Speaking Volumes
Montalvo's annual book fair tells the tale of restoration for Senator Phelan's library
By Shari Kaplan
The late United States senator and patron of the arts James Duval Phelan, was known for his love of the arts, and it is for that reason that he bequeathed Montalvo, his elegant estate in the Saratoga foothills, for the perpetuation of artistic creation.
Among the attributes of his home, where friends and associates often gathered, was a library which housed a collection of literary works and books on California.
According to the writings of close personal friend Gertrude Atherton, the "inner circle" of Montalvo would meet in the library before dinner, "where the softly shaded lamps gave a wonderful glow to the room with its thick Oriental carpet and its beautifully upholstered chairs."
Although the original furnishings and books of that library were sold or given away by Phelan's relatives after his death in 1930, Villa Montalvo's Phelan Library Committee has worked for more than a decade to change that. The committee has secured books, furnishings, and even an Oriental-style carpet, through direct donations and with funds raised via the Villa Montalvo Book Fair. This year, the eighth annual Book Fair takes place on April 1, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Members of the Phelan Library Committee members are Saratogans Gay Crawford, Wendell Hammon, Mary Henderson, Lyn Johnston, Anne Louden, George Lundquist, Willys Peck and George Roupe; Los Gatan Jennie Magid; Monte Sereno residents Bud Armstrong, Bucky Ball and Cathy Foscato; Susan Klein and Jack Douglas of San Jose; George Kane of Santa Cruz; Althea Andersen of Mountain View and Jimmi Dawson of Los Altos Hills.
"Senator Phelan was very involved in culture and the arts, and loved to show off Montalvo," says longtime committee chairwoman Louden, who was invited to head the committee by former Villa Montalvo board member and Bay Area philanthropist, Jean Kuhn. "We were asked not just to recreate Phelan's collection, which had been dispersed 100 percent, but, also, to oversee the renovation of the library. The purpose of the Book Fair is to add to our funds."
"The Phelan Library was never intended to be a 'circulating library.' Owing to maintaining the integrity of the collection, the books may not be taken from the library," says Louden, adding that, by appointment, people can read the books for personal enjoyment, or research purposes, in the library. According to Louden, the collection houses about 600 volumes, with an ultimate goal of 1,500.
The committee divided the slowly growing historical library into two main sections: literature and Californiana. "Phelan was greatly interested in anything having to do with the Golden State," Louden says of the latter category. The library also includes some reference books, but they would only be considered up-to-date by someone living in the 1930s. Helping the committee begin to rebuild the library was Anthony Bliss, the rare books librarian at UC-Berkeley's Bancroft Library, whom the committee hired to do research on what books, most likely, would have been part of Phelan's great collection. The growth of the collection ended with his death.
"Unfortunately, we never had any exact records to work from," adds Louden, who is certainly no stranger to libraries. The holder of a master's degree in library science from San Jose State University, she is a retired San Jose Unified School District librarian, who worked at Willow Glen and Leland high schools. Prior to settling in California, she volunteered in the elementary school libraries her sons attended when the family lived in Michigan. She did not want to see the libraries go short-staffed, because the schools relegated library expenses to the back burner of their budgets.
Volunteerism like Louden's is what the Phelan Library Committee is all about, as fellow member, Bucky Ball of Monte Sereno, will attest. Every other year, alternating with Louden and her husband Bob, Ball camps out in the Villa the night before a Book Fair with his trusty cot, or sleeping bag, to save the expense of hiring a security guard to watch over dealers' book displays. He jokes that he's even had a few late-night run-ins with the ghost of Gertrude Atherton, who was a frequent guest of Phelan's, and even had her own quarters at the Villa.
"I spend about 24 hours up there straight when we have a Book Fair," says Ball, who also helps direct the flow of traffic and parking. A member of the Phelan Library Committee almost since day one, Ball says he enjoys being around the Villa and its pleasant, aesthetic aura, and suspects that is a draw for many Book Fair dealers and visitors, as well.
Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Much of Sen. Phelan's library was made up of literary works and books on California.
This year's Book Fair gives visitors a chance to browse among 7,500 used books, offered by 25 dealers from throughout California. Many books are rare first editions and out-of-print copies. Topics include technology, science, art, architecture, music, antiques, California and the West, cookbooks, travel, railroads and children's interests. Some dealers also offer old maps, letters, prints and autographs.
Autographed books are a specialty of Susan Klein. The San Jose resident is not only a Phelan Library Committee member and co-chair of this year's Book Fair with Althea Andersen of Mountain View, but also is a used book dealer and owner of Susan Klein Fine Books. A sampling of the antiquarian collectibles that passed through Klein's hands includes a first edition of a book signed by Charles Lindbergh; a first edition of Of Mice and Men inscribed by author John Steinbeck, and a first edition of Negro Builders and Heroes inscribed by Martin Luther King Jr. with a cloth cover and gilt lettering on the spine.
"I'm somewhat of an eclectic dealer, but I focus on the 20th century," says Klein, who is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, an entity that sets standards and ethics for the used-book trade. She will come to the aid of consumers who think a used book dealer gave them a bad deal.
What worries Klein is that book fairs are getting a bad deal, in large part, because of the profusion of online auctions on the Internet. Many of these self-appointed auctioneers have taken to selling used books, Klein says, which hurts both the profession and the consumer.
"A lot of people don't know how to property identify a first edition, or how to accurately describe the condition of a book they're selling. It's very frustrating to know the public is being taken advantage of. One of the things book fairs does is educate the public about the value of old or rare books," Klein says.
"Small, regional book fairs are being hurt by the Internet. Some dealers are dropping out of fairs due to the overhead involved. I think some of the smaller fairs will be dropping off, too, down the line. Generally speaking, attendance is down," she says.
There is, however, some good news for book fairs, Klein adds. Many people prefer to visit fairs, because they are visual and tactile learners, who enjoy looking at, touching, and perhaps even smelling the books before making a purchase. These same buyers also appreciate chatting with dealers and getting to meet them. None of these interpersonal and interbook relationships are possible over the Internet.
"Also, with fairs, people are more likely to look around and find things they weren't even looking for!" Klein adds with a chuckle. There are also those avid book collectors for whom traveling to various towns to shop at fairs is part of the whole lure of the book-collecting hobby; again, this cannot happen on the Internet.
"When people ask me how to get started, I say 'buy what you love, because you'll always love it!" Klein says. "I tell people never to buy a book as an investment--try the stock market, instead. Book collecting should be done for the love of the book, not for the investment."
The buyers, sellers and Montalvo volunteers, who come together every year for the Book Fair, know that love well.
Admission to the Villa Montalvo Book Fair, at 15400 Montalvo Road, is $4 per person--a charitable donation that benefits the Phelan Library Committee. Admission also entitles visitors to receive appraisals of their old books--limited to three per person--from book dealers between 1 and 3 p.m. For more information, call 408.961.5800 or 408.961.5858, or visit www.villamontalvo.org on the Internet.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
