The story begins with a
drowning, includes a fratricide, a sensational trial, and has no ending
yet. But let us start anyhow.
Prominent
book collector C. Fiske Harris and his wife are both recovering from illness in
1881. They decide to take a recuperative
canoe ride with their servant Hedges on Moosehead Lake in Maine. The canoe capsizes in rough water “and for a
time the Harrises clung to the craft.
Hedges heard Mrs. Harris say, ‘If Mr. Harris goes, I will go also.’ She succumbed first, however, and Harris
followed her.” Thus quoted from Roger
Stoddard’s authoritative essay, “C. Fiske Harris, Collector of American Poetry
and Plays” (1963).
This abrupt and tragic demise of a notable collector is
not yet on my mind as I prowl the aisles of the recent ABAA Book Show in
Pasadena, California. I am nearing the
end of my Saturday all-day scout, my eyes strained and the need for food
urgent. Serendipity comes into play as I
browse the booth of Holly Segar and Jeffrey Rovenpor of Caroliniana Books, Aiken,
South Carolina.
Propped up on a shelf in a sleeve is a modest looking
pamphlet, plain original wrappers, with a neat ownership signature on the cover. I almost miss it, but I don’t. Holly & Jeffrey’s description reads, in
part: “Index to American Poetry and Plays in the Collection of C. Fiske
Harris. Providence, RI: Printed for
Private Distribution, 1874. . . Finely printed pamphlet listing the major
American poetry and play collection belonging to C. Fiske Harris. The collection today resides at Brown
University. . . This copy with the ownership inscription to front wrapper of R.
A. Guild.”
