Maurice Firuski

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Maurice Firuski (26 June 1894 – 9 February 1978) was a 1916 Yale graduate. He was also a U.S. Navy veteran of World War I. He was born in New York, New York, USA), and died in Salisbury, Connecticut.

[edit] Background

Maurice Firuski was a well-known man of letters. He was considered an authority on Herman Melville, and was fond of wearing a white whale pin on his lapel. He was a distinguished book collector, having a personal collection that numbered somewhere between five and six thousand volumes. His close friends included several noted literary figures of the early twentieth century, such as Archibald MacLeish, Stephen Vincent Benet, Lewis Mumford, Hilary Masters, and Georges Simenon. He is mentioned prominently in letters to and from various other noted authors and public figures as well, such as George Santayana, Amy Lowell, Lesley Frost Ballantine, and Robert Frost. In his role as book collector and seller, he often advised people (famous or not) as to which editions of which author's work were the best/worst of their kind. In the early 1920's, he operated the Dunster House book shop of Harvard University. In 1927, he moved to Salisbury, CT.

He operated his own bookstore in Salisbury for almost 48 years, until his death in 1978 at the age of 83. The book store was called "The Housatonuc." The store specialized in rare, hard-to-find, antiquarian books. (For more information, see Antiquarian book trade in the United States.) He and his book store were prominently featured in an article entitled "A Page From An American Dream," by Eleanor Winslow, which appeared in The Courant Magazine on November 29, 1964.

Mr. Firuski was also well-known as the co-editor of "The Best Of Boulestin," a collection of recipes by noted modern food expert, (Xavier-)Marcel Boulestin. Mr. Firuski's co-editor for the book was his ex-wife, Elvia. According to the Courant article, she tested each recipe in her own kitchen, before deciding whether or not to include it in the book.

[edit] Official obituary

Reprinted with permission from The Lakeville Journal, Lakeville, CT. (Thursday, February 9, 1978) Copyright 2007.

SALISBURY -- Maurice Firuski, well known man of letters and proprietor of the Housatonuc Book Shop for 48 years, died suddenly of a heart attack early Tuesday. He was 83.

After he established his book shop in Salisbury in 1930, Mr. Firuski made it into [one of] the most unusual establishments of its kind in the Northeast, with many hard-to-get titles on its shelves. He insisted on the distinctive spelling, "Housatonuc."

Such literary figures as Archibald MacLeish, Lewis Mumford, Hilary Masters, and Georges Simenon were numbered among Mr. Firuski's friends and had called at his shop to chat.

Himself a distinguished book collector as well as seller with between 5000 and 6000 volumes in his private collection, Mr. Firuski was an authority on Herman Melville. He made a custom of reading "Moby Dick" every year and wore a small carved white whale on his lapel.

Born in New York City June 26, 1894, Mr. Firuski was a 1916 graduate of Yale University and was a Navy veteran of World War I. He learned bookselling in Cambridge, Mass., where he operated the Dunster House Book Shop at Harvard before coming to Salisbury in 1927. He also taught history at the Salisbury School for eight years in the 1940s. He was a past president of the Scoville Memorial Library and of the Salisbury Association.

Mr. Firuski was married five times. His first wife, Isabel Jennings Butler, lives near Boston. His present wife, Elizabeth Wray Firuski of Salisbury, also survives.

He also is survived by three daughters, Mrs. Isabel Thatcher of Portland, Maine, Margaret (Mrs. Douglas) Green of Nashua, N.H., and Orlena (Mrs. Jacques) Gignoux of Salisbury; two sisters, Mrs. Arthur Selignan and Mrs. Leo Heiden, both of New York City; and four grandchildren.

Memorial arrangements will be announced later. Donations may be made in Mr. Firuski's name to the Scoville Memorial Library in Salisbury. The Newkirk Funeral Home in Lakeville is in charge of arrangements.

[edit] References

• [1] Guide to the Archibald MacLeish collection of papers, 1923-1981.

• [2] The Santayana Edition

• [3] What Is Book Collecting?

• [4] Lowell, Amy, 1874-1925. Letters to various persons: Guide.

• [5] The Robert Frost Collection

Finding Aid.

• [6] Lesley Frost Ballantine (1899-1983)

Papers, 1905-1980.