A charter member of the Library Associates, Prof. Bernard Wagner, died in January of this year. Always a devoted user and supporter of the library during his forty-one years as Professor of English Literature at Georgetown, he donated his extensive collection of books (over 6,000 volumes) to the library when he retired in 1974. At that time, his former students established a Memorial Book Fund in his honor. Generous to the end, Professor Wagner willed $20,000 to the library to be added to this Fund. In his will he stated: "This bequest is made in appreciation of the many courtesies I have received during my forty-one year tenure at the University and the recognition of the vital part a great university library must play in the lives of everyone associated with Georgetown."

David A. Baer Collection

Mrs. David A. Baer presented to the library a fine collection of first editions and autograph letters acquired by her late husband. The collection includes works by American and English authors including Dreiser, Harte, O'Neill, Kipling, Conrad, and Stevenson. Among the autograph items are letters by James, Yeats, and Rossetti, and handwritten corrections by Rossetti on a first printing of his poem, "The Burden of Nineveh." Mr. Baer's collecting acumen is proven by the high percentage of association copies, books with distinguished provenance, and books in fine condition.

Beukenkamp Collection

Mr. and Mrs. Beukenkamp gave to the library a collection of seventeen rare volumes ranging in date from 1502 to 1842, including a fine Aldine edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Venice: 1502); Columella's De re rustica and three related titles (Lyons: Graphius, 1541); and the first Italian edition of Michaud, Storia della crociate (Firenze: Batelli, 1842) with a hundred brilliantly hand-colored intaglio plates. The gift was inspired in part by the Beukenkamps' memory of the view of Georgetown University which they enjoyed during their former residence in Arlington.

Donald Powell Gift

Writer and lawyer Donald Powell (L'20) of New Haven, Connecticut, recently presented several modern literary first editions with related manuscript material, including his own extensive correspondence with Dorothy Day, H.L. Mencken, George N. Shuster, Harry Sylvester, and Michael Williams.