A photograph from the front during World
War I, included with a collection of letters from Count Andre
de Limur. Circa 1915.
A few years ago, Mary de Limur Weinmann of Washington, D.C.
and her late brother, Charles de Limur of San Francisco, California
generously donated to Special Collections a remarkable array
of literary and historical autograph letters. Among the writers
were Robert Browning, Henry James, George Meredith, Robert
Louis Stevenson, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Alfred Tennyson;
historic figures included Aaron Burr, Napoleon III, Queen Victoria,
and the Duke of Wellington. Also in the collection were documents
signed by noted participants in the French Revolution.
Mrs. Weinmann has recently made another most welcome donation,
accompanied by an exceptional gift from her husband, Eric W.
Weinmann. Included is an extraordinary collection of nearly
200 letters in French (1914-1915) written by Mrs. Weinmann’s
father, Count Andre de Limur, during the first years of World
War I, when he served as a cavalry officer. Written to his
parents, they vividly describe his life and the conditions
of the war front, displaying humor as well as pathos. The donation
by Mr. Weinmann includes rare books in German by Heinrich Heine
and Friedrich Schiller, as well as a good number by Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, including a 40-volume set of his Werke
(1828-30), a lifetime edition, and a sumptuous 1925 set of
his Faust with illustrations by Arthur Kampf, who signed each
in pencil. Also included is a fine set of Samuel Johnson’s
The Works of English Poets. With Prefaces, Biographical
and Critical (1790), in 75 volumes, with numerous engraved portraits,
bound in contemporary full calf. First published by Dr. Johnson
in 68 volumes in 1778-81, the Weinmann set is a larger second
edition, and includes an additional fourteen poets. It contains
Dr. Johnson’s final revisions and is considered his last
literary work.
