The Fales collection, granted to New York University in 1957 and 1966, is comprised of books of American and English literature. It was created by DeCoursey Fales to commemorate his father Haliburton Fales. He began by donating a portion of his collection in 1957. Then before his death, DeCoursey granted his entire collection to NYU. As a special collector fascinated by literature, DeCoursey’s main objective was to collect English and American literature to document the fundamental history of novels. This special collection included manuscripts, first editions and other original materials that depicted the history of the novels in English. In his collection, Fales collected novels and works of literature that the average person would read in the nineteenth century. Fales commenced this special collection when he was a scholar attending Harvard University, intrigued by a course instructed by literary author Bliss Perry, who influenced him to collect authors that were prominent in their syllabi. He was notably interested in what people read and what was popular during this era, this consequently created his large collection.
Fales was significantly interested in the 18th and 19th century Gothic literature, such as stories of mysteries, ghost tales, and horror novels. His collection included contemporary and historical literature. He housed his collection at his home in New jersey and was encouraged by the faculty of NYU to donate his collection in memory of his father which led to the creation of the Fales Library. He began by donating around 10,000 volumes and as time passed he granted over 50,000 volumes to the Fales Library; manuscripts, original editions and other relevant materials. By the time of his death, he made the largest contribution towards special collection at the Fales Library at NYU.
Some of the few authors that DeCoursey included in his collection were Anthony Trollope, Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens. Subsequently, after he concentrated on these authors, took the initiative to collect other works of literature that formed an essential part of each author’s literary circle, further incentivizing him to collect and include all the nineteenth century English authors. He also included American literature by authors such as James Kirke and Charles Brockden Brown. Nonetheless, the most famous and remarkable pieces of the Fales collection were the first editions of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
These works of literature are significant because of their popularity and fundamental impact in the literary period they were written in. As first editions, these pieces are more valuable considering the condition that they are in. This is what makes them unique in the Fales Collection. Of the books that Fales collected, the most common binding amongst them were deep red that revealed that the bindings of the books were uniquely made for special people. Unlike many collectors, Fales was different because he was interested in every piece of literature regardless of the flaws that they physically contained. During the Victorian era, numerous people were illiterate and books had to be shared or read aloud amongst people, books were a luxury item. These books were expensive because of their special bindings, rendering them less affordable. Specifically, what gave more value to these books lies in the process of publication. The transportation cost more and if people read in the night, it was with an oil lamp or a candlelight which were temporary.
Nevertheless, the industrial revolution in Great Britain caused a tremendous impact on book production. It created industrial, technological, and political changes. The technological change caused the development of the printing press and therefore, book production was cheaper and more affordable to people. Before the revolution, the distribution of books took an extended time to distribute materials as well as books, however, all these changes affected book production immensely. Afterwards, people were educated and because people were reading and buying more books, the book production was higher. Interestingly, in the Fales Collection, there were yellow backs books which were extremely cheap and belong to a very specific and fascinating type of publishing. The yellow backs books were most commonly read by people who couldn’t afford to buy books with special bindings and these books were reprinted edition of works that were popular at the time. The strength of the Fales Collection is the documented history of the 19th century important English novels and most importantly, the first edition of the most popular books. When collectors go to auction they typically buy the most luxurious books and the Fales collection stands apart from his colleagues. However, Fales was interested in every book’s regardless of their blemish.
Work Cited: “Fales Library of English and American Literature: Collection Overview”. Retrieved April 13, 2018 (https://guides.nyu.edu/fales/overview).
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