11-11-2025, 06:17 PM
I had mentioned the description of Voynich, by G. Orioli, to Antonio. Most here know of it, but for general interest... and again, not in relation to an forgeries, or not, on Voynich's part... but this is a snapshot into the man's character, which coincides with various other tidbits we know about the man. Of course Orioli got Voynich's religion incorrect, and also, it sounds somewhat bigoted on his part... but here it is:
"As to Voynich--he was a Polish Jew, a bent kind of creature and getting
on for sixty. I liked his shop in Shaftesbury Avenue; it was full of books
and well kept, and Voynich himself was most obliging to me. He gave me one
of his excellent catalogues to study, begging me to note the prices: 'Always
keep the price as high as possible, if you ever have a book to sell,' he
added. Then in a squeaky voice and in an accent which I even then recognized
as not being English he told me that he had bought a bookshop in Florence
called the 'Libreria Franceschini.'"
"'I know that shop,' I said."
"'Well, it is full of incunabula. Absolutely crammed with incunabula.'"
"'Surely a bookshop ought to be full of books?'"
"He laughed heartily at my ignorance, explained what incunabula were, and
went on in his enthusiastic fashion:"
"'Millions of books, shelves and shelves of the greatest rarities in the
world. What I have discovered in Italy is altogether unbelievable! Just
listen to this. I once went to a convent and the monks showed me their
library. It was a mine of early printed books and codexes and illuminated
manuscripts. I nearly fainted--I assure you I nearly fainted on the spot.
But I managed to keep my head all the same, and told the monks they could
have a most interesting and valuable collection of modern theological works
to replace that dusty rubbish. I succeeded in persuading the Father
Superior, and in a month that whole library was in my hands, and I sent them
a cartload of modern trash in exchange. Now take my advice: drop your
present job and become a bookseller.'"
Of course Orioli DID become a bookseller, and a long time partner of Irving Davis. They ended up having a shop just a pleasant walk from Voynich's Libreria Franceshini.
But one (of many) takeaway from that quote is the fact that Voynich claimed the Libreria was, "'Well, it is full of incunabula. Absolutely crammed with incunabula.'"
And, except for this one quote by Orioli, and Zimmern's description of the place in her 1909 article, Voynich seems to have kept the value of the contents of the Libreria pretty much a secret. I wonder, in fact, if his amazing sale of about 150 books of rare, including some previously unknown, incunabula, to the British Library in 1902 (was it 1902? 1906?), may not have virtually ALL come from the Libreria.
I have long suspected that, long before Voynich bought the place, in 1908, he used it as a source of many of his great "finds". Ethel may have even put him onto it, as she spent much time in Florence, I think writing her Gadfly there... and she was in the circles of the revolutionary crowd there, and of course Franceshini held underground meeting in the Libreria. It is not so wild a guess that this is how they knew of the place, perhaps Wilfred was there, too, pre-bookseller days.
But that, like everything else, is educated speculation, hanging on the skeleton of the known activities and movements of both. At least, we know he knew of the Libreria, and bought it from Franceshini's son two years after the old man's death.
Yes, Voynich has a reputation for sniffing out rare and valuable books from all over Europe. And I've no doubt he was very good at it. I think he networked extensively*, and had people coming to him to let him know of potential deals. But with the mentions of the "Millions of books, shelves and shelves of the greatest rarities", and the number of incunabula he found there, I believe it probably that the Libreria accounted for a major part of his finds, and fame. Which fame, as I point out in my assembled timeline, had begun to peter off at the time Ethel's rose, and that balance between the two of them was only tipped back in his direction by the fortuitous "find" of the Voynich.
* We all do this, and know of this.. a phenom almost required before the internet. One case I can relate, personally, is knowing the author of a famous book on Carousel Horses. He was an authority on the subject, and his book a valued reference. His livingroom had several rare horses, antique and hand carved in it! So I called him from a shop in which I saw what appeared to be an important German horse, and he ended up buying it... for, I think, half of its market value ($3,000 springs to mind, but this was the 80's). He gave me a signed copy of his book.
Collectors and dealers relied heavily on networking, and Voynich was very good at it. We see it in his correspondence, and other descriptions of his life and activities. I believe it plausible that someone "tipped him off" to the mentions of the manuscript in the Carteggio (if it was a manuscript), maybe by Strickland, or through a resident Jesuit at the Villa Mondragone, the Torliona, or wherever it was stored.
"As to Voynich--he was a Polish Jew, a bent kind of creature and getting
on for sixty. I liked his shop in Shaftesbury Avenue; it was full of books
and well kept, and Voynich himself was most obliging to me. He gave me one
of his excellent catalogues to study, begging me to note the prices: 'Always
keep the price as high as possible, if you ever have a book to sell,' he
added. Then in a squeaky voice and in an accent which I even then recognized
as not being English he told me that he had bought a bookshop in Florence
called the 'Libreria Franceschini.'"
"'I know that shop,' I said."
"'Well, it is full of incunabula. Absolutely crammed with incunabula.'"
"'Surely a bookshop ought to be full of books?'"
"He laughed heartily at my ignorance, explained what incunabula were, and
went on in his enthusiastic fashion:"
"'Millions of books, shelves and shelves of the greatest rarities in the
world. What I have discovered in Italy is altogether unbelievable! Just
listen to this. I once went to a convent and the monks showed me their
library. It was a mine of early printed books and codexes and illuminated
manuscripts. I nearly fainted--I assure you I nearly fainted on the spot.
But I managed to keep my head all the same, and told the monks they could
have a most interesting and valuable collection of modern theological works
to replace that dusty rubbish. I succeeded in persuading the Father
Superior, and in a month that whole library was in my hands, and I sent them
a cartload of modern trash in exchange. Now take my advice: drop your
present job and become a bookseller.'"
Of course Orioli DID become a bookseller, and a long time partner of Irving Davis. They ended up having a shop just a pleasant walk from Voynich's Libreria Franceshini.
But one (of many) takeaway from that quote is the fact that Voynich claimed the Libreria was, "'Well, it is full of incunabula. Absolutely crammed with incunabula.'"
And, except for this one quote by Orioli, and Zimmern's description of the place in her 1909 article, Voynich seems to have kept the value of the contents of the Libreria pretty much a secret. I wonder, in fact, if his amazing sale of about 150 books of rare, including some previously unknown, incunabula, to the British Library in 1902 (was it 1902? 1906?), may not have virtually ALL come from the Libreria.
I have long suspected that, long before Voynich bought the place, in 1908, he used it as a source of many of his great "finds". Ethel may have even put him onto it, as she spent much time in Florence, I think writing her Gadfly there... and she was in the circles of the revolutionary crowd there, and of course Franceshini held underground meeting in the Libreria. It is not so wild a guess that this is how they knew of the place, perhaps Wilfred was there, too, pre-bookseller days.
But that, like everything else, is educated speculation, hanging on the skeleton of the known activities and movements of both. At least, we know he knew of the Libreria, and bought it from Franceshini's son two years after the old man's death.
Yes, Voynich has a reputation for sniffing out rare and valuable books from all over Europe. And I've no doubt he was very good at it. I think he networked extensively*, and had people coming to him to let him know of potential deals. But with the mentions of the "Millions of books, shelves and shelves of the greatest rarities", and the number of incunabula he found there, I believe it probably that the Libreria accounted for a major part of his finds, and fame. Which fame, as I point out in my assembled timeline, had begun to peter off at the time Ethel's rose, and that balance between the two of them was only tipped back in his direction by the fortuitous "find" of the Voynich.
* We all do this, and know of this.. a phenom almost required before the internet. One case I can relate, personally, is knowing the author of a famous book on Carousel Horses. He was an authority on the subject, and his book a valued reference. His livingroom had several rare horses, antique and hand carved in it! So I called him from a shop in which I saw what appeared to be an important German horse, and he ended up buying it... for, I think, half of its market value ($3,000 springs to mind, but this was the 80's). He gave me a signed copy of his book.
Collectors and dealers relied heavily on networking, and Voynich was very good at it. We see it in his correspondence, and other descriptions of his life and activities. I believe it plausible that someone "tipped him off" to the mentions of the manuscript in the Carteggio (if it was a manuscript), maybe by Strickland, or through a resident Jesuit at the Villa Mondragone, the Torliona, or wherever it was stored.