Listen to co-curator Erica Ciallela talk about media coverage of Belle Greene’s acquisitions and hear actor Andi Bohs read a passage from one of her letters.
Alexander Popini (1878–1962)
Color-printed illustration imagining Belle da Costa Greene at the Robert Hoe sale
Reproduced from “Fifty Thousand Dollars for That Book,” The World Magazine, May 21, 1911
ERICA: In May 1911 Belle Greene made her most famous acquisition yet, winning at auction the only complete surviving copy of William Caxton’s printing of Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. Her achievement made headlines and prompted this sensationally titled magazine article, “Fifty Thousand Dollars For That Book!” The morning after the article was published, Belle Greene was horrified when her mother showed her the piece.
ANDI: We arrived about brutal and I was “all in” so went immediately to bed and was awakened by mother bending over & holding up a horrible vision of myself in the Sunday World – full page & brightly coloured. Well I had a dozen different fits of anger and despair. You can’t do a thing with these damned newspapers – and although it said in the accompanying article that I was very quiet – & self-contained yet this picture was of half actress and half college girl – It really is too mean of them. If I behave in a dignified way when attending to my business why can’t they treat me in the same way in their newspaper or better still why can’t they leave me out? I was so cross that it has given me a violent headache & so I am spending the morning in bed.