George Harper Donates Book Collection
From the Desk of a Book Collector
I am pleased that the last of my Irish Collection has found a home in the Georgia State Library. In the very beginning of my academic career, I discovered the excitement of collecting books. Having written my dissertation on William Blake and Thomas Taylor the Platonist, I concentrated on them. But soon I reached the limit on both, especially Taylor; so I gave both collections to the FSU Library and turned to William Butler Yeats, whose favorite poet was Blake. As a result of a gift, I was able to buy a very rare item which combined my interest in both: The Works of William Blake (1893), edited by E. J. Ellis and W.B. Yeats. So I was off and running, collecting not only works by and about Yeats, but also works of many Irish writers who had a special connection to him. Then the time came, as I should have known it would, to dispose of the collection I had assembled. I won’t go through the problems, and they are many, of dispersal, except to say that sometime last year after giving and selling the almost comprehensive collection of Yeats and some of his friends, I discovered that my library still contained several hundred Irish books. After talking with daughter Meg, Librarian Charlene Hurt, and Professor Bob Sattelmeyer, I elected to deposit them in the Georgia State University Library. Now that my Irish collection is all distributed, I offer the simple advice to collectors that books are far more exciting to assemble than to divide.
George M. Harper
Dr. Harper’s collection included several signed editions as well as other well know copies to the collection such as; The adventures of Seumas Beg by James Stephens, Later poems, Collected plays, and Echo at Coole and other poems by Austin Clarke and finally, Collected poems of Padraic Colum by Padraic Colum. Donations of books are highly valued and appreciated at Pullen Library. We would encourage you to contact Sarah Lindsey (404-651-1429) with any questions regarding items you would like to donate.
*Author ID: 31 Author name: Doug*