For the Love of Books
Feb 13th, 2018 by bachmann
Horatio Rogers Jr. (May 18, 1836 – November 12, 1904) committed his life to public service. A Civil War officer, lawyer, attorney general, and Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice, are among his accomplishments. Nonetheless, it was books and libraries that were his greatest love. He amassed some 4,000 volumes, tightly packed into his personal library.
As a colonel in the Union Army, Horatio Rogers, Jr., was respected and admired by those he served with during the conflict. After participating and witnessing the bloodshed at Gettysburg, he is quoted as saying, “Death seemed to be holding a carnival.” Upon his return to Rhode Island, he pursued a successful career as a lawyer and jurist, along the way seeking access to local private libraries and their hidden treasures. In 1878, he published this volume, “Private Libraries of Providence”, which provided descriptions of private libraries by some of Rhode Island’s most prominent citizens, including John Carter Brown’s library. His introductory essay, “On the Love of Books” traced notable bibliophiles in history, providing anecdotes about their passion for books and collecting, regardless of their social standing.
Thus do the extremes of society meet in appreciation of books. The lofty and the lowly are alike cheered by their presence, and solaced by their companionship. The conqueror will -not be separated from them, even in his victorious career ; and the simple artisan and the petty tradesman, after their humble labors, turn to them as to the sunlight of their existence. –Horatio Rogers Jr.
This volume also includes a presentation letter from Horatio Rogers to the Harvard College Librarian, Justin Winsor. In the letter, Rogers describes a promise he made 20 years prior to then Harvard Librarian, John Langdon Sibley, to provide a copy of his first book for the Harvard Library collections.
Edward Field, historian of Rhode Island, eulogized Rogers with the following:
He had that love for books that comes only from the cultured mind, and his library was the object of his deep affection and regard. He was not a mere collector of books, but a profound reader, and gave to others through his published works, orations, and historical essays, the benefit of his broad reading, thorough investigation, and exhaustive research.
- Description:
- Rogers, Horatio. Private libraries of Providence :with a preliminary essay on the love of books. Providence : S.S. Rider, 1878.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:3277352
- Repository:
- Widener Library
- Institution:
- Harvard University