves or washing your hands! And with a mug of coffee so close to them!
A. That's the advantage of owning them, they're mine. I never open them all the way, and I'm careful about cracking the binding. And a smudge on the dust jacket will make a book less desirable. I keep my books in rooms that are temperature and humidity controlled.
How it began
Q. When did you start collecting? What was the first rare book you bought?
A. I happened to walk into a book auction at Sotheby's in New York about 20 years ago. I gave them my credit card and got a paddle and waved it and bought a first edition of "Tarzan." I probably paid under $1,000 for it which is not considered expensive in the rare book world.
Q. How did you decide what kinds of books you wanted to collect?
A. Well, for me it has to be a great title. Some people collect every type of aircraft book, or gardening books. I collect the books everyone has heard of, books that have changed or entertained the world.
Q. What makes a book rare?
A. Well, the condition is very important and the number printed. We want the condition to be closest to the way the author wanted his books presented to publish. In most cases the rarest form of of books are in wrappers or original boards before final binding by the owner. A signed edition is more valuable and a presentation copy is even more valuable.
Q. What is a presentation copy?
A. It's a signed copy with a personal note in it. This edition of "Winnie-the-Pooh", for example, was signed by A.A. Milne for his wife and the book was also dedicated to her. And this copy of "Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was signed "with high admiration and regards" to George Eliot in December, 1859. If it is signed to someone who is also famous, it's even more valuable.
Q. What original manuscripts do you have in your collection?
A. Well, here is "The Valley of Fear," one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great Sherlock Holmes books, written in his own hand. And here is Jules Verne's handwritten original manuscript for the "Journey to the Center of Earth."
Q. Unbelievable! They look like my handwritten notes in my notebook! What's still on your wish list?
A. I'd like to have a Gutenberg Bible, I have one but it's missing all but one page. That means I have only one page.
Q. Have you ever bought a fake?
A. Twice. One of them was "Pinocchio." I found out that it was a fake from another dealer who came to visit. I told him his copy wasn't as beautiful as mine and he said that was true because mine wasn't real!
The good thing about book collecting is that dealers are honorable. They always stand behind their books. In this case, I got my money back.
Q. What will happen to this collection someday?
A. I'll probably divide it — donate some of the books and sell some of them. It would be ideal to have the collection in one place and keep it together, to have it somewhere where it would be loved and taken care of. A collection like this is a lot of work and needs to be preserved.
About the Author
