Welcome home little book!

This blog was researched and written by Fiona Schroeder, Library Assistant

In December, the library team were excited to receive a parcel from All Booked Up in Louisville, Kentucky. It contained a slim, plain blue volume titled Travels to the west of the Alleghany mountains (1805). So far, so unassuming. But this book has a remarkable history. It once belonged to the Devon and Exeter Institution: for 150 years, it sat in our inner library; then, it was sold off. It might have been lost to us forever, if not for a chance discovery online. Now, happily, it has returned to its rightful home. 

March’s blog uncovers the story of this book, which, in many ways, is bound up with the story of the library itself. From its purchase more than 200 years ago, to its sale, and its eventual repurchase, the movement of Travels in and out of the library shows how our approach to the DEI’s collections has changed over time. 

Purchase

Travels to the west of the Alleghany mountains was written by French botanist François André Michaux, and describes his journey through Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee in 1802. The Committee Minutes from the first years of the Institution often mention particular titles being recommended for purchase by the Book Committee, or donated by proprietors, but there is no direct reference to Travels. However, it is listed in the earliest catalogue of the library, so we must assume that it was among the books acquired when the library was first furnished. 

The DEI was founded in August 1813, and by October had opened a temporary reading room off the High Street. Meanwhile, a special committee began to make lists of books to purchase for the library at No. 7 Cathedral Close. In November, the Book Committee reported that they had completed their task, making “a selection of such as they thought most immediately & essentially necessary”. Over the next eighteen months, the bulk of the library’s books were ordered from two booksellers, Mr. Upham and Mr. Bradford. By June 1815, the Institution had spent £1304, 8 shillings, 7 pence on books. 

The personal tastes of the Book Committee played a key role in shaping the collections in the library. Many proprietors who served on the committee in its first years (like Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Mr. Kendall, Dr. Miller, and the Rev. Dr. Carpenter) also donated books. The Exeter Flying Post printed lists of the books held in the temporary reading room between October 1813 and January 1814, as well as those donated to the Institution during this period. This overview of the initial collection, which included several travelogues, reveals which subjects were favoured by these men. Travel was a popular leisure pursuit of the wealthier classes at this time, and the Grand Tour was still an essential part of a gentleman’s education. Many proprietors travelled widely, and some even presented souvenirs from their voyages to the DEI’s museum (early donations include a stuffed penguin, a traditional Tahitian costume, and a mummy). At the same time, more men of all classes were becoming involved with projects of exploration, commercial enterprise, diplomacy, and military conquest associated with British imperialism. It is likely, therefore, that the travel narratives in the library were not just kept for light reading, but provided a wealth of vital information for members.

Sale

Michaux’s Travels remained in the DEI library throughout the nineteenth century, and was listed in the 1899 catalogue under the classmark G 31.8. As the twentieth century progressed, the Institution faced many challenges in maintaining its collections. The Library Committee Minutes (1933-1973) describe books falling into disrepair, being lost, and occasionally stolen. No new catalogue or shelf list was made after 1899, and books were frequently misplaced. In 1933, the incoming librarian felt she must “draw the Committee’s attention to the state of the library … as books appear to be missing in such numbers that without such notice as this future librarians may think the condition of the library due to her neglect”. However, Michaux’s Travels did not fall victim to this general disorder. The Devon and Exeter Institution stamp at the front and back has ‘cancelled’ imprinted across it, suggesting that the book was intentionally de-accessioned.  

By the 1960s, the most pressing issues for the library were the lack of space and funds. The Library Committee Minutes between 1961 and 1968 are sparse, so we have no clear picture of the measures taken to tackle these problems. We do know that a number of books were sold during this period: an annotated list of books suggested for sale, circa 1966, is preserved in the DEI archive, and many of the books on it are from the Voyages & Travels section. However, Michaux’s Travels is not among them.

At their meeting in July 1968, the Library Committee suggested that the books sold in 1967 should be marked off in the catalogue, and that a card index of the collection should be made. This card index was completed 1969-72, the old shelf list being marked off as the cataloguing progressed, and any gaps noted. The cataloguers, Miss Guy and Mrs. Rees, told the committee that, though they had discovered “one or two items of considerable interest, the collection as a whole does not seem to contain much of great value.” The local newspapers, they acknowledged to be unique, and the Devon Collection useful – though nothing compared with the City and County Libraries. 

So when, amidst all these developments, did Michaux’s Travels leave the DEI? It has proved impossible to find an exact answer to this question. The pencil annotations on the 1899 shelf list – which most likely represent titles being checked off as the card index was created – show that it was absent from the collection by 1972. However, it was not among the books sold at Sotheby’s auction house in 1967, which are marked in blue pen. It seems, then, to have been sold sometime before 1967 – probably in the early 1960s.    

Repurchase 

In the autumn of 1972, Sheila Stirling became librarian of the Institution. This was a pivotal moment in the history of the library, as Stirling was the first to implement a clear collections policy. In her initial report to the Library Committee, she wrote: “some problems, such as lack of space and money, are shared by all librarians, others such as inflexible and shallow shelving are peculiarly ours.” With the aim of making the library more suited to the needs of its members, Stirling completely reorganised the collections. All materials relating to the South West were gathered in the inner library, and the bound volumes of newspapers moved to the ground floor. The outer library housed the remaining books, which she considered “part and parcel of the Institution”. To make space for moving books into more convenient sequences, some less-used material from the outer and inner libraries was sold – though these sales are well documented. Stirling’s approach was very different to our current collections policy. However, her overall aim was to make the library more useful and more accessible to a wider range of people, and this is something we are still striving for.

We cannot know for certain what happened to our copy of Travels to the west of the Alleghany mountains after it was sold. At some point, it crossed the Atlantic. A label stuck to the front pastedown tells us that it was once offered for sale at the price of $22.50 – presumably by an antiquarian book dealer. Finally, and rather fittingly, this little volume did, itself, end up west of the Allegheny mountains, in Louisville, Kentucky. 

The library team periodically check online booksellers for items which have come from the Devon and Exeter Institution. While a few are available, most are far beyond our purchasing power. For instance, our copy of Henry Meredith’s An Account of the Gold Coast of Africa with A Brief History of the African Company (1812) – bought when the DEI was first founded, and sold for £48 at Sotheby’s in 1967 – is currently listed on abebooks.com for a whopping £1,400. Fortunately, Michaux’s Travels was just within our budget. 

The decision to buy back this book reflects our current approach to the heritage collections at the DEI, which focuses on keeping the collection intact. This is because we have come to understand its value in more holistic terms. There is a growing interest in the material history of the library, and researchers are beginning to make greater use of our archive. Our Collections Review – now almost completed – has identified the most important items in our library, and also gaps in the heritage collections. Occasionally, we are able to acquire a book which fills a gap, and so Travels to the west of the Alleghany mountains has returned to the DEI. Welcome home little book!