Unbelievable discovery in the stacks!
[Feb 17, 2012 Update: As those who have read Borges know, he delighted in blurring the line between fact and fiction. The following honours his style and spirit and, while not a true account, is a very good story. So much so that it had some of us here fooled as well! Apologies if this has created some misunderstanding.]
I'm still in shock. If I've found what I think I've found…truly, there are hidden gems out there among the Agincourt stacks!
Let me explain: one day last week a patron asked for a book on Greek philosophy. I took them to the right section and while pointing out the general philosophy texts, I saw an older-looking version of Plato's Symposium. Curious about that specific edition, I came back later to fetch it off the shelf.
As I flipped through the pages, a battered greeting card fell out of the book.
The card, handwritten, is in Spanish. Luckily a colleague of mine understands Spanish, and they were able to loosely translate the text for me. It turns out that this is a thank you card, thanks being expressed for a welcome reception held in 1978 and expressing good wishes for the library and the collection.
The Agincourt Library?
Back in 1978, the branch was located in the Agincourt Mall. What reception would they have held in the mall?
And then the signature caught my attention.
This is just one major coincidence, but I happen to be a huge fan of Jorge Luis Borges, the monumental Argentinean writer.
In a book of his writings that I have at home, an image of his signature is reproduced in the appendices.
I have often gazed at that signature, and I knew right away when I saw the signature on the card that they were eerily similar.
But…that would mean…
Borges at Agincourt Library?!
I find nothing in our archival records mentioning his visit. Surely a writer of his stature would have warranted more fuss and pomp! Could he have visited anonymously? What reason would he have had to be in the Agincourt area?
As for the numbers located below his signature, they look a lot like Dewey call numbers. Puzzlingly, a search for the matching titles reveals the following:
- 193 SCH – books about the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer
- 824 C – Sartor resartus by Thomas Carlyle
- 511.3 S – books on axiomatic set theory
What does this mean? What message was Borges sending? What was he alluding to?
Is it even from Borges?!
I don't know, but I plan to find out more about this enigmatic writer by reading a lot more of his works!
19 thoughts on “Unbelievable discovery in the stacks!”
I’m so intrigued by this…I wish there were some way to find out more about the mysterious origins of this thank you note!
This is fascinating!
Please keep us posted.
I doubt that the Argentine poet and fiction writer Jorge Luis Borges was at the Agincourt branch (the first library I used in Canada when my family arrived in 1971 [yes, in the mall]), although he did visit Toronto sometime around the late 1970’s,early 1980’s methinks. I don’t believe that note was written by Borges, honestly. I know his writing in Spanish, not just his fiction, but his A-mazing poetry, and, truly, he’d have written something entirely different. Besides, by that point he was completely blind, so he would not have drawn a picture!
Fascinating story from the stacks! To me it doesn’t matter whether it is true or not – such an intriguing piece that I would choose to keep the mystery unveiled! 🙂
Actually blindness wouldn’t automatically imply an inability to draw. There are even artists that are blind.
Gee, if that book could talk. It looks a bit worse for wear – Borges in the Agincourt Mall (sounds like a story worthy of the Paris Review) – but really, I think the book is better travelled than most…Methinks that copy is quite the world traveller..
Have you checked the Toronto Star of that time period ? There may be an article on him or even something happening in the Agincourt area.
Hi Louis, could you post the text of the note? What a find!
Hi Louis,
My name is Anita Li; I’m a reporter for the Toronto Star.
I’m interested in chatting with you about this discovery for a possible story in tomorrow’s paper.
As my deadline is early this afternoon, please contact me at your earliest convenience. My email is ali@thestar.ca.
Thanks,
Anita Li
Reporter, The Toronto Star
ali@thestar.ca
Twitter: @neeeda
Toronto Star
One Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5E 1E6
Oh wow! This is intriguing. Keep us posted!
I searched the Star and Globe online for 1978 and didn’t turn up anything about Borges, and the only events I specifically found for that year which mention the Agincourt library were art exhibits.
In addition to the points made about Borges being blind (and if this was written by a secretary, it’s a very unprofessional job), this also presupposes that the item could be overlooked for 30+ years. Either anybody who read this book left the card behind, or nobody opened this book, not even when they moved it to the new Agincourt location, or switched from the card system to the barcode checkout (and then, despite nobody using the book in all that time, it somehow remained in circulation).
But the alternative would be that somebody forged this and planted it. While this requires one to believe fewer unlikely things, I still think its an unlikely thing to do, especially because whoever did it did nothing to make it obvious that it was Borges; that deduction depended on someone being familiar with his signature, or piecing it together from the Dewey numbers.
I wonder if maybe it was part of some sort of high-brow scavenger hunt or something, where a previous clue was to lead somebody to this book by Plato, where they were to find this card which was to lead them to Borges. It’s possible that while not from Borges, it’s also not intended as a forgery but rather as something else.
I am, of course, giving Louis the benefit of the doubt and assuming he didn’t fake this himself, to drum up interest in one of his favourite writers. 😉
It looks like Louis updated the blog today to put an end to everyone’s suspense!
If he were still alive, I think Mr Borges would find this whole ruse delightful!
I am so intrigued and fascinated by this po! I am signing out his books!
Wow, that is really interesting! Keep us posted!
I like the scavenger hunt theory… though it’s likely the card was an informal one that simply came from someone’s personal library (perhaps from that of Alberto Manguel, who know Borges between 1964 to 1968. He could have donated the book, as A.Manguel is a Canadian Argentina-born writer, translator, and editor. One thing to note is that there is no place reference written in the card; it would have likely been mentioned if Borges had indeed written the card while visiting in Toronto in 1978.
Maria
Finally a note of sanity. Thanks Beatriz.
Yes, a trick, after all, however, a clever story in itself. At least this has sparked interest in Borges’s writings, the “real” ones!
Nothing like a Borgesian joke to make February brighter. I enjoyed this, both the original post and the aftermath. Anything that gets people interested in libraries, authors and books is to be encouraged, so nice work!
This is truly a fascinating one! No matter it is real or not, I think there must be another story about the person (whether it is Borges himself or not) leaving such a piece of thank you card in the book.
😉