Gabriel Wells
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gabriel Wells (January 24, 1861 – November 6, 1946) was a noted bookseller, historian and author. He was one of the most important antiquarian booksellers in America and Britain in the first half of the twentieth century. He was president of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association in 1930.


Early life

He was born Gabriel Weiss in Balassa-Gyarmath, Hungary; his father was Moritz Weiss and he was one of six children. Gabriel changed his surname to Wells after immigrating to the United States in 1894, settling in Boston. He tutored in psychology and
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
under
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
, professor of psychology at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, for three years, and also lectured on philosophy at conferences in New York and Massachusetts around the turn of the century. He was fluent in eight languages.


Career

Wells established his bookselling business in New York City. His first transaction set the stage for his lifetime modus operandi: He bought up copies of the ten-volume subscription edition of '' John L. Stoddard's Lectures'' at book auctions, rebound them, and sold them to regular book dealers who would not otherwise have access to subscription sets. He did the same with limited editions. Like his competitor, Dr. Rosenbach, Wells was active in the inter-war years in London and Europe buying up expensive books that could be sold to wealthy clients in the United States. In 1928, Wells purchased the business of the late Henry Sotheran in London, making him a force in bookselling on both sides of the Atlantic. Henry Sotheran have been antiquarian booksellers in London since 1760, and are independently owned today. Wells was involved in a long-running rivalry with Rosenbach, who tended to get the limelight for buying the most expensive item at an auction which he then sold on direct to the public. Wells spent more overall, but invested in less high-profile books that he often passed on through the trade. Unlike most booksellers, he never published a catalog of his offerings.


Items handled

In 1912, Wells bought at auction a fabulous jewelled edition of the ''Rubaiyat'' of Omar Khayyam for £405. Known as "The Great Omar", it had been estimated at £1,000. The book itself was undistinguished but
John Harrison Stonehouse John Harrison Stonehouse (1864 – 27 August 1937) was an English bookseller and Charles Dickens scholar at long-established London booksellers Sotheran's where he rose from apprentice to managing director through hard work and a strong entrepr ...
of Sotheran dealers had commissioned Sangorski to provide the most luxurious binding possible. The work took nearly two years to finish and included 1,050 jewels. It was described by James Sprague as "relatively the most expensive book binding ever done in the 20th century." Wells gave it to a passenger on the
R.M.S. Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
to transport to the United States, and the book was lost when the ship sank. In 1922 Wells paid $200,000 for the right to print a limited run (1,024 copies) of the definitive edition of
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's writings. The edition includes the authenticated autographs of the author and of
Albert Bigelow Paine Albert Bigelow Paine (July 10, 1861 – April 9, 1937) was an American author and biographer best known for his work with Mark Twain. Paine was a member of the Pulitzer Prize, Pulitzer Prize Committee and wrote in several genres, including fictio ...
on the flyleafs. The Gabriel Wells Definitive Edition, in 35 volumes, was published in 1922–1923. Another notable work that Wells handled was the original manuscript for
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
''
The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...
''. It was eventually sold to the Philadelphia journalist and collector
Barton Currie Barton Wood Currie (March 8, 1877 – May 7, 1962) was an American journalist, author, and book collector. Writer of hundreds of articles and stories for publications such as ''New York Evening World'', ''New York Evening Sun'', ''Harper's Week ...
, before 1931, but for less than the $75,000 reported in the press at the time. One of the most significant transactions of Wells' career was his purchase of a Gutenberg Bible from Joseph Sabin, who had bought it at auction in 1920. The two-volume work (one of 41 in existence) was not in perfect condition – it was missing 50 of its 643 leaves and some of those that remained had their
illuminations Illuminations may refer to: Shows and festivals * IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a nightly fireworks show currently at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort *''IllumiNations'', original nightly firework show at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort ...
cut out. Wells opted to break up the Bible and sell the leaves individually, thus reaching a wider market. The leaves in perfect or good condition sold for an average of $150 each (approximately $1,500 today), while the ruined leaves were priced around $100. Each leaf was elegantly slip-cased in a "black or dark blue morocco goatskin portfolio folder" with the words "A Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible (1450–1455)" embossed on the cover in gilt lettering. Wells commissioned
A. Edward Newton Alfred Edward Newton (1864–1940) was an American industrialist better known as an author and avid book collector. He is best known for his book ''Amenities of Book Collecting'' (1918) which sold over 25,000 copies. At the time of his death, ...
to write a five-page essay, "A Noble Fragment, Being a Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible (1450-1455)", which was included with each sale. Wells' decision to sell the leaves individually allowed major institutions and universities to purchase pages that they were missing from their own editions of the Gutenberg Bible. Wells gifted the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
with all but one of the leaves that it was missing from its collection. In 1939, Wells was embroiled in legal action after John Hayward discovered that Lord Victor Rothschild's first edition of Henry Fielding's '' Tom Jones'' was not authentic. Some of the pages were from another edition. Rothschild had paid £3,500 for the book including another work. The matter was settled out of court after a whole chain of dealers were shown not to have noticed the error, including Dr. Rosenbach. In addition to book dealing, Wells authored many pamphlets on the social and economic issues of his day.


Death

Wells never married. In his will, he left his estate to his siblings and their children, as well as to the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, New York Public Library, Harvard,
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
, and his native Hungarian town.


Selected bibliography


Essays

* *


Speeches

* * *


Pamphlets

* * * * * * * *


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Gabriel 1862 births 1946 deaths American booksellers Harvard University faculty Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States Austro-Hungarian people Presidents of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association