"Eccentrics Enchanted by Books: A History of British Bibliophiles"

2022/03/23

Nine years have passed since I published "The World of Books is a Strange World," and I have not been idle during that time. Together with a publishing executive, I conceived the irregular publication "Bibliology," which deals with various aspects of book reception, and serialized "A Genealogy of British Bibliophiles." I featured 16 individuals, ranging from famous figures like Queen Elizabeth I's magician John Dee and the King of Comedy Charlie Chaplin, to lesser-known figures like "Honest Tom" Martin and Peter Heylyn, who angered the King. To compile them into a single volume, I added others such as the brother of economist Keynes and Graham Pollard—who exposed T. J. Wise's forgeries but was himself a spy—bringing a total of 19 eccentrics and oddballs to the table.

In each chapter, I proceeded by clarifying the background of one bibliophile and then introducing a cherished book from my humble collection. In the final chapter, "Bibliophiles Forever," I included a photograph of Prime Minister Tanaka receiving a gift of the "Chu Ci Jizhu" from Chairman Mao Zedong during the 1972 talks to normalize diplomatic relations between Japan and China. Is it asking too much to hope that this profound culture continues?

As any rare book enthusiast knows, gems are often found just as a bookstore is about to close. One day, exhausted from transcribing manuscripts at the library, I peered into the window of G. David Bookseller near the market in Cambridge. This is a shop where many bibliophiles have been nurtured since before the war. The bookplate from a collection of poems I saw in that window is what I used for the cover of this book.

Only a few minutes until closing. It didn't even take a minute to buy the book in question. It was "A Shropshire Lad," the masterpiece by Cambridge classicist, poet, and homosexual A. E. Housman. However, what was visible in the window was not the title page but a bookplate. At the very top, it said "Chaplin." I leave the iconographic interpretation to the book itself. The dedication read: "To Charlie, on his birthday, from Florence, April 16, 1920."

Searching for "Florence" alongside Chaplin revealed her surname to be Deshon, a minor silent film actress. While she does not appear in the King of Comedy's autobiography, there is a melancholy photograph of her in "Love and Revolution," the memoir of his friend and critic Max Eastman. Florence was leading a double life, involved with Eastman in New York and Chaplin in Hollywood. Pregnant and facing either suicide or accidental death, she died young.

I am curious as to why Florence gave "A Shropshire Lad"—a book young men heading to the battlefield sang aloud—to Chaplin for his birthday, but I have run out of space.

"Eccentrics Enchanted by Books: A History of British Bibliophiles"

Toshiyuki Takamiya

Bensei Publishing

256 pages, 4,180 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.