A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence

Price: $15,000.00

Hardcover. A collection of 72 books and much related correspondence. Almost all of the books are Inscribed by their authors to Sylvester L. Vigilante, Head of the American History Room located in Room 300 at the New York Public Library, and where he apparently provided dozens of authors with invaluable research and support for their writing. Overall very good or better with some sunning and general wear including scattered chips, tears and rubbing, some lacking dust jackets.

Vigilante, who coauthored with his wife Edna Vigilante the nonfiction children's book, *We Were There at the Opening of the Erie Canal* (1958), had a superb depth of knowledge of American history, particularly of the frontier West, as is evidenced in the printed acknowledgments in books in this collection, as well as in the personalized inscriptions by the authors, and in the accompanying correspondence. Vigilante started at the NYPL in the early part of the last century (there exists a *New York Times* article from 1909 mentioning him as a young assistant who discovered a theft from the library), and retired more than 50 years later in the early 1960s. Apparently as much as he was appreciated for his research help, he was also cherished for his company and friendship: many of the letters urge him to visit, to dine, or to drink with the various authors. While he corresponded widely with authors nationwide, he apparently was at the center of the circle of Western authors who lived on the East Coast and haunted Room 300. He was chosen as the first "Sheriff" (or chairman) of the New York branch (or "Corral") of The Westerners, a nationwide group of Western history aficionados that still exists today.

The books, in many cases accompanied by letters, include a wide range of authors from Western novelists and historians to children’s book writers, folklorists, poets, and satirists. Among the more notable writers represented in this collection are Western author and screenwriter, Homer Croy; Newbery Award-winning children’s author Jean Lee Latham; playwright and African-American activist Shirley Graham [Du Bois]; *New Yorker* contributor and literary critic, Will Cuppy; novelist and biographer, Mari Sandoz; “the vagabond poet” Harry Kemp; folklorist Benjamin A. Botkins; and historian, Stewart H. Holbrook.

A very interesting and illuminating example of the utility of libraries and the importance of librarians in preserving documentation that fosters culture and which in turn is synthesized into the books that inform us. An extensive list is available upon request.


Item #384510

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Item #384510 A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence. Sylvester VIGILANTE.
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence
A Collection of Books Inscribed to Sylvester L. Vigilante with Related Correspondence