I recently found out that Marcia was a big fan of auctions, and when we moved into our building in 1909, she scoured the local auction rooms for furnishings for the building. She collected paintings, rugs and furniture to make the building feel like a warm and welcoming place for the members.
Over the past 12 years, I've continued the tradition of buying items for the building and collections from auctions. Recently, I made a great purchase, which I got for my favorite hammer price - insultingly low!
I got Sir William Osler, Bart. [Baronet] Brief Tributes to His Personality, Influence and Public Service (Baltimore, JHU Press, 1920; A Way of Life (Baltimore, Remington, 1928) and The Bibliography of the Writings of Sir William Osler, Minnie Wright Blogg (Baltimore, Privately Printed, 1921). Miss Blogg was the librarian at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Another book I won was Sir William Osler Memorial Number: Appreciations and Reminiscences (Montreal: Privately Published, 1926) 619 pages.
The memorial number is FILLED with dozens of photographs, many of which I'd not seen before. It was printed in a limited edition and the copy which I got is number 1424 of 1500.The book is more than 600 pages and there are numerous essays from each part of Osler's life, including the early years, Montreal, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Oxford.
Many of the essays are reminisces from old friends and colleagues. It has been fascinating looking through the book, and when I have the time, I will pick and choose the essays I want to read.
Hello Meg, It's nice to know that Marcia was a fellow "junk" collector, and from your reports and the appearance of the building, she did pretty well. But imagine what you and I could have accomplished in those days, with our tastes, and considering the stuff that was regularly coming up for sale then!
ReplyDelete--Jim