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1937.

FRENCH COLLECTION IS GIVEN TO LIBRARY

Original Editions of Works of Anatole France and Others Donated by Blumenthal

ALL IN FINE BINDINGS

Gift Will Help Study of Best Modern French Printing, Director Says

George Blumenthal, banker and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and of Mount Sinai Hospital, has presented to the New York Public Library a valuable collection of original editions of the works of Anatole France, André Gide, Paul Valéry, Pierre Loti, the Comtesse de Noailles, Lamartine and other French authors.
The books, all of which are in fine bindings by modern French craftsmen, have just been placed on special exhibition in Room 112 at the library, Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street.

Director Praises Donor
In announcing the gift, Dr. Harry Miller Lydenberg, director of the library, said:
"Mr. Blumenthal's generous gift greatly enriches our French collections and will make possible the study at first hand of the best in modern French printing and binding.  There can be few collections of the works of Anatole France to compare with it for completeness and quality, and the other authors whose books are included are well represented.
"Before Mr. Blumenthal's gift came, we had most, if not all, of the titles, but only in the regular editions, on poor paper, fast crumbling away.  It is gratifying to know that the works of Anatole France as they appeared during his lifetime will not be lost to us, for the Blumenthal copies, given library care, are as imperishable as the most skillful papermakers, printers and binders can make them."
The collection was formed by Mr. and Mrs. Blumenthal over a period of years.  They were able to obtain, for almost every one of the several hundred titles, numbered copies of the first editions printed on Japan, China, Holland or Whatman paper and issued in extremely limited numbers.

Inscribed by Authors
Many of the books are inscribed by the authors, and a number of them have letters or other manuscript material bound in.  In addition to the published volumes, there are a few manuscripts and corrected author's proofs of Anatole France.
The works of France are especially well represented, the collection containing nearly a complete group of the original editions of his books, beginning with his first publication, a study of Alfred de Vigny, 1868.  All the books by France in the Blumenthal gift are in full morocco bindings by Gruel.  Apart from the rarity of the editions, the bindings by René Kieffer, Pierre Legrain, Germaine de Léotard and Gruel give the collection unusual importance.  The exhibition will continue until Sept. 6.

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Times Wide World
MAKES BOOK GIFT
George Blumenthal

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