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Hard cover, 4to (measuring 7 ½ x 10 inches), half leather binding, the spine with raised bands and titles in gilt, boards in red cloth, top edge gilt, with presentation inscription, a with-compliments card, frontispiece photographic portrait, index, 612 pp.Condition: Very Good Plus. There is an area of sunning to the top board, and slight wear to head and tail of outer joints. Front hinge cracked but holding firm. Tissue guard to frontispiece is detached but present. Otherwise, the volume is clean and unmarked. Sir Louis Sterling ( 1879-1978) was a self-made, American-born entrepreneur, benefactor, and book collector, who relocated to London from New York at the very beginning of the age of the phonograph. He worked his way up from traveling salesman to become the head of major music and recording corporations such as Columbia Music and EMI. His efforts to aid Jews escaping from the continent to England during the war were rewarded with a knighthood in 1937. His rare book collection was gifted to the University of London in 1956. These included 4200 items, among them 80 manuscripts, spanning the entire breadth of English literature "from Chaucer to contemporary first editions." A few musical manuscripts are listed among the holdings, including a Donizetti opera and studies by Mozart. Many of the items were collected in the 1920's and 30's, although a few significant additions were made into the late 1940's Literature: J.Walworth, " Sir Louis Sterling and his library," in Jewish Historical Studies, , Vol 40, pp. 159-175, pub.by Jewish Historical Soc. of England, 2005.
Ref: BIBL 8570
$125.00