Buffalo’s Connection to Theodore Roosevelt & "The Promised Land”

Monday, November 14th, 2016

Local attorney and amateur book collector Mark W. Warren, Esq., wrapped up the TR Site’s 2016 Speaker Nite series on October 25th.  Standing next to a display of books (some with elaborately crafted covers), Mr. Warren began by characterizing his talk as “show-and-tell for grown-ups”.   He promised to share the story of how a book enabled him to uncover a connection between Theodore Roosevelt and Buffalo that was very nearly lost to history.

Mr. Warren explained that his love for books led him to Buffalo’s Old Editions Bookshop, where proprietor Ron Cozzi introduced him the work of bookbinder John Grabau.  Born in 1878 and descended from Prussian immigrants who had fled religious persecution, Grabau spent several years working and perfecting his trade with the Roycroft Community in nearby East Aurora.  Around 1905, he opened his own studio and began producing what are now very collectible bindings.

At the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, there was a certain culture associated with books.  Books represented knowledge, advancement, and prestige.  Buffalo’s wealthy book-lovers patronized bookbinders like John Grabau.  Bookbinders were not printers; they disassembled existing books and rebound them with elaborate covers that often reflected something about the book or its owner.  The process could take weeks.

In an effort to learn more about Grabau, Mr. Warren visited the downtown library’s Grosvenor Room, where the name Amadeus Grabau kept popping up.  A well-known man in his own right (among other things, a moon feature is named after him!), Amadeus was John’s older brother.  He was also married to author Mary Antin.  Antin’s fame was closely tied to her autobiography, published in 1912 and  titled The Promised Land.  The best-selling book chronicled  Antin’s successes, lauded the many opportunities available to immigrants, and generally celebrated the notion of an American Dream.  Among Antin’s many admirers was former President Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote to her about a year after she published her autobiography.

As Mr. Warren continued his Grosvenor Room research, he found a catalog from a bookbinding exhibit hosted by the Albright Art Gallery, highlighting twenty-five years of John Grabau’s work.  Among other things, the catalog contained testimonials from Grabau’s satisfied clients -- including a highly complimentary letter from Theodore Roosevelt, dated May 23, 1914.

Meanwhile, Mr. Warren heard about a rare book dealer who was trying to sell a copy of The Promised Land bound by John Grabau.  The listing mentioned that the binding included the monogram “TR”.  Wondering if this might be the book referenced in TR’s 1914 letter,  Mr. Warren purchased it for his collection.  In addition to the monogram, the ornate leather binding featured a liberty torch, several sets of 13 stars, roses (translated from Dutch, Roosevelt means “field of roses”), an eagle that resembles the presidential seal, and the year “1914” on the spine.  All of these symbols suggested to Mr. Warren that this book may indeed have been bound for Theodore Roosevelt by Buffalo’s own John Grabau.  But, it wasn’t until he consulted The Selected Letters of Mary Antin and saw a letter from TR to Antin that Mr. Warren connected the final dots.  The letter from TR was dated May 23, 1914 (the same day as the letter he’d written to John Grabau), and thanked Antin for the gift she’d sent him -- a copy of The Promised Land bound by her brother-in-law!  So, while it may be difficult to prove (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that Mr. Warren’s book was bound by Buffalo’s John Grabau, and gifted to Theodore Roosevelt by Mary Antin . . . the evidence certainly points to that conclusion.  

And, one might be forgiven for thinking that was the end of Mr. Warren’s story of remarkable coincidences . . . but, amazingly, it isn’t.  Mr. Warren serves on a  local preservation board and was reviewing an application for landmark status when he realized that the applicant was none other than the grandson of John Grabau . . . who knew the famous bookbinder simply as “Gramps” and was able to provide Mr. Warren with some personal insights into the artisan at the center of his story.

-- Lenora M. Henson, Curator / Director of Public Programming

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Speaker Nite is part of the TR Site’s regular Tuesday evening programming, which is made possible with support from M&T Bank.

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