JASPers, invited guests, and the press were on hand Thursday, November 21, to welcome the arrival of one of the ten copies Symonds privately printed in 1883 of his groundbreaking essay, A Problem in Greek Ethics. Until just a few weeks ago, only five of the original ten were known to survive, but when a sixth appeared on the antiquarian book market, Gabrielle Dean, William Kurrelmeyer Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts and co-PI of JASP, moved quickly to acquire it for Hopkins. This is in fact copy #6, as Symonds numbered the set, and it once belonged to Richard Burton, translator of the Arabian Nights. With the book came a pair of letters between Symonds and Burton on the occasion of the loan. (In his letter, Symonds asks Burton to return the copy when he has finished reading it.)
We’ll be posting more about this exciting discovery in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned!
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