Signed Manuscript of an Unknown Dickinson Poem Acquired by the Jones Library, Inc., Amherst, Mass.

On June 3, 1997, at 2:00, an auction at Sotheby's began in New York City. The lavish catalogue described Lot #74 in simple language:

Emily Dickinson.

Autograph poetical manuscript signed ("Emily"), in pencil, 1 page. . . on blue-lined paper with embossed insignia at top left corner . . . portion of integral blank marked "Aunt Emily" in an unidentified hand in red ink at top right corner of recto; very slight marginal soiling.

AN UNPUBLISHED POEM. Dickinson's verse of fifteen lines begins:

That God cannotbe understood

UNPUBLISHED POETICAL MANUSCRIPTS BY DICKINSON ARE OF THE UTMOST RARITY.

On the facing page appeared a facsimile of a Dickinson poem that touches on the unknowableness of God. Seven days before the auction, Jones Library Curator Daniel Lombardo received the catalogue, read the above entry and felt an obligation to bring the poem back to the town of Amherst. Unfortunately, the level of money necessary to be in the bidding was an obstacle that seemed insurmountable.

The unseen hands of the gods, however, moved matters in unexpected directions. After months of planning, the Emily Dickinson International Society was, coincidentally, about to meet in Amherst, and many of the events were to be held at the Jones Library. At a luncheon meeting hosted by Marcy Tanter on Saturday, May 31, just three days before the auction, Lombardo made a presentation to the group. Within twenty minutes of his suggestion that some members of EDIS might want to help purchase the manuscript, $8,000 had been pledged.

Lombardo contacted one of the preeminent Dickinson manuscript scholars who, as it turned out, had had the opportunity to examine the manuscript (with particular attention to paper, handwriting, and ink). Next, Library Director Bonnie Isman was notified, and that afternoon she determined how much of the Gift Fund of the Jones Library Special Collections could be added to this sum. On Sunday, June 1, Lombardo reported back to EDIS at the annual business meeting, at which point more generous donations were pledged. The Jones Library then had enough funds to be a serious bidder, but not enough to compete on the level at which some thought the bidding would rise.

Fortunately—in another stroke of great luck—the Friends of the Jones Library happened to be meeting on Monday morning, one day before the auction. Lombardo met with the Friends, and they too gave enthusiastically and generously.

At close to 3:00 on June 3, after a tense round of bidding that lasted less than one minute, the Jones Library succeeded in acquiring the first unknown Dickinson poem to come to light in forty years.

For further information, contact:

Daniel Lombardo, Curator of Special Collections

The Jones Library, Inc.

43 Amity St.

Amherst, MA 01002