#alexander turnbull library

Retrospective cataloguing work recently turned up a book inscribed to the founder of our library Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull (1868-1918) when he was just sixteen.

The inscription, found in an 1867 edition of Alain-René Lesage’s picaresque novel Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane, reads:

Neuilly 14 Novembre [18]84.

14 rue Borghese

A Manoury.

A mon cher élève [i.e. To my dear student]

A Turnbull.

Thanks to some detective work by Anthony Tedeschi, our Curator Rare Books and Fine Printing, the inscriber has been identified as Arthur Maximilien Manoury (1849–1900), who is listed in the 1891 Paris electoral roll as living in 14 Rue Borghese in the commune of Neuilly (officially Neuilly-sur-Seine from May 1897) in the department of Hauts-de-Seine, just west of Paris.

By November 1884, Turnbull was no longer enrolled as a student at Dulwich College, London, having left at the end of the Lent term in March. Manoury was presumably hired as a private tutor so Turnbull could continue his French education. His comprehension of the language as a student at Dulwich is described in Eric McCormick’s biography as ‘rather better than average’ (p. 59) and, while not exactly a glowing endorsement, young Alexander must have improved and impressed Manoury enough to be given such a kind gift.

This book is one of just two books from Turnbull’s youth found in the collection to date. The other volume is an 1883 edition of works by the English poet and intellectual John Milton (1608-1674).

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Alain-René Lesage,  Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane. Paris:  Garnier frères, 1867, Alexander Turnbull Library, R407877.