Snapshot from the Library …

The provenance of a book in a library is generally unimportant to the reader. He or she wants to learn, read or merely look. However, in Special Collections the books by their very nature are special. The content remains relevant but we look more closely at other attributes such as its binding, paper, design. illustrations etc.  So, to colate and retrieve this information requires much time and expertise;nothing gets overlooked; not even this … simple note from the author to a colleague in an insignificant  little book. A greeting from Thomas Hardy to his then secretary Florence Emily Dugdale.  When his wife, Emma Lavinia Gifford died, Florence, 39 years his junior became his wife.