In New Paltz the morning brought not defeat but rather the spirit of recovery. Even on the very day of the fire Dr. Myron
T. Scudder, principal of the Normal School, was making plans to accommodate returning students in temporary quarters while
the town set about the business of rebuilding its jewel. One day later a delegation set out for Albany to make the
community's case for a state appropriation for this purpose. In 1909 the school would be dedicated on a new campus further
uptown on what was then called Harcourt Heights. Over time, in successive stages, the university would grow to be SUNY New
Paltz, where today 8,400 full and part-time students study.
In San Francisco, where the disaster was much greater, the recovery was even more spectacular. To the south Los Angeles
was already overtaking San Francisco as the largest city on America's west coast. The earthquake seems only to have
hastened the shift. The city by the bay would rebuild and in time learn to manage its earthquake risks. In the short term
some population moved. For those who stayed and those who have come since rising building standards, increasing knowledge
and new approaches have made San Francisco a very safe place to live.
As to how I came to know of these simultaneous events, I grew up in New Paltz and have lived in San Francisco the past ten
years. My personal interests are history and the printed word in all its forms. In New Paltz I learned to appreciate
history and in San Francisco I have the rare privilege to work with my wife Jenny and our partner Michael Stillman to
unravel the mysteries of the internet and develop strategies for convergence of the world of books in all its many forms on
line.
Of course to see the future you have to know the present. Thus I'm always reading, comparing and considering. Recently on
eBay I bought a postcard that contained a reference to the 1906 New Paltz fire on April 18th and was posted on the 23rd. I
thought that must be quite early and then realized the April 18th of the fire was THE April 18th.
As to whether there was a cosmic relationship between these two places that shared disaster one hundred years ago I leave
this to the preferences of the reader. I will note that just two years ago New Paltz and San Francisco again made
headlines in the same papers on the same days. This time it was the Mayor of New Paltz following the lead of San
Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom in marrying gay couples. Then, as was the case in 1906, for a few moments the earth shook,
and then life proceeded apace.
Resources. I received help, information and assistance from the Haviland Historical Collection at the Elting Memorial
Library, New Paltz, New York; Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh, New York; Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie, and
Dennis O'Keefe of the Sojourner Truth Library, SUNY, New Paltz. Each of these institutions has a website and of course
encourages visits. The Elting Library is undergoing renovation and is operating in temporary quarters.
Dr. Alfred Marks,
New Paltz town historian, now retired as professor at SUNY, New Paltz from whom I took a local history course more than
thirty years ago was kind enough to look over this piece but not to grade it. My thanks to the Kingston Freeman,
Kingston, New York for their help. History lives in the archives of newspapers.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
