Prepared in the Interests The ofBookCollecting at the ...clements.umich.edu/Quarto/Quarto_1st...
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The No. 171 Issued Occasionally for The Clements Ubrary Associates Prepared in the Interests of Book Collecting at the University of Michigan 1 Nov' 1948 Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham Every great library is a collection of collections. A great library is like a palace, imposing as a whole and also containing many splendid rooms that are beautiful in their own right. Thus, the Clements Library, in addition to covering vast subject-matter. is distinguished by possessing major collections of works by authors who have written on America. One of these is the Cunninghame Graham Collection, presented by George Matthew Adams, author and di scr iminating collector of great books. Cunninghame Graham was that sort of paradoxical creature that only Great Britain seems to pro- duce . He was a Scotch laird, a de- .scendant of the earls of Menteith . He was also a Spanish hidalgo, his gran dfat her, an English - admiral, having married in South America a Spanish lady of high birth. His portraits show a typ ical aristocrat, of proud bearing,with bright pene- trating eyes, moustaches - fiercely pointed, a figure s lim and elegant but at the same time wiry and very power fu1. When an ar tist having to paint a picture representing the Elizabethan age, for the Houses of Parliament, wanted a model for Sir Walter. Raleigh , the only man that satisfied his idea of the charac- ter was Cunninghame Graham. Yet, this Scotch nobleman , Spanish hidalgo" and Elizabethan adven- turen.,was also a red-hot reformer who was sent to prison for rioting in Trafalgar Square, who for six years was the most o utrageous and extreme champion of the working man in a stormy Parliament , who shocked the composure of the House of Commons. and who harried with bitter sarcasm the class of wh ich he was so bright an ornament. Graham 's works arc as varied as his life. He tried his fortunes in Texas and lived for many years in South America, besides making adventurous journeys in Nor th Africa._ He was important, perhaps. as the interpreter of the Spauish spirit, especially that of South America. Some of his books relate the advent ures of the conquista- dores. Others carry on the story of Spani sh ru le or deal with great mystics. These Spanish books display an extraordinary mixture of qualities. They are lively. exciting, vi vid in seizi ng character or landscape, and salted with the dry and cynical wit of a man who has no illusions about human nature . Adventure in perhaps the mast adventurous age af mankind flowers in them. At the same time Graham is thrilled by what was noble in the Spanish achievement, his chief subject being greatness of character. He always responds to Spanish idealism. and - he is penetrated by the beaury of Spanish mysticism. There is a great deal of the poet in Cunninghame Graham, and the following passage, from Mogreb-el- Acksa, illustrates his power : As the sun sank , ochre-coloured earth began to glow , each stu n ted bush stood out and became magnified, the rose and purple streams of light shifted and ran into each other; then faded into violet and - salmon-colour haze and falling on the snow-capped hills lighted them up, making them reverberate the lig ht upon the rose-red walls and yellow towers, so that the castle seemed to b um, and the muezzin upon his tower appeared to call the faithful to their prayers from a red stalk of flame. Cunninghame Graham's other cla ims to distinction are based upon his many volumes of short stories. They deal with Scotch or Spanish subjects. Most of them have an ironic twist, some are vivid sketches of strange lives, others plead for the u nderdog. All the qualities which distinguish the books of travel are fo und here too, especially the zest for life and the eye for greatness in unexpected circumstances. It is impossible to overrate the importance of having the complete work of such a man brought to- gether. Graham has been described as the most picturesque figure in the English literature of his day. But he was far more than that. He had a daring mind together with great versatility and a poet's feeling for beauty, not only in landscape, but in h uman action and character. In spite of his occasional cynical pose he never wrote anything mean or base. He orens up for English readers the Spanish world - when Spain was at her greatest. He had a noble scorn for tyranny and in- justice and an unfailing sympathy for the oppressed. It is an incal- culab le benefit that scholars are now able to study the entire life's work of this great writer. Students of lit erature owe an immense debt to George Matthew Adams for placing this collection at their disposal. Hereward T. Price
Transcript of Prepared in the Interests The ofBookCollecting at the ...clements.umich.edu/Quarto/Quarto_1st...
TheNo. 171 Issued Occasionally for The Clements Ubrary Associates
Prepared in the Interests
of Book Collecting at the
University of Michigan
1Nov' 1948
Robert BontineCunninghame Graham
Every great library is a collectionof collections. A great library islike a palace, imposing as a wholeand also containing many splendidrooms that are beautiful in theirown right. Thus, the ClementsLibrary, in addition to coveringvast subject-matter. is distinguishedby possessing major collections ofworks by authors who have writtenon America. One of these is theCunninghame Graham Collection,presented by George MatthewAdams, author and di scriminatingcollector of great books.
Cunninghame Graham was thatsort of paradoxical creature thatonly Great Britain seems to produce. He was a Scotch laird, a de
. scendan t of the earls of Menteith.He was also a Spanish hidalgo, hisgrandfather, an English- admiral,having married in South Americaa Spanish lady of high birth. Hisportraits show a typical aristocrat,of proud bearing, with bright penetrating eyes, mo ustaches - fiercelypointed, a figure slim and elegantbut at the same time wiry and verypowerfu1. When an artist havingto paint a picture representing theElizabethan age, for the Houses ofParliament, wanted a model forSir Walter. Raleigh, the only manthat satisfied his idea of the character was Cunninghame Graham.Yet, this Scotch nobleman, Spanishhi dalgo" and Elizabethan adventuren.,was also a red-hot reformerwho was sent to prison for riotingin Trafalgar Square, who for sixyears was the most outrageous and
extreme champion of the workingman in a stormy Parliament, whoshocked the composure of theHouse of Commons. and whoharried with bitter sarcasm the classof wh ich he was so bright anornament.
Graham's works arc as varied ashis life. He tried his fortunes inTexas and lived for many years inSouth America, besides makingadventurous journeys in NorthAfrica._He was important, perhaps.as the in terpreter of the Spauishspirit, especially that of SouthAmerica. Some of his books relatethe adventures of the conquistado res. Others carry on the story ofSpanish rule or deal with greatmystics.
These Spanish books display anextraordinary mixture of qualities.They are lively. exciting, vivid inseizing character or landscape, andsalted with the dry and cynical witof a man who has no illusionsabout human nature. Adventure inperhaps the mast adventurous ageaf mankind flowers in them. At thesame time Graham is thrilled bywhat was noble in the Spanishachievement, his chief subject beinggreatness of character. He alwaysresponds to Spanish idealism. and
-he is penetrated by the beaury ofSpanish mysticism.
There is a great deal of the poetin Cunninghame Graham, and thefollowing passage, from Mogreb-elAcksa, illustrates h is power:
As the sun sank , ochre-coloured earthbegan to glow , each stu n ted bush stoodout and became magnified, the rose andpurple streams of light shifted and raninto each other; then faded into violetand - salmon-colour haze and falling on
the snow-capped hills lighted them up,making them reverberate the lig ht uponthe rose-red walls and yellow towers, sothat the castle seemed to bum, and themuezzin upon his tower appeared to callthe faithful to their prayers from a redstalk of flame.
Cunninghame Graham's othercla ims to distinction are based uponhis many volumes of short stories.They deal with Scotch or Spanishsubjects. Most of them have anironic twist, some are vivid sketchesof strange lives, others plead for theunderdog. All the qualities whichdistinguish the books of travel arefound here too, especially the zestfor life and the eye for greatness inunexpected circumstances.
It is impossib le to overrate theimportance of having the completework of such a man brought together. Graham has been describedas the most picturesque figure inthe English li tera ture of his day.But he was far more than that. Hehad a daring mind together withgreat versatility and a poet's feel ingfor beauty, not only in landscape,but in human action and character.In spite of his occasional cyn icalpose he never wrote anything meanor base. He orens up for Englishreaders the Spanish world -whenSpain was at her greatest. He hada noble scorn for tyranny and injustice and an unfailing sympathyfor the oppressed. It is an incalculable benefit that scho lars arenow able to study the entire life'swork of this great writer. Studentsof literature owe an immense debtto George Matthew Adams forplacing this collection at theirdisposal.
Hereward T. Price
a.. ']\{gte on the George .vrcatthew a..dams ~ollection
of ~unninghame GraharrL.,The works of Robert Bon tine
Cunninghame Graham, here gathered in their first and in their finestforms by a scholarly and carefulcollector, are a clear reflection oforte of the mos t versatile lives andta lents of our times.
Equally at h ome in the steamingsouk of Fez and the rimless pampaof the Argentine, at the council fireof the Sioux and in the H alls ofParl ia men t, Cunninghame Grahamwith h is pen as with h is personp ursued diverse ends and su bjects.The Scots laird a nd ga ucho horseman found Iour continents bare lysufficien t for a wide-ranging talentth at could dw ell re flective ly andphilosophically upon some scene ofnatu ral grandeur and turn on theinstant to wi thering and slashingsatire .
Cunninghame Graham had nobounds to his in terests, but like hisgreat fr iend W. H . Hudson, heturned often and effectively to theAmer icas for his scene, and n evermore effectively than wh en dealingwith the people of the sou thernAmerica. T he George Ma tthewAdams collection of first and fineeditions o f his writings stands nextto the H udson collection, also th egift of Mr. Adams to the Cleme ntsLi brary.
An d both are, in the wider sense,Americana. not onl y for the frequent choice of subject but for thein terests and concerns of the twoauthors.
With Cunninghame Graham, aswith Hudson, the titles and contents of h is works present a wideranging mi n d. T he collectio n begins with a scarce a nd much soughtli llie pamphlet , Economic Evo lution, th at was hi s first p ublishedwriting and th at was to point th eway for many another bi ting essayon th e poli tics an d economics ofhis times.
The first hook in the group isN otes on the District of Menteith,an d here again the coming works of
the wri ter are foreshadowed. TheGraham of Gartmore and Menteithhad a task to h is liking and one forwh ich he was, perhaps, beller pre·pared than any ot her indi vidual.The resu lt is this bea uti fully executed description of the countrywhere his fami ly had live d forcenturies. W h il e su b t it led " ForTourists and Others," the book isno casual coll ection of antiqu itiesand scenery. And the author 's concer n wi th Scotla nd is a continui ngthing in hi s life . Always a pa rtisanof lost causes a nd doubtful hopes,he was to head the Nationalistmovement in Scotland and to pleadfor a restora tion of the Scots Parli ament.
W ith Father A rchangel of Scotland, a microcosm of much of Cunninghamc Graham's fu ture is presen ted. In th ese acute essays is thecontinuing philosoph y that is hardIy further developed in his latestwork . T he titl e story is that of aCa thol ic missionary to Ca lvinist icScotland a nd , like his later Success,indicates h is fascina tio n with noblefai lure. There is, too, the story ofa J esuit missio nary fro m the backcoun tr-y of Pa raguay, another favo rit e them e.
T he rare li ttle pamphlet AuroraLa Gujiii i finds th e author as muchat hom e in the li fe of Spain as inthat of Scotland. It is overshadowed,however, by a major work, M ogrebel-Ac ksa, con sidered by some criticsas one of the great travel books ofa ll t ime. I t is the journal of thewri ter's fantastic assay at pe netrating the fastn esses of then inde pendent and barbaric Morocco to theforbidden city of T arudant. Andrarer even in his time th an now, itis a brillian t an d sympathe tic picture of an alien way of li fe; alien ,that is, to th e hi gh comp lacency ofth e time. Sympathy and irony combine with an awareness of living.nature, and philosophy to producea book that par takes of the timeless. .
The sto ries gathered under the
title of The [Pan e incl ude one ofCunninghamc Graham's mos t famous essays. Niggers. This bit ing attack on the con temporary mores ofth e imperia listic Nord ic will h avecurrent interest while a shadow ofrace prejudice remains in th e worl d .Herbert Faulkner West a nd EdwardGa rnett alike agree in cit ing th is,with h is Success, published a fewyears later, as alone sufficien t to"confer immortality on h im." Theother pieces range fro m one aboutan Iceland ic horseman to a story ofT exas.
T hirteen Stories con tin ues in thesame gene ral vein, th e locale varying but the stories ever concernedwit h triumphant failure. whetherthe specific su bject be th e SpanishAmerican W ar or th e Apaches ofMexico and the western UnitedStates.
A Van ished Arcadia is a n accoun tof the unique civilization established by the Jesu it s among theIndians of Paragu ay. It was followed closely by Success, a defini ti ve statement of Cunn ingh a m eGraham's personal philosophy anda deeply cogent attack on the rampa nt materialistic im perialism ofhi s day.
W ith H ernando de Solo, Cunninghame Graham turned th e focusof his attention upon the BlackLegend of th e old Spanish Em pire.Pa rt Spanish by descen t and in histhin king h ighly sympathetic withthe conquistadores. he struck outagainst th e glaze of glory which hadsurround ed the Engl ish pirates andfreeboo ters, leaving the magnificentex ploit s of the Spanish conquerorsen meshed in a disma l atmosphereof blood and greed .
O f course he was not unique inhi s reversa l of the con temporaryattit ude, but he brou gh t a powerfulpen and h ighly competent scholarsh ip to the aid of th ose h istorianswho had become conscious of thewider hori zons o f Ameri can history.His later works examine carefully
the careers of such diverse IberoAmericans as Bernal Diaz delCastillo, the soldier of the Conquestof Mexico; Gonzalo Jiulenez deQuesada, the explorer of Colombia;the men who conquered the countryof the Rio de la Plata, to becomemodern Argentina; and Pedro deValdivia, settler of Chile who firstmet and defeated, but failed toconquer, the hardest fighting Indians of the Americas, the Araucanians. In .sornewhat the same veinare his Horses of the Conquest.. alabor of love on the part of a manwho was a master horseman to theday of his death, and the otherworks on the early Spaniards. Withthis group should fall, too, his biography of Jose Antonio Paez, firstpresident of Venezuela. -
His later works represent amature talent that shows no sign offlagging with advancing age . Whilenot a practicing member of anychurch, he was ever and again concerned with the bright spirits who
illumine the sometimes shadowyrecord of Christian missions. Themysticism of a man like AntonioConselheiro, whose strange littlesect successfully defied the militaryforce of the great nation of Brazilfor months on end is masterfullyrecorded in A Brazilian Mystic.Here he shows the influence of hislovely Chilean wife, Gabriela,whose several works are also in theAdams collection, ~ including herimportant two volume set, Sant~
Teresa: Her Life and Times.Throughout his life, Cunning
hame Graham was continually concerned with the economic and political events of Great Britain. As aMember of Parliament and as awriter, he took an active part inaffairs. He was, certainly, fortyyears out of time , for his ideas andbeliefs, scorned as fantasticallyvisionary at the turn of the century,are the commonplace of Britaintoday. These concerns are reflectedin the collection.
Another facet of the man washis influence upon other writers ofthe period. The field remains wideopen to investigators, and thematerials are here. No less a literaryluminary than George BernardShaw, self appointed and publiclyaccepted as leading literary geniusof our time, acknowledges his debtto Cunninghame Graham in Captain Brassbound's Conversion..basedon Mogreb-el-Acksa. As a closefriend of Hudson and Joseph Conrad, among others, that influence isno small thing.
Finally, the collection concludeswith a selection of CunninghameGraham's prefaces to works by otherauthors, _and a representation ofthe growing group of books aboutthe artist himself, providing a fitting and utilitarian climax to amajor col~ection of the writings ofone of the -most singular auctorialfigures in English literature.
Hildegarde Braun
cA (?hecklist of the (?olleetion1. BARROSA, GUSTAVO. Mapirunga. Translated
by R. B. Cunninghame Graham. London: Heinemann, 1924. Limited to 375 copies. Signed byCunninghame Graham .
2. CHAUNDY, LESLIE. A Bibliography of theFirst Editions of the Works of Robert BontineCunninghame Graham. London: Dulau, '924.Limited to 500 copies.
3. CONRAD, JOSEPH. Tales of Hearsay. With aPreface by Rv B, Cunninghame Graham. London:Unwin [1g25].
4. GARNETT, DAVID. "The London LiteraryLetter." [An Appreciation of CunninghameGraham.] Autograph manuscript, signed. Sevenpages, quarto.
5. GRAHAM, GABRIELA CUNNINGHAME. TheChrist of Tom and Other Stories. London: Nash,1908.
6. GRAHAM, GABRIELA CUNNINGHAME.Santa Teresa: London: Black, 18g4. Two volumes.Paul Lcmperly's copy.
7. GRAHAM, GABRIELA CUNNINGHAME, &R. B. CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM. FatherArchangel of Scotland and Other Essays. London:Black, 18g6. ALS by Cunninghame Graham toPaul Lemperly laid in.
"Works of~ 6]3. t>unninghame Graham8. Five Autograph Letters, signed.
g. Aurora la Cujifti. London: Smithers, 18g8. Limited to 500 copies.
ro. Bernal Diaz del Castillo. London: Nash, 1915.
11. Bibi. London: Heinemann.Yqsq. Limited to 250copies, signed.
12. A Brazilian Mystic, being the Life and Miraclesof Antonio Conselheiro. London: Heinemann,192 0.
13. Brought Forward. London: Duckworth [rqrfi].
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14. Cartagena and the Banks of the Simi . London:Heinemann [1921J . Limited Edition. BaronLeverhulme's bookplate. . .
15. Charity. London: Duckworth, 1912. Signature of .Cunninghame Graham on bookplate of CharlesD. Allen. Inscribed to Allen by Paul Lemperly.
16. The Conquest of the River Plate. London:Heinemann, 1924-
17. Doughty Deeds. London: Heinemann, 1925.
18. The Dream of the Magi. London: Heinemann,1923. Limited to 280 copies, signed.
19. Economic Evolution. Aberdeen: Leatham, 1891.
20. Faith. London: Duckworth, 1909. Inscribed bythe author.
21. A Hatchment. London: Duckworth, 1913.
22. Hernando de Soto, London: H einemann, 1903.
23. His Last Letter to Herbert Faulkner West.Tempe: Hill'·"948. Signed by Herbert F. West.
24. His People. London: Duckworth, 1906.
25. Hope. London: Duckworth, 1910.
26. The Horses of . the Conquest. London: Heinemann [1930].
27. T he Ipane, London: Unwin, 1899. Signed by theauthor.
28. Jose Antonio Paez. London: Heinemann [1929].
29. ' Mirages. London: Heinemann [1936].
30. Mogreb-el-Acksa, London: Heinemann, 1898.
31. Same. Inscribed by the author in Portuguese toWilliam E. Henley, with bookplate. With' PaulLemperly's bookplate and manuscript note.
32. Same . [Revised Edition.] London: Duckworth[1921].
33. Same. New York: Viking, 1930.
34· Notes on the District of Menteith. London:Black, 1895.
35. The District of Menteith. Stirling: MaCKay[1930] . Limited to 250 copies, with signed origirial etching by ' D. Y. Cameron. Signed by theauthor and by Cameron.
36. Pedro de Valdivia. London: Heinemann, 1926.
37. Portrait of a Dictator. London: Heinemann[1933]·
38. Redeemed and Other- Sketches. London: Heine'mann [1927] .
39. Scottish Stories . London: Duckworth [1914].
40. Success. London: Duckworth, 1902. Signed, bythe author.
4 I. Same. Binding variant.
42. Thirteen Stories. London: Hein emann, 1900.Signed by the author on Paul Lemperly's bookplate.
43. Thirty Tales 8c Sketches. London: Duckworth,1929·
44. Same. New York: Viking, 1929.
45. A Vanished Arcadia. London: Heinemann, 1901 .
46. Writ in Sand. London: Heinemann [1932] .
47. GUDSOW, AGUBE. The Princess Biaslantt. Introduction by R. B. Cunninghame Graham.London: Heinemann, t926.
48. HUDSON, W. H. W. H . Hudson's Letters toR. B. Cunninghame Graham. London: GoldenCockerel, 1941. Limited to 250 copies.
49· MAHON, 1- L. A Labour Programme. Introduction by R. B. C. Graham. London: London PressAgency, 1888. Signed by the author.
50. ROBERTS, MORLEY. The Western Avernus.London: Smith, Elder, 1887.
51. Same. Introduction by Cunninghame Graham.London: Dent [1924].
52. ROSHER, CHARLES. Light For John Bull onthe Moroccan Question. Preface by R. B. Cunninghame Graham. London: Hendersons, 19".Signed by Cunninghame Graham.
53. ROTHENSTEIN, WILLIAM. Men and Memories. New York: Coward-McCann, 1931.
54. SHAW, GEORGE B. Three Plays for Puritans.London: Richards, 19a1.
55. TSCHIFFELY, AIME FELIX. Don Roberto.London: Heinemann [1937].
56. TSCHIFFELY, AIME FELIX. Tschiffely's Ride.Preface by R. B. Cunninghame Graham. New ·York: Simon 8c Schuster, 1933.
57. TSCHIFFELY, AIME FELIX. The Tale of Two, Horses. Preface -by R. B.. Cunninghame Graham.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1935.
58. WEST, HERBERT F. Don Roberto. [Hanover,N.H.] Privately Printed; 1936. Limited to 100copies, signed.
59. WEST - HERBERT F. The Herbert FaulknerWest Collection of R . B. Cunninghame Graham.[Hanover, N.H.] Privately Printed, 1938. Limitedto 85 copies.
60. WEST, HERBERT F. A Modern Conquistador:Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham. London:Cranley & Day, '932.
