Do you enjoy detective stories? Have you ever wanted to be a sleuth yourself? I can answer both questions with “yes”. Growing up I listened to quite a lot of audio books, mostly Three Investigators, Famous Five and TKKG. And of course I would go out and play sleuth myself. This fascination with finding things out, with researching and discovering clues led to working as a journalist for many years, writing all sorts of reviews, features and columns regarding computer software and technology. And to this day I research anything that sparks my interest. I have come across many interesting discoveries over the years but none quite compare to my latest.
In July 2008 I purchased an antique book titled “Aucassin and Nicolette” on eBay. It was not a deliberate purchase but rather one out of curiosity; I collect old books and frequently browse eBay to see if there is anything that sparks my interest and that I can get for a reasonable price. At that point I had never heard of this particular story and was interested in reading it as the listing described it as a poetic and romantic story from the 13th century. The seller also mentioned that it was made by the “Roycrofters” in Aurora, NY, as a limited edition, printed in 1899. I researched the publisher and learned that the owner, Elbert Hubbard, founded Roycroft Press (a business within the Roycrofters community) primarily to publish his own books (such as the “Little Journeys” series for which he could not find a publisher) but also created some very beautiful limited runs of various pieces of world literature (for example Heinrich Heine's “Book of Songs”). One of Hubbard's most enduring works is his essay “A Message to Garcia”. He was also a primary driving force behind the Arts and Craft movement of the early 20th century and founded the Roycroft community as part of this movement. Sadly, he perished together with his wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, aboard the RMS Lusitania in 1915, the British ocean liner sunk by a German U-Boot. You can read more about Hubbard and the Roycrofters here.
When I received the book I foremost admired it's craftsmanship and remarkable beauty. It is wrapped in very soft suede, embossed with the title characters on the cover, and has aged beautifully displaying an earthy green rub on the front and the back. The pages are printed on thick handmade paper which are stitched together and fastened with golden satin to the inside flaps. There are several hand illuminated initial letters which still look prestine, as if they were done yesterday. The book opens with the poem “Provencal Lovers” by Edmund Clarence Stedman, printed using green ink. Also, on the very first page is inscribed the name of the original owner, one Miss Josephine Harriott. And as I browsed through the pages a small card fell out, handwritten and signed by one Miss Clara Morris Harriott. I concluded that this book was a gift of the latter to her close relative but did not really read the card but rather stuck it back inside. As I was rather busy at work back then I decided to hold off on reading the story until I had sufficient time to appreciate it.
More time went by than I anticipated and the book remained in my nightstand for several months until I finally got around to read it, about a week ago. Naturally I did some research on it and found out that the story originated in France (orig. Aucassin et Nicolette). It is called a chante-fable or “sung story”, a combination of prose and song. This is clearly evident in the book as the prose is introduced via “Then speak they, say they, tell they the Tale:” while the songs, which immediately follow the prose parts, are indicated by “Here singeth one”. The author of the story is unknown and it is the only surviving chantfable despite the fact that it once was a rather popular literary tradition. “Aucassin and Nicolette” is considered a piece of romantic adventure (today's The Princess Bride comes to mind). Wikipedia summarizes it as following:
The major characters are Garin, Count of Beaucaire, his son Aucassin, and Nicolette, a Saracen slave girl. Aucassin and Nicolette desperately want to marry, but Garin forbids it and imprisons the lovers, though they both eventually escape. After many romantic and occasionally farcical adventures, the young lovers are wed. Nicolette is revealed to be a Saracen princess of the noblest ancestry.
Many incidents in the story are clearly meant to be humorous, such as an encounter with a pregnant king, though there are occasional serious passages. At one point Aucassin participates in a ridiculous "war" in Torelore, which is fought with rotten crabapples, cheese, eggs, and mushrooms. On the other hand, Nicolette frequently faces real danger in the search for her lover. Perhaps comedy and seriousness merge most notably in Aucassin's speech that he would prefer hell to heaven because hell's inmates are likely to be more entertaining.
I very much enjoyed the story, I really felt transported to a time of chivalry and adventure, especially considering that it was written at exactly that time in history, probably by a minstrel who performed his work at various courts. As I read the story history came alive. It was all the more enchanting reading it in traditional verse - the Roycrofter's version uses Andrew Lang's translation from 1887 which apparently is very close to the French original in its poetical structure. I highly recommend reading his version, though caution that one must be familiar with Shakespearean style English (Early Modern English) as it can otherwise become rather confusing.
After I finished reading the book I remembered the little card again which I had kept tucked away in the front. I pulled it out and tried to decipher the handwriting, which wasn't too difficult. The note reads:
Dear Phine,
Thank you so much for your pretty art and gift and the mistletoe too. I am thankful to hear that brother Sam is doing so well – that's the best gift of all – keep him out in the good sweet blessed air. May you all enjoy your trip.
My health is pretty bad – I never get one whole week without a break down of some sort!
Love and thanks dear and a Happy New Year to you allClara
There is also some printed text: Clara Morris Harriott, The Pines, Riverdale.
I figured I search the Internet to see if there is maybe any indication of who this Clara Morris Harriott may have been. I didn't expect any results, after all this was a long time ago, the book was printed 1899 so I assumed the New Year mentioned may be 1900, and there would probably be no public records or articles anywhere. But I am a sleuth and I had to give it a try.
Lo and behold, there are articles. And more. It turned out Clara Morris Harriott was a famous actress in the late 1800s! I verified every detail, of which I had sufficient thanks to her little card. Yes, it was exactly this Clara – her husband Frederick (Fred), his sister Josephine (Phine) and his brother Samuel (Sam), Clara's failing health, her residence at The Pines in Riverdale, NY, it was all right here. And so I went on to read about her life and struggle, her rise to fame, and eventual diminish, the books she's written and her old age in poverty. And suddenly the already special book I purchased out of curiosity became a treasure that I would not want to miss anymore. It is now one of my most prized possessions on my bookshelf. One additional bit makes it all the more fascinating and that is that Oscar Wilde saw her on stage and proclaimed: "Miss Morris is the greatest actress I ever saw, if it be fair to form an opinion of her from her rendition of this one role. ... We have no such powerfully intense actress in England. She is a great artist, in my sense of the word, because all she does, all she says, in the manner of the doing and of the saying constantly evokes the imagination to supplement it. That is what I mean by genius. We have no one like her." Oscar Wilde is one of my wife's favorite writers!
If you like to learn more about Clara Morris Harriott as well as see pictures of her please have a look at this very encompassing biography. There is also a recount of her meeting John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin.
We may forget, but paper doesn't. Keep this in mind, especially in this evermore virtual world of ours. eBooks cannot be signed, dedicated, special, limited or ever contain such special little mementos.
I've also posted a follow-up titled "The curious case of a little of book - Part 2". You can read it here.
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What a lovely book. That really is incredible!
Thank you Rebecca. Discovering the story behind this book has reinforced for me to always expect the unexpected. I’ve found quite a few interesting books in local antique stores as well, I may post about them at some point.
That is amazing — and you got two stories from the one book! A great bit of detective work too. (I was a fan of The Three Investigators, always wanted a trailer clubhouse just like theirs!)
Thank you Kellie. Ah, and the trailer clubhouse, always thought it to be a great place to hang out in. I often imagined being the fourth detective on the team, they would have made great buddies (of note would be that in Germany the names were changed slightly to Justus Jonas and Peter Shaw. Only Bob remained the same). Thanks for sharing.
This story was utterly fascinating to my inner Nancy Drew and English major self! Bravo!
Wow! That is such great fortune!!! A beautiful book and an even more interesting background. Love that!
Thank you too Chrissy and Jessica, appreciate the nice comments.
Never thought much about buying old books, now you’ve got my brain working overtime, wondering what kinds of stories would I like to read–to collect. Especially for my daughter, who just informed me that she wants to start collecting books.
I used to collect books published in our time, but have since donated my collection to local libraries in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and South Dakota. I tend to go through “de-cluttering” stages where I downsize collections and “no longer interested in” items.
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Thank you Alyice, that comment made my day. I am happy to hear you are considering collecting books, and your daughter too. It’s definitely a worthwhile hobby and there are many interesting classic stories to find and they are all the more fascinating, I think, when they’re “originals”, published during the lifetime of the author. But also books published posthumous are great. There’s a certain feeling to, say, a collection of Shakespeare’s works published in the 1800s. I encourage you to look into it further.
I too occasional go through de-cluttering phases, throwing out “old stuff” I think I no longer need or that I am not interested in anymore… only to get back into it years later, thinking it’s so fascinating and then remembering that I used to have this or that — and then slapping myself for getting rid of it in the first place. I used to collect a series of miniature books as a child, published in my home town of Hannover, Germany, back in the 80s. They were all sorts of fiction stories, mostly Sci Fi. I really enjoyed them and always had one on me wherever I went. But when I “grew up” I got rid of them. Now I want them back!
That’s so amazing! I wish I knew enough to have a hobby like that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE history! How did you begin collecting antique books?
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Hi Becka. If you love history I am certain you will enjoy collecting old books. They are living history in themselves. Imagine finding an article or a book about a historic account, published right around the time it occurred! That’s better than any modern trade paperpack. Think too where the book(s) may have been before you got them, it can be quite an interesting journey.
As for how I began collecting antique books, I believe the seed was sown when I was a child. I always enjoyed sturdy old books, the feel and smell. I remember having an old collecting of Grimm’s fairy tales with all these really old looking illustrations. It was one of my favorite books as a child. Sadly, it disappeared at some point in my life, not sure what happened to it. But I believe this is what somehow influenced me. I also always liked antiques, I used to scavenge through my grandmother’s drawers and tried to find “old stuff” that she no longer needed, sometimes selling them to an antiques dealer down the street (literally down the street as in one block down). I was around 11 at that time. The store I sold them to is still around, still owned by the same gentleman (things change slowly in Germany). Then, a few years ago, I came across an old and tattered volume of Shakespeare’s complete works in one of the many antique shops in New England (we live close to Boston). The book kind of “talked” to me, plus it was inexpensive (a big plus, I am not into first editions, pristine collections, etc., just “old”) so I brought it home. After that I kept on looking for old books and have since purchased quite a few antique ones. My collection keeps growing.
i honestly can’t recall the path i took to get to this post, but i’m thrilled i did. what a wonderful story!! as a fellow lover of old books, i really admire all of the effort you undertook to find out so much about the book and its owner. it certainly proved to be rewarding!
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What a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing that.
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I’m closing my eyes and imagining the smell…
I have a small collection of my own, but what a treasure you have here! I’m coveting!
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One of the first things I do when I get an old book is smell it, there is just something to it, that smell of old leather (or cloth) and pages, hard to describe.
I’ll soon have a small follow-up to that story. I found some more interesting items, again on eBay. It’s quite amazing what one can find out there.
Thank you Jill for stopping by.
I actually went on ebay last night and bid on a set of 9 books, but was outbid. I actually found a few copies of Aucassin and Nicolette, but none so cool as yours!
You’ve got me hooked…I’m going back to see what I can find. Any hunting tips? I simply searched for antique books, is that all there is to it or do you get more specific?
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Hmm…“actually” must be my word for the day :)
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Actually, I do (admittedly I use that word a lot myself). I frequently search through the category Books > Antiquarian & Collectible. I then tend to go to “Printing Year” on the left and pick anything <1950, then maybe filter for something that interests me such as Edgar Allen Poe, Wadsworth Longfellow, Jules Verne, Dante Alighieri or just poetry. Then I sort by “ending soonest” and look at the results. When I find something interesting I just put it on watch and do some further research on Google. At times I find other sellers online that offer the same or different editions, maybe even with inscriptions. Then I compare my finds back and forth.
Also, make sure to look internationally, the British and French always have some splendid books on offer.
I am not sure how exactly I ended up with this particular copy of Aucassin and Nicolette but I do remember it was around the time when I was specifically looking for poetry books that I could include as props in my Lucian stories. I actually (see, here I go again) just purchased another version of Aucassin and Nicolette, specifically a copy of this one (but from a different seller). It has some very beautiful illustrations and a different translation.
Wow! Amazing! The book sound wonderful.
The added bonus the card.
I bought an old vintage letter in an Antique shop. After two years of having it I found out who the person was that
it was sent to. She lived to be 99yrs old and ate homemade applesauce everyday. She must have sent a letter to a man in the military to keep his spirits up. The man that sent the
letter was telling her about himself. A really fun letter.
God Bless You and Yours!!!
Thank you for sharing your story Flassie, reading about your find and subsequent discoveries instantly sparked my imagination. It also reminded me of how as a child me and my friend found a box of old letters, postcards and documents from the late 1800s in an empty lot of our house’s attic (think old Parisian style apartment building). Amongst those documents I found a school certificate from around 1870 with the royal seal of the House of Hanover (Kingdom of Hanover, Germany). I thought it was the “coolest thing ever” (I must’ve been 10 or 11). I kept it well protected to this day amongst my belongings in Germany. Thanks you again for your fascinating story.