Emotional return for one of the Guille-Allès Library’s oldest books

Thursday 05 January 2023

A chance discovery in the Netherlands has restored to the Guille-Allès Library one of the oldest books in its collection.

Dutch librarian Garrelt Verhoeven was browsing an online antiquarian bookshop when he came across a copy of The Destruction of Jerusalem, written in 1805 by the British MP George Holford.

He bought the book, discovered the words ‘Thomas Guille, 1832, New York’ written on the flyleaf – and became intrigued to find out more about its previous owner. 

Mr Verhoeven made contact with the Chief Librarian, and returned the book to the Library just before Christmas. It is now on display as part of the Boundless Curiosity exhibition, which runs until 21 January. 

Adam Bayfield, the Library’s Head of Marketing, said: “This is a wonderful discovery, and we’re extremely grateful to Garrelt for returning the book to us. It must have been one of the very first books Thomas Guille ever collected – perhaps even the first. We can just imagine him proudly writing his name on the flyleaf.

"We believe it was removed from the Library sometime in the 1950s – after that, who knows what happened to it over the decades before it wended its way to the Netherlands. Having devoted so much time last year to researching the Library’s history and putting together our Boundless Curiosity exhibition, it’s fair to say that a few of us were quite emotional when we opened the book and saw Thomas Guille’s handwriting inside.” 

Pictured: Thomas Guille's signature in The Destruction of Jerusalem.

Through the online bookshop, Mr Verhoeven bought The Destruction of Jerusalem from a dealer in the city of Ede, close to Utrecht. The dealer had acquired it from another antiquarian bookshop in the UK some years earlier. 

Fifty years before he would co-found the Guille-Allès Library, in 1832 Thomas Guille arrived in New York as a 14-year-old, and began buying books that he hoped one day to bring home to Guernsey and start a library with. Many of the first books he acquired were theological in nature and included The Destruction of Jerusalem, which became part of the Library’s collection when it opened in 1882. 

Mr Verhoeven said: “As a librarian myself I am fascinated by the history of books, especially ones that seem to have been overlooked. Thomas Guille donated an incredible library to Guernsey, including one of the largest and most expensive books he could acquire in the United States in his day: John James Audubon’s The Birds of America. But the humble devotional book that he received in 1832 as a 14-year-old apprentice was rather heartlessly withdrawn from the Guille-Allés Library on a bad day in the 20th Century. It fills me with pleasure that this little treasure has now returned to Guernsey, and to see the librarians embrace it as a lost son.” 

Pictured: Garrelt Verhoeven.

As well as displaying this newly discovered book, for the final weeks of Boundless Curiosity Library staff have turned the pages of some of the other rare books on display. 

The pages of Le Théatre Du Monde, an atlas from 1640, have been turned to show a map of the New World, while the most notorious page of the famous Nuremberg Chronicle is also now on show. Printed in 1493, the Chronicle was an attempt to relate the history of the Christian world, and as part of its chronology of Popes it depicts a female pontiff called Pope Joan. 

Adam Bayfield said: “The story goes that Joan disguised her sex and became Pope in 855, reigning for two years as John VIII before the truth was revealed when she gave birth during the cross procession. It’s now known to be entirely fictional, but at the time the story was widely believed, and was deeply controversial. Some readers burned or ripped out the page, others wrote ‘LIES’ in the margin, and at least one reader is known to have drawn a beard on Joan’s face. The Library’s copy is untouched, giving a clear view of Joan’s female features and the child in her arms. It’s a fascinating story, and we’re delighted to be displaying this page of the book for the final weeks of the exhibition.” 

The centrepiece of Boundless Curiosity is John James Audubon’s The Birds of America, one of the rarest books in the world. So far Library staff have been turning the page once a week, but this is increasing to once a day from Monday 16 January. 

Pictured: Chief Librarian Cornelia James examines The Birds of America book.

Adam Bayfield said: “As well as being one of the rarest books in the world, there’s no doubt that The Birds of America is also one of the most beautiful, and the fact we have a copy here at the Library is something Guernsey can be proud of. Once the exhibition closes it may be some time before this book’s on display again, so I would really encourage people not to miss this opportunity to see it.” 

Boundless Curiosity runs until Saturday 21 January. It’s presented in partnership with BDO Guernsey. More information can be found on the Library website at www.library.gg/exhibition.