Jeffs Collection of Graham Greene

For more than a decade the University Librarian, Joseph E. Jeffs, and his wife, Jeannine, have been building a comprehensive collection of the works of the celebrated British novelist, Graham Greene. Their collections, considered one of the finest in private hands in America, consists of over 300 books, and includes nearly all of the first editions (many of them signed or presentation copies), proof copies, volumes with Greene contributions, magazine articles by Greene, and other related items. Besides containing such rarities as his first book, Babbling April, the collection includes numerous volumes from Greene's own library, often annotated by the novelist. The book portion of the collection is also supplemented by a series of over 50 autograph and typed letters by Greene. The gift was made in honor of the library's bicentennial and, taken together with the library's other Greene holdings, gives Georgetown an unparalleled collection of Greene first editions.

In addition to the Jeffs Collection, the library has also recently acquired a group of 40 letters from Greene to his nephew, James Greene, and a colorful set of 16 handsomely executed posters for a British Council Exhibition about Greene's life, the gift of the British Council in London.