Maurice Firuski

Biographical Data

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

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 dinstinguished 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 "Housatonuc." The store specialized in rare, hard-to-find, and one-of-a-kind books. 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.

Pictures

Pictures will soon appear here.

Pending Updates To This Page

Copyright permission is currently being sought to feature the full Courant article and its accompanying photos as part of this page.

Copyright permission is currently being sought from The Lakeville Journal to feature a re-print of their published obituary as part of this page.

Links Of Interest

These links will provide some degree of verification of the information presented on this page:

[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.