The Thomas M. Loome Catholic Modernism Research Collection–now for sale

 

The Thomas M. Loome Catholic Modernism Research Collection

The Thomas M. Loome Catholic Modernism Research Collection is the largest research collection of Catholic Modernist books, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, journals, and photographs. Thomas Loome assembled the materials for the collection over many years visiting institutional archives, publishers, and private homes from England to Germany to France and Italy. Loome, as the original “librarian” of the collection, organized copies of correspondence in sequence with annotations, tracked down journal articles and pseudonymous pamphlets, annotated books with references to correspondence and journal articles. Loome privately rebound hundreds of titles, often in fine leather. He also bound periodicals and pamphlets in attractive marbled boards. The Thomas M. Loome Catholic Modernism Collection is the only collection to show the varied and extensive links between the broad movement of Modernism, mostly in the Catholic Church, but also in Protestant communions.

Loome sold the collection to the University of San Francisco in 1975 where it languished uncataloged and largely unaccessed. Recently the collection has passed back to the bookstore Loome founded, Loome Theological Booksellers.

If you would like to examine the collection for purchase or inquire as to the price of the collection please contact Christopher Hagen at 651-430-1092

Below is Loome’s original description of the collection:

The collection is far and away the largest and most comprehensive collection on “Modernism” in existence, markedly superior, for example, to the holdings on Modernism of the British Museum and the Bibliothèque Nationale combined. The collection includes:

1. Approximately [1500] printed works, most of which have recently been repaired and/or bound, in many cases in fine leather (a few works, recently acquired, need binding):

a. These printed works embrace the whole range of theological “Modernism”, primarily in Roman Catholicism but also including Modernism within the Protestant and Anglican churches.

b. These printed works embrace Modernism primarily in Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, but include also primary printed documentation for Modernism in the Netherlands, America, Switzerland and Austria.

c. Most of these printed works were published during the years 1895-1912, but the collection includes almost all of the studies and monographs on Modernism and individual Modernists published subsequently.

d. The collection includes numerous anonymous, pseudonymous and privately printed works, as well as signed presentation copies and/or works from the personal libraries of almost all the major Roman Catholic Modernists (e.g. Blondel, Bremond, Fawkes, Houtin, von Hügel, Laberthonnière, Loisy, Merkly, Petre, Schnitzer, Tyrrell, Ward).

2. A very large collection of unpublished documentation, almost all in photocopy and carefully ordered folio volumes, the remainder in microfilm.

a. This documentation centers on George Tyrrell and Friedrich von Hügel and includes almost all their extant correspondence.

b. The originals are preserved in approximately 45 different collections, some in private hands, some in institutional archives or libraries.

c. In addition to the Tyrrell and von Hügel material there is a wide range of additional unpublished documentation concerning other Modernists; chiefly drawn from British and German archival sources.

3. The correspondence received by [Thomas Loome] from almost all of the international authorities on Roman Catholic Modernism, in all approximately 500 letters from the period 1968-1974.

Details of the Collection:

A. Manila Folders Containing Copies of Documents, Copies of Articles, Offprints, Some Photographs, and Some Original Correspondence. Each Folder Identified Below; Numbering is Arbitrary.

1. “Joseph Schnitzer (1859-1939)”. Contains letter from Alois Schnitzer to Thomas Loome describing letters from such as Loisy, Houtin, Laberthonnière, Sabatier, and Buonaiutti to Schnitzer; copies of a few letters; copy of a 1908 Schnitzer article (in German).

2. “Albert Ehrhard (1862-1940)”. Copies of four articles (in German), 1902-1908.

3. “Philipp Funk (1884-1937)”. List of writings; 2 photographs and photograph of painted portrait; biographical notes and obituary.

4. “Hugo Koch (1869-1940)”. Biographical material.

5. “Francis Xavier Kraus (1840-1901)”. Seven articles (in German) by Kraus (1897-1903); one article (in German) on Kraus (n.d.).

6. “Francis Xavier Kraus”. Copies of five articles by Kraus (in German), signed “Gerontius” in Allgemeine Zeitung (1899-1901) regarding English ecclesiastical situation; copies of nine letters of Kraus to the A.Z. (1895-99).

7. “Sebastian Merkle (1862-1945)”. Copies of a few articles (c.1912+); copy of letter to Lady Blennerhassett (1914).

8. “Joseph Sauer (1872-1949)”. Copies of transcripts of four letters of Sauer to Loisy (1902+) (in French, from Bibliotheque Nationale).

9. “Joseph Sauer”. Copy of “Tagebucher: III. Teil (9.Dez.1901-11.August 1916)” and “Reise journal 22.Nov.1900-10.Jan. 1901 (Paris-Lyon-Marseilles-Italien)”.

10. “Joseph Sauer”. Signed, miscellaneous essays (1902, 1905).

11. “Joseph Sauer”. Copies of three articles from Beilage fur Allgemeinen Beitung (1903-1904).

12. “Paul Schanz – Aufsätze über Modernisten”. Seven copies of articles.

13. “Hermann Schell”. Copies of a few articles.

14. “Heinrich Schrörs (1852-1928)”. Copies of several articles and reviews (1900-1906).

15. “Andere Reformkatholiken”. Biographical information (slight) on Julius Bachen (1845-1918), editor of Kolnishen Volkzeitung (1869-1914); Otto Bardenhewer (1851-1935); Heinrich Gunter (1870-1951); Franz Xavier Kiefl (1869-1928); Joseph Müller (1855-1942); Martin Spahn (1875-1945).

16. “Renaissance 1900-“.

17. “Literarische Rundschau” (edited by Joseph Sauer). Two page list of reviews (1905-1910) including at least nine or ten by Bremond.

18. “Beilage der Münchener…Nachrichter”. List of eleven articles (1908-1909), including one by Eucken on “Tyrrell und Mercier”, J. Schnitzer on Sabatier, and a review of Tyrell’s Letter to a Professor.

19. “Freie Deutsche Blätter (2-3-01 – 29-3-02)”. Three-page list of articles by Sauer in FDB; seven-page list of articles in FDB (1901-1912), including entries for “Sincerus”, Tyrrell (1907), Norman Smyth, and Maude Petre (translation of letter to Times, 1909); also items from Das Zwanzigste Jahrhundert (1902-1908) and Das Neue Jahrhundert: Organ der deutschen Modernisten (1909-1914), a journal edited by Philipp Funk.

20. “Demain”. List of numbers of the review, including list of 24 patrons/collaborators; list of some contributors to Demain; copies of a few articles.

21. “Süddentsche Monatschefte (1904-1903)”.

22. “Beilage fur Allgemeine Zeitung (Munich)”. Nine copies of articules (1902-1907), including one by Eucken on Tyrrell’s Lex Credendi (1906).

23. “B. The Vatican I Generation”. Names and dates of personages in Germany and England.

24. “C. The ‘Middle Generation’”. Names and dates of personages in Germany and England.

25. “D. The Modernist Generation”. Names and dates of personages in Germany and England (those who were in 30s or early 40s in 1903).

26. “Chronology for ‘Reform Katholizismus’”. List of names, mostly German, but including von Hügel, Frank Rooke Ley, and Tyrrell; list of German pseudonyms.

27. “Holtzmann über Reform Katholizismus”. Several pages of copies of articles by Holtzmann and at least three others in German and French reviews (1903-1908).

28. “Writings of Friedrich von Hügel (1883-1908) (items 1-35)”. Copies of von Hügel articles and letters to editors; also includes items by Wilfrid Ward, H. Lucas, S.J., Charles Gore, and J. Wehrle.

29. “Writings of von Hügel, 1908+ (items 36-79)”. All copies.

30. “Annotated Books from F. v. Hügel’s Library”. Copies of select pages from von Hügel’s books at St. Andrews University Library. Notable are extensive notes on end sheets of Tyrrell’s Hard Sayings (1898).

31. “Reading Lists from F.v.H.’s Diaries.” Copies of selected pages of diaries, 1877-79, and 1884+, on which von Hügel noted some of the books in read each year.

32. “Petre-Clutton-Tyrrell-Channey Families, also Shelley”. Several letters to Thomas Loome; genealogical information.

33. “Editors: Heythrop Journal, Downside, Month, Tablet”. Some correspondence about Loome’s writings.

34. “Individual Researchers in Allied Areas”. Some correspondence with Loome.

35. “Libraries and Archives”. Correspondence with Loome.

36. “Jesuit Priests and Farm Street Library”. Includes originals of a Joseph Rickaby letter (1900); a letter of C. S. Martindale to Chapman (1961) containing opinions about Tyrrell; letters from a priest at Heythrop College to Chapman concerning Tyrrell’s writings in the “Blandyke Papers”, an in-house handwritten magazine conducted by the philosophy faculty at Stonyhurst; some letters to Loome.

37. “Publishers, Including Letters from Maisie Ward Sheed”. Loome’s correspondence with Tyrrell’s publishers and with Maisie Sheed.

38. “Articles on Tyrrell”. Copies of twenty articles, some by contemporaries such as Bremond and Dell, some later.

39. “Unpublished Tyrrell Essays”. Two essays (copies) from the “Blandyke Papers”: 1) “Quid mihi et tibi?” (April, 1895); 2) “How do you know?” (May, 1896); and typescript of “Beati Excommunicati” (with a carbon).

40. “Letters of Tyrrell and von Hügel”. Copies of seven letters of von Hügel to Dom Brizio Casciola (1911-1923) (in French); four letters of von Hügel to Padre Gazzolla (1909-1912) (in French); six letters of Tyrrell to Semeria (1900-1904) (typed copies, in English); chronology of Tyrrell’s life, including places of residence.

41. “Joint Pastoral (1901) Articles”. Copies of Month articles (1901) by S. Smith and J. Rickaby; copy of Tyrrell’s unpublished essay, “Rome’s Opportunity” (written late 1901).

42. “Tyrrell – Prefaces and Introductions”. Copies of twelve items.

43. “Tyrrell-Reviews (1895-1903)”. Copies of sixteen items, including some from Weekly and Monthly Register.

44. “Tyrrell-Reviews (1904-1909)”. Copies of fifteen items.

45. “Tyrrell-Essays, Letters-to-the-Editors (1891-1899)”. Copies of eight items.

46. “Tyrrell-Essays, etc. (1900-1906)”. Copies of twenty items to Weekly and Monthly Register, Pilot, Demain, and Tablet.

47. “Tyrrell-Essays, etc. (1907)”. Includes two essays in Italian journals.

48. “Tyrrell-Essays, Letters-to-the-Editors (Jan.-June, 1908)”. Ten items.

49. “Tyrrell-Essays, Letters-to-the-Editors (July-Dec., 1908)”. Seven items.

50. “Tyrrell-Essays, etc. (1909-1912)”. Thirteen items.

51. “Tyrrell-Poetry, Letters”. Nine items.

52. “Crehan-Thurston”. Correspondence between Loome, Chapman, and Crehan regarding Tyrrell-Thurston correspondence.

53. “Tyrrell’s Death and Burial – Obituaries”. Includes copies of M. Petre’s hand-written notes on Tyrrell’s last days; notes from the Clutton papers; some published obituaries.

54. “Tyrrell and A. H. Mathew”. Copies of typescripts of correspondence in Archives of the English Province of the Society of Jesus.

55. “Lea-Mathew Correspondence (1906-1909)”. Fifteen-page type-script of article by Loome on Henry Charles Lea; copies of nineteen letters between Mathew and Lea, from H. C. Lea Memorial Library of the University of Pennsylvania.

56. “Individuals Possessing MSS”. File of Loome’s correspondence with such as Dr. Adams (Clutton Papers), E. I. Watkin, Sir Francis Meynell, G. H. Newsome, and Lord Ashbourne (grandson of W. Gibson).

57. “Articles by Wilfred Ward”. Three items.

58. “Miscellaneous Photocopies”. Copies of articles in Modernist period.

59. “Articles by Dillon (?)”. Copies of four articles from the Contemporary Review (c. 1903-1904) under pseudonyms “Voces Catholicae” and “Romanus”.

60. “Lady Charlotte Blennerhassett: Biographical Essays”. Eleven essays (1877-1917) on Dupanloup, Montalembert, Kraus, Acton, Newman, et. al. (mostly in German publications); copy of Alfred Dumaine’s “Lady Blennerhassett: La Dernière Europêene” (1917).

61. “George Tyrrell-Modernist Controversy”. Correspondence relating to acquisition of the Tyrrell/Modernist Collection.

62. “Hochland”. Copies of articles (c. 1960-1961).

63. “Modernist-von Hügel-Tyrrell Students”. Correspondence with Loome.

64. “Tyrrell Bibliography”. Copy of typescript for Loome’s first Heythrop bibliography; copies of other printed bibliographies on Tyrrell.

65. “Unpublished Material Consulted”. Brief hand list of von Hügel Papers, St. Andrews; two sheets on Blennerhassett Papers, Cambridge University Library.

66. “Unsigned Reviews – Perhaps by Tyrrell”. (Probably not by Tyrrell).

67. “Unsigned Essays and Letters, Perhaps by Tyrrell”. Includes copy of “Scahdalum Pusillorum,” Weekly Register, 11 Oct. 1901, 445-446; and “Cisalpine’s” “The ‘Dublin Review’ and the ‘Rinnovamento’,” The Guardian, 5 Feb. 1908, 201.

68. “Articles Concerning Friedrich von Hügel”. Copies of seventeen articles (1925-1965) by such as Claude Montefiore, Charles Gardner, T. S. Eliot, Gwendolen Greene, Clement Webb, Michael Hanbury, et. al.; also includes printed membership lists for the London Society for the Study of Religion (1913-1922, 1926-1930).

69. “Articles on: Bremond, Blondel, and Thorlod”.

70. “Modernism”. Copies of articles (1907-1970), about twenty.

71. “Relevant Articles”. Copies of a few items from Weekly Register, Pilot, etc. (1901-1908).

72. “Maude Petre”. Copies of fifteen articles (1900-1943), all by Petre.

73. “Photographs and Genealogies”. Contains photographs of Tyrrell and some German figures, as well as one of Pius X and Merry del Val; four-page genealogy of Tyrrell family.

74. “Photographs”. Several photographs of Tyrrell, the funeral, M. Petre, E. Bishop, R. Dell, and W. Gibson. Some negatives.

B. Microfilms.

1. Film of unpublished letters of Tyrrell and von Hügel to the editor of the Church Quarterly Review in Lambeth Palace Library (MSS.1616-1620, select folios only).

2. Film of von Hügel’s extensively annotated copy of Blondel’s Histoire et dogme (presumably from St. Andrews).

3. Film of correspondence of Tyrrell and Houtin (N.A.F.15743); this reel also includes four letters of J. Sauer to Loisy (?) (N.A.F.15661).

4. Large manila envelope containing three reels from British Library:

1) 44930-44931, von Hügel and Tyrrell; 45361-45362, von Hügel to Petre.

2) 44927-44929, von Hügel and Tyrrell (1897+).

3) 43680-43681, Tyrrell to A. R. Waller (1898-1908).

C. Manila Envelopes (mostly 5”x7”) and Unbound Packets.

1. Unbound Packet. Copies of letters of von Hügel to Dent publishing company, about Mystical Element of Religion.

2. Envelope with two pamphlets: 1) Duren J. H. Ward, “Fundamentalism and Modernism: A Seaside Episode” (Denver: Up the Divide Publishing Co., 1925), 32pp.; 2) “The Mortu Proprio of Pope Pius X, Dated June 29, 1910” (Chicago: Open Court, [1911]), 36pp.

(Note: all letters in envelopes described below are copies)

3. Envelope. Six letters of J. Möller to Kraus (1897-1901, n.d.).

4. Envelope. One letter of John Ireland to Kraus (1899) (in French).

5. Envelope. Six letters of Felix Klein to Kraus (1898-1901) (in French).

6. Envelope. One letter of Eucken to Kraus (1901).

7. Envelope. Eight letters of W. Gibson to Kraus (1899-1901, n.d.) (in French).

8. Envelope. Five letters of Genocchi to Kraus (1899-1900, n.d.).

9. Envelope. Two letters of J. Bumüller to Kraus (1901).

10. Envelope. One letter of R. Dell to Kraus (1901).

11. Envelope. Four letters of E. J. Dillon to Kraus (1899-1901).

12. Envelope. Five letters of Ehrhard to Kraus (1889-1898).

13. Envelope. Nine letters of Bonomelli to Kraus (1898-1901, n.d.).

14. Envelope. One letter of H. I. Ryder to Kraus (written for Newman, 1879).

15. Envelope. Two letters of Schmidlin to Kraus (1901).

16. Envelope. Four letters of Schrörs to Kraus (1886-1900).

17. Envelope. Two letters of Bishop Spaulding to Kraus (1900-1901).

18. Envelope. Eighteen letters of J. Sauer to Ehrhard (1901-1932).

19. Envelope. Four letters of August Cholat (ed. of Demain) to Ehrhard (1905-1907); one letter of J. Müller to Ehrhard (1937).

20. Envelope. Nineteen letters of Alfred von Reumont to Kraus (1871-1885).

21. Envelope. Six letters of Lord Acton to Kraus ([1878] to 1896, n.d.).

22. Envelope. One letter of William Barry to Kraus (1899).

23. Envelope. Nineteen letters of Kraus to Lady Blennerhassett (1899-1901).

24. Envelope. Twenty-one letters of Kraus to Lady Blennerhassett (1895-1898). (Originals of items 23 and 24 in Cambridge University Library).

25. Envelope. Five letters of A. Ehrhard to Blennerhassett (1902-1911).

26. Envelope. Seven letters of Eucken to Blennerhassett (1901-1904).

27. Envelope. Six letters of G. Pfeilschifter to Blennerhassett (1907-10) (originals of items 25-27 in Cambridge Univ. Library).

D. Six Red Spiral Notebooks with Copied Letters Pasted In.

1. “Miss Norah Shelley”. Nine or Ten letters, mostly to A. L. Lilley. (Probably from St. Andrews University Library).

2. “Letters of Friedrich von Hügel”. Includes: seven letters to Kraus (1895-1900; five letters to Ehrhard (1898-1922); twelve letters to H.I.D. Ryder (1890-1893); seven letters to Eucken (1897-1906); and twenty-one letters to G. W. Young (1904-1910). Ryder group also includes copy of von Hügel’s “Notes Addressed to the Very Revd. H. I. D. R. Upon the Subject of Biblical Inspiration and Inerrancy” (Privately printed, July, 1891, 15pp.).

3. “Lady Blennerhassett to Albert Ehrhard (1903-1915)”. Thirty-Four pages.

4. Unlabeled Notebook. Includes: three letters of von Hügel to David Cairns (1916-1918); five letters of Genocchi to von Hügel (1898-1916); sixteen letters of J. H. Newman to von Hügel (1874-1875).

5. “Edmund Bishop to von Hügel”. Twenty-five letters (1904-1913).

6. “Joseph Sauer Papers (Freiburg)”. Includes fourteen letters from Bremond (1904-1908); one letter from F. Klein (1902); four letters from Loisy (1903-1906); four letters of Sauer to Loisy (from N. A. F.); one letter from Rhoda von Schubert (1925); two letters from George Tyrrell (1904-1907).

E. Eleven Large Bound Notebooks with Copied Correspondence Pasted In.

1. Large Green Scrapbook. Includes copies of 1) Frank Rooke Ley Papers (St. Andrews); 2) Some Wilfrid Ward Papers (St. Andrews); 3) David Fleming Papers (Franciscan Archives, London); 4) Kraus Papers (Trier); 5) H. I. D. Ryder Papers (Birmingham Oratory); and several copies of articles and letters in Weekly Register, Pilot, etc. All these papers relate to “Liberal Catholicism, 1899-1903”.

2. Red Scrapbook. Copies of Tyrrell-Raffalovish correspondence (1899-1908) (Blackfriars, Oxford).

3. Green Minute Book. Letters of Tyrrell to Thurston (copies of Crehan’s two articles in The Month).

4. Blue Scrapbook. Copies of Tyrrell to Houtin letters (N. A. F., Fonds. Houtin 15743).

5. Green Scrapbook. Includes: 1) thirty-five letters of Tyrrell to Kitty Clutton (1904-1909); 2) nine letters of Tyrrell to Fr. Henry Clutton (1902-1908); 3) one letter of Arthur Bell to K. Clutton; 4) Norah Shelley’s account of Tyrrell’s death; 5) K. Clutton’s annotation of M. Petre’s printed account of Tyrrell’s death; 6) one letter of Dessoulavey to von Hügel (1909); 7) one letter of Lilley to von Hügel (1909); 8) one letter of J. Walker to von Hügel (1909); 9) obituary of Tyrrell; 10) Clutton to von Hügel (1909); 11) Stockley to Maisie Ward; 12) Hammersley; 13) Amigo to Bourne.

6. Grey Minute Book. Includes copies of Tyrrell to A. L. Lilley (1903-1909, from St. Andrews); and copies of one letter from Rickaby to Young (1908) and one letter from Tyrrell to Young (1908).

7. Green Book – “Miscellaneous Correspondence”. Items in chronological order (189801904) from: 1) Archives of English Province of Society of Jesus; 2) Archives of the Archdiocese of Westminster; 3) Wilfrid Meynell Papers; 4) Ward Family Papers, including a few letters of Tyrrell to Ward.

8. Green Book. A miscellaneous collection including: 1) seven letters of von Hügel to Halifax (1902-1909); 2) eleven letters of Tyrrell to Halifax (1897-1902); 3) ten letters of Halifax to von Hügel (1895-1911); 4) thirteen letters of von Hügel to James Ward; 5) three letters of Tyrrell to Mignot; 6) one letter of Tyrrell to Abbot Ford of Downside (1905); 7) three letters of Tyrrell to Casciola (1903-1906); 8) exchange between Wilfrid Ward and Lady Blennerhassett on Acton and Newman (c.1912).

9. Green Book, “Letters of Tyrrell to Maude Petre” (1903-1908). Also includes: 1) letters of Tyrrell to Loisy (1902-1909); 2) letters of Tyrrell to Laberthonnière (1903-1907); 3) miscellaneous letters of Duchesne and W. Barry to Lady Blennerhassett.

10. Green Book. Letters of Tyrrell to Petre (1898-1902).

11. Green Book. All von Hügel items, including: 1) copies of the von Hügel to Bishop letters published in Dublin Review; 2) an unpublished von Hügel Synthetic Society paper (1896); 3) copies of von Hügel to M. D’Arcy letters published in The Month; 4) two letters of von Hügel to E. I. Watkin (1921-23) and von Hügel’s notes for a discussion with Watkin (1923); 5) unpublished notes of W. Ward for an essay on von Hügel; 6) fifteen letters of C. Butler to von Hügel (1895-1904); 7) four letters of Buonaiutti to von Hügel (1907-1910); 8) two letters of David Fleming to von Hügel; 9) three letters of von Hügel to Charles Gore; 10) one letter each of von Hügel to Laberthonnière (1911) and Cardinal Vaughan (1896); 11) and one letter of Harnack to von Hügel (1911).

F. Eight Extra-Large Red Spiral Notebooks Containing Copied Items.

1. “Miscellaneous Letters, 1906-1911”. Includes copies of letters from the Farm Street Archives, Wilfred Ward Papers, Meynell Papers, Halifax Papers, and Bourne Papers. Specific items include: letters to Ward from Tyrrell, Barry, Fawkes, Williams, and Duke of Norfolk; letters of Ward to Norfolk, Bourne, Cox, W. S. Lilly, Williams, and Fawkes; several letters of Tyrrell to Jesuit superiors.

2. Ehrhard-Keppler, Auseinandersetzung (1902-1903).

3. Letters of von Hügel to Wilfred Ward, I (1881-1898).

4. Letters of von Hügel to Wilfrid Ward, II (1899-1908).

5. Letters of von Hügel to Wilfrid Ward, III (1911-1916). Also includes assorted papers from Downside Archives, including: 1) von Hügel to C. Butler; 2) Dell to Bishop; 3) Mivart to Bishop. Also includes letters of von Hügel to Newman (1874-1886).

6. Letters of von Hügel to A. L. Lilley (1903-1925). Also includes letters of von Hügel to Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J. (1905-1922).

7. Letters of Tyrrell to Bremond, I (1898-1905).

8. Letters of Tyrrell to Bremond, II (1906-1909).

G. Stack of Unbound Photocopies of Correspondence and Essays.

1. Assorted von Hügel items, including: letters of Gladstone to von Hügel; handwritten extracts from newspapers; notes from G. M. Froude’s journal of 1875 with summaries of talks with Newman; notes of a talk with Ryder (1876); extracts from articles.

2. Copies of letters of von Hügel to Norman Kemp Smith (1919-1924).

3. Letters of Holtzmann to von Hügel (1901-1910) (from St. Andrews).

4. Letters of Hans Vaihinger to von Hügel (1904-1920) (St. Andrews).

5. Selected items from A. L. Lilley Papers (St. Andrews), including letters from Bremond, Dell, Clutton, Fawkes, Houtin, Inge, Loisy, Sabatier, and Lisa Scopoli.

6. Letters of Eucken to von Hügel (St. Andrews).

H. Box of Original Von Hügel Papers.

1. Eighty-Six letters of von Hügel to Gwendolen Plunkett Green, including numerous letters not published in Letters to a Niece, or published only in part.

2. Three Manuscripts of von Hügel Essays: 1) “Some Notes on the Petrine Claims” (in form of a letter dated Sept. 2-7, 1893), 58pp. (Published in book-form in 1930; in MS the letter is addressed to “My Dear Rhoda,” and the Anglican divine is identified as Walter Frere.); 2) “The Difficulties and Dangers of Nationality” (dated July 3, 1921), 30pp., signed “G. P. G. from F. v. H. (This essay published in the Challenge, 4 & 11 August 1922, and reprinted in Essays and Addresses, Vol. I.); 3) “Remarks in Answer to the Question ‘What Do I Mean by God?’ Read at the L. S. S. R. Meeting of 7^th Feb., 1922”, 12pp. typescript with penciled corrections (includes comments on positions of Mr. Hellerstrom, Mr. Handley, Mr. Montefiore, and Dr. Dessoulavey.

I. Miscellaneous Items.

1. Unbound Copy of 22pp. typescript, “Carl von Hügel. Early Years” “Fragment of an Autobiography Written for his Children”.

2. Loose original letter of Edmund Gardner to Wilfrid Ward (1908), regarding an unfavorable review of Gardner’s St. Catherine of Siena in the Dublin Review, with annotation by Ward.

Loome Theological Booksellers in the News

Dear Loominaries,

Since moving to Claret Farm last year a couple news organizations took notice and printed some articles about the move.  Also, I was recently interviewed about "Why Catholic Books still Matter".  This post simply collects all three articles together in one place.

The first was an article written by Susan Klemon of the Catholic Spirit newspaper.  She visited the farm one morning and did a long interview with me and my wife.  You can read the article here.

Me and Christelle

Then on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary Joseph O'Brien sat down with me for another lengthy interview for the Catholic Times.  How do these reporters condense such long interviews into their short articles?  Read the article here.

Me and books.

Lastly, I found a request in my inbox one day from Brandon Vogt for an interview regarding the state of Catholic books.  He emailed me the questions and I answered them at my own pace.  After asking my wife and colleagues at the bookstore to review my answers I sent them back to Brandon.  He published the interview on his blog here.

Me and Oxford

The hard thing about promoting your favorite bookstore as the owner, is that it often involves promoting yourself.  Therefore, although I've included pictures of me in this posting, what is most important is that good books get in the hands of good people who will read and study them into the Truth.  That's what Loome Theological Booksellers is all about and why I promote the work of the bookstore.

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TOWN REWRITES CODE TO KEEP ONE SMALL BUSINESS REACHING A GLOBAL CLIENTELE

Relocating the Largest Theological Bookstore in the World to a nearby Family Farm Required Negotiations with Town Officials, and More Than 100 Minivan and Trailer Loads

In early 2012 when Christopher Hagen, proprietor of Loome Theological Booksellers of Stillwater, MN, decided to relocate the bookstore, he had no conception of the obstacles he would face in accomplishing the move.  After finding the perfect new location on a farm in West Lakeland Township, Hagen soon discovered that the town code prohibited operating a business of the scale of Loome Booksellers from the farm site.  In addition, Hagen faced the seemly insurmountable task of moving the largest theological bookstore in the world, consisting of nearly 100,000 books, while keeping the doors open and filling internet orders.  Undaunted, Hagen plunged into negotiations with town officials to get the code changed, while his employees began to dismantle and pack up the bookstore from its original location in a vertically challenging 100-year-old church building.  From September through December Hagen attended meetings with town officials regarding the change in town code while supervising the bookstore move.  Finally, Hagen got a green light from the town officials and an approved revision to the town code shortly before Thanksgiving, just in time to open for business on the farm.  Now he is putting the finishing touches on the new Loome Theological Booksellers farm location just in time for the Grand Opening Celebration on April 26 and 27.

Christopher and his wife, Christelle, dreamed for 15 years of running a bookstore together and living on a farm with their 5 children.  In the winter of 2012 they decided to fulfill that dream by aiming for something they’d never heard of before: a bookstore combined with a family farm.  However, there were two obstacles to fulfilling their dream; they didn’t have a farm and Christopher owned a bookstore with nearly 100,000 volumes, a daunting amount to consider moving.  Since the early 1980s the bookstore was in the landmark 100 year old Swedish Covenant church building near downtown Stillwater, MN.  Packed with books and bookcases lining the walls, stairwells, and balconies, the store was a destination for spiritual bibliophiles from all over the world, many making annual “pilgrimages” to buy books.  How could Christopher move out of that location with only a handful of employees while keeping the internet orders, the primary revenue stream, open and working efficiently?  “When first deciding to move the bookstore,” Christopher says “I didn’t have a clue as to how we would actually move it.  I just decided it had to be done”.  First, however, they needed a farm to move the bookstore to.

“Thanks be to God,” Christopher says “my wife, Christelle, loves to comb craigslist for houses!  We had set a deadline of June 30^th, 2012 for finding a farm.  On June 30^th my wife spotted a craigslist ad for the farm we now live on.”  The farm location was better than the Hagens thought possible.  Not only did it have a beautiful restored farm house, but it also had a shed large enough to hold all the books with an already finished portion as ideal retail bookstore space.  Also on the property was a separate building suitable for hosting speaking events and reading groups, a long term desire for the bookstore.  To top it off there was enough field acreage to begin their adventures in family farming.  There was only one significant catch.  The property was in West Lakeland Township, MN which had a home occupation code that allowed a home based business to have only one employee on-site.  There were 3 full-time and 3 part-time employees at the bookstore.

“I decided to appeal to the town board to allow all my employees to work from the farm location since they are what make this business great and the farm was big enough that I couldn’t use it effectively without them,” Christopher says.  During the first meeting with the town board, the board indicated that they were willing to try and make changes so that the bookstore could continue at the farm with all the employees.  It took three more monthly meetings before the revisions to the town code became law, just in time for Hagen to open for business at the farm Thanksgiving 2012.  “I was so pleased to see local government do what it could to help my family live and work on a farm together and also keep all my employees together,” says Chris “I’m very grateful”.

Moving the bookstore was physically daunting, somewhat dangerous, and very long.  For four months, sawing and pulling apart bookcases, packing thousands of books, loading the moving minivan and trailer in rain, snow, and ice was routine for the bookstore.  “I couldn’t have done it without my ingenious, efficient, and dedicated employees,” said Hagen, “many volunteers helped as well.  There was great goodwill from unexpected places during the move.  I can’t believe we did it”.

The last load from the old location arrived at the farm the Friday before Christmas.  During the winter the bookstore has continued to build bookcases and unpack books at its new location at 2270 Neal Ave. N.  Now, to celebrate the relocation and successful move, Loome Theological Booksellers is holding a two-day Grand Opening celebration on Friday and Saturday April 26 and 27.  All books will be on sale at 20% off.  On Friday evening customers may attend a talk entitled “The Family Farm and the Restoration of Society” and on Saturday morning attend a talk on England’s famous convert, John Henry Newman, entitled “Newman’s Quest for a Real Spiritual Life”.  Visit www.LoomeBooks.com for more information.  There will also be refreshments and tours.

Loome Theological Booksellers was founded in 1981 to provide discerning readers with good hard-to-find or out-of-print books in the Christian theological and intellectual tradition.  Visitors come from all over North America and Europe to browse the largest selection of theological books found in one place.  Thousands of books are purchasable online through www.LoomeBooks.com

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LOOME THEOLOGICAL BOOKSELLERS COMBINES BOOKS AND A FAMILY FARM FOR THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

Inspired by the Writings of John Paul II, Peter Maurin, and St. Anthony Marie Claret Loome Theological Bookstore relocates to Claret Farm in Stillwater

As Peter Maurin, one of the founders, along with Dorothy Day, of the Catholic Worker movement, wrote it is time “to blow the dynamite of the church”. The dynamite to which Maruin referred was the Catholic Church’s counter-cultural social teaching.  After 10 years of studying the writings of John Paull II on work and the new evangelization, Peter Maurin on the restoration of society, and St. Anthony Marie Claret on sustainable family farm life, Christopher Hagen, proprietor of Loome Theological Booksellers of Stillwater, MN, decided to blow the dynamite of the church by relocating the bookstore  to a nearby family farm.  In August of 2012 he moved his family to the farm which they christened Claret Farm, and then soon commenced moving the largest theological bookstore in the world, consisting of nearly 100,000 books.  From September through December the move continued while his family began the adventure of farm life.  This Spring, Hagen is putting the finishing touches on the new Loome Theological Booksellers farm location just in time for the Grand Opening Celebration on  Friday and Saturday April 26 and 27.

Christopher and his wife, Christelle, dreamed for 15 years of running a bookstore together and living on a farm with their 5 children.  Along the way, primarily under the influence of the Stillwater Catholic Worker community, they encountered and studied the writings of John Paul II and Peter Maurin.  John Paull II taught them that “work is for family” and therefore the parents’ careers should serve the family and conform to the family’s needs, not the other way around.  Maurin often wrote in pithy energizing phrases like “eat what you raise, and raise what you eat”.  Maurin also advocated the "agronomic university", a place where he envisioned that workers could become scholars and scholars could become workers.  Maurin taught that the house of hospitality for the poor was necessary, but should be considered as Phase One in a broader plan to renew a dying society.  For Maurin, who had grown up in an agricultural region in France, the house of hospitality necessarily must be followed by a Phase Two, during which individuals and families would learn to provide for themselves, instead of relying on the generosity of others or being dependent on the government.  This process of learning and training was to be carried out in the “agronomic university”.

While preparing a lesson for her homeschooled children, Christelle studied St. Anthony Marie Claret, a nineteenth-century priest, apostle and missionary, who was archbishop of Santiago, Cuba.  While archbishop, Claret wrote a book on farming, originally published in Spanish, that encouraged families to work small farms and own small businesses, because he believed that this provided stability for families and for society.  He encouraged small family farmers to grow a diversity of crops, so that they would be less dependent on the large sugar farms of the day.  He even tried to open a school much like Maurin’s vision of an “agronomic university”!

Challenged and set on fire by these ideas, in the winter of 2012 Christopher and Christelle decided to do what they could to fulfill John Paul II’s call for the new evangelization by aiming for something they’d never heard of before: a bookstore combined with a family farm.  However, they had little hope of finding a location for this farm/bookstore idea to put down roots.  “Thanks be to God,” Christopher says “my wife, Christelle, loves to comb craigslist for houses!  We had set a deadline of June 30^th, 2012 for finding a farm.  On June 30^th my wife spotted a craigslist ad for the farm we now live on.”  The farm location was better than the Hagens thought possible.  Not only did it have a beautiful restored farm house, but it also had a shed large enough to hold all Loome Theological Bookseller’s  books with an already finished portion as ideal retail bookstore space.  Also on the property was a separate building suitable for hosting speaking events and reading groups, a long term desire for the bookstore and classroom space for an “agronomic university”.  To top it off there was enough field acreage to begin their neophyte adventures in family farming.

Hagen finished moving Loome Theological Booksellers the Friday before Christmas.  During the winter the bookstore has continued to build bookcases and unpack books at its new location at 2270 Neal Ave. N.  Now, to celebrate the relocation and successful move, Loome Theological Booksellers is holding a two-day Grand Opening celebration on Friday and Saturday April 26 and 27.  All books will be on sale at 20% off for customers who browse in-store.  On Friday evening customers may attend a talk entitled “The Family Farm and the Restoration of Society” and on Saturday morning they may attend a talk on England’s famous convert, John Henry Newman, entitled “Newman’s Quest for a Real Spiritual Life”.  Visit www.LoomeBooks.com for more information.  There will also be refreshments and tours.  Visit www.LoomeBooks.com for more information.

Loome Theological Booksellers was founded in 1981 to provide discerning readers with good hard-to-find or out-of-print books in the Christian theological and intellectual tradition.  Visitors come from all over North America and Europe to browse the largest selection of theological books found in one place.  Thousands of books are purchasable online through www.LoomeBooks.com.

Claret Farm put down roots in the fall of 2012.  Read more about Claret Farm at www.ClaretFarm.com.

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Let it snow!

This week Claret Farm turned into a sugar-dusted winter wonderland. 

Good weather for good books (in our new heated store)!

The view from our store:

 

Through the window:

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Week 2 on the Farm

  A beautiful morning at Claret Farm.

And the store is coming together!

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Moving

At Loome Theological Booksellers, we have been packing books...

 

 

Moving shelves...

 And getting the new place ready for your arrival.

 The majority of our books are now at Claret Farm, so the new location will be open for browsing the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23. Please telephone our store to see if your favorite sections are there. More moving updates on our website. Our new store is still very much 'under construction', so we thank you for your patience as we continue to make it our new bookstore home. See you on the farm!

Claret Farm

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A Good Look Around

 We are very impressed by Rack Photography's 360-degree photo tour of the old church store. Check it out!

http://rackphoto.com/pp/2012/10/31/loome-theological-booksellers/

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Newmania

Preface

One of the mysteries of Loome Theological Booksellers is that from time to time old things of unknown origin come to light for no apparent reason-- yet with great significance. 

Today is the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman, which is currently a private feast to be celebrated only in Newman's diocese (Birmingham, England) and by those particular communities with special association to him. Loome Theological Booksellers is (unfortunately) not officially one of these particular communities, but we are Newman fans. It should also be said that since Newman was beatified (and assigned a feast day) only two years ago in 2010, Newman's feast day itself is still somewhat of a novelty. Newman died in 1890. 

The Discovery

Earlier today, we were discussing how we could commemorate Blessed Newman's day with proper festivity, when shortly after one of our staff opened a box of unidentified papers that turned out to be twenty-four years of Newman newsletters from the International Centre of Newman Friends and The Friends of Cardinal Newman. The coincidences of this discovery go far beyond what we can describe here, but the papers are evidence of an enduring world-wide enthusiasm for John Henry Newman and the decades of dedicated effort that made Newman's beatification possible.   

Here are some of our findings:

A letter from the Friends of Cardinal Newman (signed L. Govaert) from February 21, 1978:

"The meeting was a heartening one for all attending it. There were no great events to report, there were no startling advances with regard to the Cause, but everybody felt that we are now really and truly established, and able to see clearly what should be our immediate objectives...."

An encouragement to pray for Newman's beatification as part of an international nine-day prayer in 1987.

An advertisement for the first publication of Fr. Ker's definitive biography of John HenryNewman, 1988.

Records of the 1990 centenary celebrations of Newman's death (August 11, 1890):

Some photographs from an academic symposium in Rome in 1990-- with some familiar faces:

Don't forget the booksellers:

More on Newman Friends:
International Centre of Newman Friends
The Friends of Cardinal Newman (Birmingham Oratory)

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How do you move a book store?



The move is well underway! We have cleared some shelves and brought them to the farm, so now there is a place to put books when they arrive. We're still selling exclusively out of the old church-- and it's not too late to take advantage of the moving sale prices!

 

(Moving volunteers are welcome. Please e-mail books@loomebooks.com for more info.)

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Shelves & Shelves

As mentioned earlier in the post "...Measuring the Mileage of Loome Books", we recenlty measured the occupied shelf-space at Loome Theological Booksellers.

For those who are wondering:

 

We have 7,806 linear feet of books,

i.e. approximately 1.478 miles and

an estimated 84,000 volumes of books.

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More for Less

At Loome Theological Booksellers, we have a section called "Christian Art & Architecture".

 

 Art & Architecture books are often very beautiful. They also tend to have large pages and thick paper on which they so beautifully represent great works, which tends to make them rather heavy. With these tendencies in mind, all books in Loomes' Art & Architecture section are currently 50% off as part of our Moving Sale. Great books at a great price, available only for purchases made in person at the store.

 

 

  

 

 Here are a few examples of Art & Architecture books on sale:

 

Sistine Chapel
D. REDIG DE CAMPOS
New York: Reynal and Company - 1963

Folio, xliv pages of illustrations in black/white and color. Some are fold-out. Good plus cloth; some edge wear to boards. With like d/j. Ex-library mark to spine and pocket to rear pastedown. Binding is weak. Text is clean.

Normally: $25.00 In-store sale: $12.50 + tax.

 

The Louvre: European Paintings
Michel Laclotte, Jean-Pierre Cuzin
Scala Books - November 1990

4to, hardcover with d-j in very good condition. Illustrations, color.

Normally: $9.99  In-store sale: $4.99 + tax.

 

Rubens' Life of Marie De Medici
Jacques Thuillier, Paul Rubens
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. - 1970

Folio, 158pp. Monochrome and color illustrations. Hardcover with dj and slipcase. Volume in excellent condition. Near new with crisp and clean pages. Text is printed on thick, texturized paper with tipped in illustrations. Plates printed on glossy pages. Slipcase has light wear to corners and a little fading to the top edge. Overall a beautiful book in fine condition.

Normally: $250.00  In-store sale: $125.00 + tax.

 

 

IN STORE ONLY!

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A Quiz!: Measuring the Mileage of Loome Books

How many miles of books are there at Loome Theological Booksellers? You tell us!

We have recently completed the gargantuan task of measuring the world's largest theological bookstore, measuring each shelf throughout the store, and calculating the footage--as well as the mileage--of our inventory.

How many miles of books (shelf-by-shelf) do you think are here?

E-mail your guess, in miles, to books@loomebooks.com by Friday, August 31, 2012. The person with the closest guess to the actual mileage will receive $10 in store credit.

*******

...And that $10 credit will go further than usual with our 25% off Moving Sale, which begins the same day (Aug. 31, 2012).

Loome Theolgical Booksellers will be moving to Claret Farm in Stillwater this fall (Read more about it here). Our moving sale is applicable to purchases made in person at the store beginning Friday, August 31. All books (except Antiquarian & Rare) will be 25% off. Sets of 4-volumes or more will be 50% off the original price. The sale will continue until everything is moved to our great new location. Hope to see you there!

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Stillwater in Bloom

Stillwater is in full bloom:
 

Come on in!

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The Turkey and the Turk: Ultra Rare Chesterton!

It is always a joy to acquire particularly rare or interesting items. G.K. Chesterton's The Turkey and the Turk is just one such item. There were 100 copies hand pressed by St. Dominic's Press of Ditchling (of Eric Gill fame), numbered, and signed both by the author and the illustrator (Thomas Derrick). The word on the street is that most of the rest of the edition went up in smoke. Our copy is number 44. It's inscribed on a blank preliminary leaf, "From the Reverend Kevin Scannel [sic] on behalf of The Guild of St. Joseph & St. Dominic to The Catholic Art Association 1959". Msgr. Scannell was a Chesterton expert and possessed a very fine collection of Chestertonian material. Our copy is in superb condition. It is bound in full calf, has nice marbled endpapers, and the leaves are uncut (not trimmed at the outer margins to make the leaves of perfectly uniform size) and unopened (the leaves are still joined at some outer margins, i.e. the folds from the larger sheets are still present and not cut open).

I have always found Chesterton's signature appealing.

Contact us if you are interested. I cannot say the book is cheap. I also cannot say I wouldn't like to keep it for myself! It really is quite difficult to obtain and quite beautiful. I believe most copies are held by libraries or similar institutions. A few of these libraries possess (hoard) more than one copy, though I doubt they will give one up.

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Association of Christian Librarians

I am blogging from the ACL conference, held this year in St. Paul at Northwestern University. At the last minute we decided to attend, and we're glad we did. For we've been having a good time with the librarians! Is it me, or are librarians always a fun lot of people?