Relics of a Library: How C. P. Cavafy's Library Survived through Auction, Sales, Book Loans, and Relocations

Cavafy's library offers readers a snapshot of the poet's reading life. The history of the formation and dissolution of his library provides researchers with invaluable archival tools. An examination of the files of the auction of his books that took place in Alexandria in October 1943 gives us a general snapshot of his library. The list with the English books prepared by Rika and Alekos Singopoulos for the unsuccessful sale to the Alexandrian millionaire Oswald Finney gives us a more accurate picture of the books that Cavafy had in his library very close to the time of his death. The list of the books Alekos Singopoulos gave to Michalis Peridis for the preparation of Cavafy's biography completes the missing books inventory. All these lists and an overview of the surviving books provide researchers with a sense of Cavafy's library and an appreciation of the efforts that were made for its preservation.