VMs: Re: Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde

[Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Rafal,

I heard bits and pieces of this from Jim Reeds,
and if he hasn't read this article, there must
be another source. It prompted me to write
my ultimate conspiracy theory, which is somewhere
in the archives, and I think Dennis Stallings has
kept a copy of it at his web site.

Then I thought to myself that it should be possible
to find hard evidence that this conspiracy 
theory was wrong, which was a strong incentive
to start digging in the history of the MS, 
starting with Ruysschaert, Beckx and Marci.

It would be fascinating to find out more, I agree.

Rene

--- "Rafal T. Prinke" <rafalp@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> In John Reed's VMS bibliography there is the
> following entry:
> 
>      127. Von Schleinitz, Otto. ``Die Bibliophilen
> W. M. Voynich.''
>      Zeitschrift fur Bucherfreunde, 10 (1906/7)
> pp.481-7. 
>      [Not seen. Contains information about Voynich's
> life.]
> 
> I found the Zeitschrift in my University Library and
> had
> a look at the article. Most of it describes his
> unique
> collection of books, with many pre 1500 items,
> mostly
> first editions and many items unknown to
> bibliographers or
> librarians. It was exhibited by him at Soho Square
> No. 1, 
> 
> London (his bookshop?).
> 
> The only paragraph about his life reads:
> 
>   Mr. Voynich (Abb. 1), der seinen Namen Woynicz
> anglisierte, 
>   wurde 1863 in Polen geboren, studierte auf den
> Universitäten
>   von Warschau und Petersburg und mußte es über sich
> ergehen 
>   lassen, 1885 als polnisch verdächtig ohne
> Untersuchung und ohne 
> 
>   gerichtliche Verhandlung nach Ostsibirien verbannt
> zu worden. 
>   Nach fünfjährigem unfreiwilligen Aufenthalt gelang
> es 
>   ihm 1890 von dort nach England zu entfliehen.
> Seine Gattin, 
>   die sich einen Ruf als Schriftstellerin durch die
> Romane 
>   "The Gadfly" unf "Jack Raymond" erworben hat, ist
> die Tochter
>   des Dr. George Boole.
> 
> The Abbildung 1. is an oval photograph of Voynich
> (p. 482),
> black hair, small beard and glasses.
> 
> At the end of the article there is something about
> giving some
> of those books to the British Museum library with
> financial 
> help of Walter Rotschild and Lord Strathcona (but I
> don't
> quite understand the details).
> 
> The thing that looks suspicious to me is that a
> refugee
> after 5 years in Siberia could accumulate such a
> priceless
> collection in such a short time and in a foreign
> country.
> He married Ethel Boole in 1891 so probably could
> start
> the bookdealing business with her (her father's)
> money
> - but was that enough?
> 
> I think we need more information about his life -
> which seems
> to be as much a mystery as the VMS.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Rafal


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