Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.
Unlike many highly driven collectors, John Davis Batchelder did not write about his interests, so we are left to deduce them from many different sources, and of course his collection itself is the ultimate evidence. In the Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress from 1936, Herbert Putnam wrote (p. 24):
"During the year, Mr. John Davis Batchelder, of New York City, transferred to the Library by deed of gift his remarkable collection of books, which had been in the custody of the Library as a deposit since 1933. The collection comprises about 1225 items, without enumerating the many autographs, prints, etc., inserted in books, portfolios, and folders. Dr. Batchelder's object in making the collection was to bring together from the literature of about 20 different countries the significant books, especially in first editions, illustrative of the history of culture. As a result, he assembled a library containing many distinguished items under such headings as biography, cosmography, dictionaries, the drama, the epic, fiction, history, juvenile literature, music, orations and sermons, philosophy, sacred literature, science, voyages, and travels. Among Mr. Batchelder's special interests were Americana, editions of the classics, and the drama."
The Librarian of Congress goes on to mention the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, "the Cholmondeley copy," which modern analysis has shown not to be the copy once owned by the Viscounts Cholmondeley. Instead, the volume consists of two partial copies of the First Folio that Batchelder seems to have "married" to make a nearly complete copy- and he even seems to have added the Cholmondeley bookplate to bolster his claim. Does this bring into question the authenticity of the provenances his other materials bear- bookplates, signatures, armorial bindings- or the integrity of the text blocks? Possibly, although no book carried as much prestige among serious and wealthy collectors in the U.S. in the 1920s as the First Folio, with the possible exception of the Gutenberg Bible (of which Batchelder collected and donated several fragments), and Batchelder may have felt under pressure to own one if he wanted to be considered a great collector. Few books have been studied as much as the First Folio or the Gutenberg Bible, so perhaps a closer examination of Batchelder's other books (especially the bookplates) will provide some further interesting stories. But without a doubt, it is a great collection of highpoints and first editions by which the Library of Congress collections have been greatly enriched.
Another important resource in getting to know John Davis Batchelder and his collection is the catalog, "Exhibit of Books, Manuscripts, Bindings, Illustrations, and Broadsides Selected from the Collection of John Davis Batchelder, Esquire, Presented to the Library of Congress, 1936." The 400 items in the exhibit were likely selected by Batchelder himself, who had an office at the Library of Congress for several years to work on his collection, and the text was likely written by him. However, it does not contain a preface by Batchelder to inform us about how he chose the items in his collection or how he went about gathering them.
The John Davis Batchelder Collection contains dozens of important early printed books, including 35 incunabula, or books printed during the first decades of printing up to the year 1500. These include such notable works as fragments of the Gutenberg Bible and the Nuremberg Chronicle from the incunable period, as well as an early Spanish translation of the works of Julius Caesar printed in Toledo in 1498.
Batchelder's collection also contains a strong collection of Greek texts printed by the scholarly printer Aldus Manutius in Venice, including the first printed Greek editions of Aristotle, Aristophanes, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, and Pindar.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
Biblia Latina [Fragments of 3 leaves, on paper].Liber chronicarum. by Opera. by Los comentarios de Gayo Julio Cesar. by Comoediae novem. by Hērodotou logoi ennea, oiper epika lountai Mousai. by Sophokleous Tragōdiai hepta : met'exēgēseōn = Sophoclis Tragaediae septem by 
As a bibliophile with a strong interest in the history of science and mathematics, John Davis Batchelder collected early printed books relating to science and mathematics.
Included are some incunabula, which are books printed in the first 45 years of moveable type from 1455 to 1500, such as the first printed editions of Euclid's Elementa geometria (1482) and Aristotle's Complete works (1495) and an early edition of Joannes de Sacro Bosco's Sphaera Mundi (1478).
He also collected later materials such as a 1726 edition of Isaac Newton's Principia mathematica (1726), a French translation of Benjamin Franklin's experiments on electricity (1752), and the first English translation of Albert Einstein's groundbreaking work on the theory of relativity (1920).
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
Arithmeticae practicae methodus facilis. by Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. by 
Opera. by Elizabeth Farrer her booke 1702. by 
Sphaera mundi. by Expériences et observations sur l'électricité : faites à Philadelphie en Amérique by Relativity: the special and general theory. by 
The John Davis Batchelder Collection includes nearly 200 items relating to William Shakespeare and his works, including a copy of the First Folio (1623) and the Fourth Folio (1685), and an early quarto edition of Romeo and Juliet printed in 1599.
John Davis Batchelder claimed that his copy of the Shakespeare First Folio of 1623 once belonged to the Viscount Cholmondeley and that he purchased it from a dealer named H.G. Wells in New York in 1919 (possibly attempting to associate the seller with Gabriel Wells, who sold many First Folios during his career). However, later analysis shows that Batchelder appears to have purchased two partial First Folios in the early 1920s and surreptitiously combined them; it is even likely that Batchelder added a bookplate of the Viscount Cholmondeley to back up his story. (Cf. Rasmussen and West, The Shakespeare First Folios: A Descriptive Catalogue, London: Palgrave, 2012).
Nonetheless, Batchelder's many other 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century editions of Shakespeare's plays create a small but interesting research collection, including the first octavo edition of Shakespeare's plays (1709) and the first American edition (1795).
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories & tragedies : published according to the true originall copies. by Mr William Shakespear's comedies, histories, and tragedies : published according to the true original copies : unto which is added, seven plays never before printed in folio ... by The most excellent and lamentable tragedie, of Romeo and Juliet : newly corrected, augmented, and amended, as it hath bene sundry times publiquely acted, by the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine his seruants. by Troilus and Cressida, or, Truth found too late. A tragedy as it is acted at the Dukes theatre. by The history of King Lear, acted at the Queen's Theatre. Revived with alterations. By N. Tate. by The works of Mr. William Shakespear : in six volumes. by The plays and poems of William Shakespeare. by 
The Shakespeare First Folios by 
Among John Davis Batchelder's interests as a collector was early Americana. His collection of includes two 17th-century editions of sermons by Increase Mather, and later by his son Cotton Mather. An even stronger focus, however, was the American Revolution and the establishment of the new nation. Among these collection items are an early printing of the Stamp Act (1765), an early edition of Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States (1779) by Baron von Steuben, and a first edition of The Federalist, printed in 1787 to support the ratification of the Constitution by the state legislatures.
John Davis Batchelder also had an interest in early printing in Mexico, and his collection includes an early edition of Doctrina Breve (1534), the first book printed in the Americas, as well as a very early edition of Alonso de Molina's Vocabulario en lengua Castellana y Mexicana (1555), a lexicon with words in Spanish and Nahuatl.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
A call from Heaven to the present and succeeding generations ... by The day of doom, or, A poetical description of the great and Last Judgment : with a short discourse about eternity. by Anno regni Georgii III, regis Magnæ Britanniae, Franciae et Hiberniae, quinto. At the Parliament begun and holden at Westminster, the nineteenth day of May, anno Dom. 1761 ... by Common sense : addressed to the inhabitants of America ... by Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States. Part I. by The New-England almanack, and gentleman's and lady's diary. by The federalist : a collection of essays, written in favour of the new Constitution, as agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.De insulis nuper inuentis Ferdinandi Cortesii ad Carolum V. Rom. imperatorem narrationes, cum alio quodam Petri Martyris ad Clementem VII. by Dotrina breue muy p[ro]uechosa delas cosas q[ue] ptenecen ala fe catholica y a n[ost]ra cristiandad en estilo llano pa comu[n] intelige[n]cia. by Aqui comiença vn vocabulario enla lengua castellana y mexicana. by 
As a bibliophile with a strong interest in the history of medicine, Joseph Meredith Toner collected early printed books relating to science and medicine, including several Incunabula, which are books printed in the first 45 years of moveable type from 1455 to 1500.
These add to the Library's already incomparable collection of 15th-century printed books, which is the largest collection in North America and includes a Gutenberg Bible.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
The cricket on the hearth : a fairy tale of home. by The personal history of David Copperfield. by The mystery of Edwin Drood. by Catalogue of the library of Charles Dickens from Gadshill, reprinted from Sotheran's 'Price current of literature' nos. CLXXIV and CLXXV. by [Charles Dickens's walking stick]
[Charles Dickens's traveling cutlery kit].The John Davis Batchelder Collection contains dozens of important examples of English and American children's books from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
Evenings at home; or, The juvenile budget opened. Consisting of a variety of miscellaneous pieces, for the instruction and amusement of young persons. by The adventures of Ulysses. by Tanglewood tales for girls and boys. by The readings of Mr. Charles Dickens, as condensed by himself. David Copperfield and Mr. Bob Sawyer's party (from Pickwick). by Little Lord Fauntleroy. by The call of the wild. by 
John Davis Batchelder sought high points in Western book culture for his collection, but he also gathered a number of interesting items from China and Japan. One item in particular stands out: a Chinese book printed using wood blocks from the Yuan Dynasty era, between 1127 and 1279 C.E., which predates the earliest printing in the West with movable type by Johann Gutenberg by as much as 300 years. At the time that Batchelder donated it to the Library in 1922, it was the oldest Chinese printed book in the Library's collection.
Batchelder also donated several late-Edo period books printed using woodblocks in Japan between about 1830 and 1850, including illustrations by masters such as Hokusai and Utagawa.
Unless otherwise specified, all Chinese and Japanese materials donated by John Davis Batchelder can be found by consulting the Asian Reading Room.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
San jing tong juan : san zhong = 三經同卷 : 三種 .
Guiguzi : san juan = 鬼谷子 : 三卷. by Hung lou mêng; or, The dream of the red chamber; a Chinese novel. by Enthronement of the one hundred twenty-fourth emperor of Japan. by Irohagana kane no sashimono, Kamagafuchi futatsudomoe.Kijin hyakunin isshu. by Fugaku hyakkei. by 
