#robert giroux

[loynosca]

“Dolly” From Jack Straw's Castle and other poems by poet, Thom Gunn. This volume is found in our Robert Giroux (the “G” in the publishing house FSG) Book Collection.

[nickkahler]

Didn't some wise man define a classic as a book that does not stay out of print?

Flannery O’Connor, “Letter to Robert Giroux,” 1955

[loynosca]

Paperback care

When working with our Robert Giroux book collection, I often come across beautiful early 20th century paperbacks that need a little TLC. I love the cover designs of these literary works and hate to see them crumbling because of the paper quality, shelf wear and a bit of mishandling over the years. Sometimes I find books that have been tied with cotton twine to keep covers attached. While the twine is technically archival, this can further damage an aging paperback because it puts pressure on sensitive points: namely the spine joints and fore-edges of the books. (see crude comic below)

My solution is to remove the twine and adhere the cover with a carefully cut strip of Japanese tissue paper and archival wheat paste. You cannot see the tissue in the post-repair pictures below, and that is a good thing! 

I then get rid of the twine altogether and construct a four-flap enclosure for the book instead. These are much better at protecting all surfaces of the paperback from shelf wear.

Voila! This paperback is all tucked in and ready to be returned to its shelf. 

[loynosca]

Dedications

There is something so sweet about handwritten letters of dedication found within old books. These two were found in the front cover and tucked within the pages of a 1995 copy of “Kate Furbish and the Flora of Maine.”

Dedicated to Charles Reilly, a dear friend of Robert Giroux. We have a Giroux book collection here at Loyola University Special Collections and Archives available for research by appointment.

[loynosca]

The spooky water-damaged marbled endpapers in All Souls’ Night by John Kelly seems fitting for a Marbled Monday/Page Fright! This rare book can be found in our Robert Giroux Collection of 20th Century authors. Try not to gaze into the endpaper for too long!

[loynosca]

These letters from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jean Stafford (July 1, 1915 – March 26, 1979) to Farrar, Straus & Giroux (FSG) publishing house editor and her personal friend Robert Giroux (April 8, 1914 – September 5, 2008), are from our partially processed The Papers of Robert Giroux collection and our special collection of Robert Giroux’s books.

Stafford’s correspondence with Giroux offers a researcher a glimpse into their friendship and working relationship. Revealing passages detail physical and mental health concerns and are heavily punctuated with the ever-pressing need for money and time to write. The collection contains 8 folders of correspondence from and relating to Stafford, covering the years 1951-1992. Including letters from after her death in 1979 from her biographer as well as the repository for her papers within the archives at the University of Colorado.

Please contact us to set an appointment to research this fascinating collection.

[loynosca]

Today marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Djuna Barnes (June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982), a writer and artist whose novel Nightwood is considered one of the earliest prominent American novels to portray lesbian relationships.

The Robert Giroux Book Collection in Special Collections & Archives contains several novels by Barnes.

Search the library’s collections for more info on Barnes, or come to the Booth-Bricker Reading Room in Special Collections & Archives Tuesday-Thursday, 9-12 or 1-4:30, to view the books pictured above.