The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940 Page: 290
576 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
this but reminded him that he had always been urging me to
make the University first class and that if this library were so
beautiful and complete as Dr. Griffith had described it, its
acquisition by the University would enable the institution to
take a long step in the desired direction. It would give the
University possession of a treasure so unique and valuable that
scholars from all over the world would, sooner or later, be com-
pelled to find their way to the University of Texas, and our own
faculty and students would find in it materials for research of
incomparable value. He was thoughtful for a moment and the
room was filled with a sound of stillness, and then all tension
was removed and all hopes revived when he said, "I don't know
whether I have that much cash on hand or not." Picking up his
telephone he called his bookkeeper in the bank and asked him to
bring him at once a statement of his balance. In a few minutes
a slip of paper was laid before him and he immediately wrote a
check to my order for $500,000 and handed it to me. Having
done this, his enthusiasm began to mount until it was soon equal
to my own, which was considerable, and he requested me to leave
the next morning for Chicago and get the Wrenn Library and
if the amount provided should prove to be insufficient for that
purpose to let him know and the balance would be forthcoming.
The plan then formed was carried out. Mr. William H. Burges,
then of Chicago and now of El Paso, gave invaluable assistance
both in the examination of the collection and in the negotiations
of purchase. The statement set forth upon the memorial tablet
in the Library that the University's possession of the collection
was due to the combined generosity of Major Littlefield and the
heirs of Mr. Wrenn is not only strictly correct but, to my mind,
is a beautiful comment upon Major Littlefield's generous spirit.
He not only raised no objection to this combination but was
heartily in favor of it. Before the purchase negotiations were
completed the collection was examined and appraised by three
men, expert in such matters. My recollection is that these ap-
praisals ranged from approximately $600,000 to more than $800,-
000. The price actually paid was $225,000, and for the first
time on record, probably, a University declared a dividend and
a college president surrendered money once in his possession, for
upon my return to Austin I not only brought the Library but290
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940, periodical, 1940; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101111/m1/314/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.