Dr. Frank's Winery Donates Historic Book Collection to Cornell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dr. Frank's Winery Donates Historic Book
Collection to Cornell
Hammondsport, New York - January 15, 2008 - Dr. Frank's Winery helps to
make the viticulture and winemaking collection at the New York State
Agricultural Experiment Station's Lee Library one of the best in the
country. The Konstantin Frank family book donation consists of 132
titles (96 for Lee Library and 36 for various libraries on the Ithaca
campus). The collection is composed of 19th and 20th century titles on a
wide variety of topics including horticulture, plant science,
viticulture, enology, chemistry, nature, history and literature with the
largest single subject category being wine and grape related material.
When Dr. Frank emigrated to the United States in 1951 from Europe, he
sacrificed all other luggage and only brought his precious collection of
books. The collection shows Dr. Frank to have been multilingual as these
texts are in English, German, French and Russian.
Of particular interest in the collection were a number of wine
appreciation titles signed by the authors to Dr. Frank. Also of special
notice were French and Russian ampelographies and a multi volume history
of horticulture in Russia. Researchers will no doubt be intrigued by the
numerous handwritten notes which illustrate Dr. Frank's view on grape
varieties and various vineyard practices.
The grape growing and wine making titles, which compose the largest
portion of the donation, will contribute greatly to the Lee Library's
already impressive holdings in those areas. The Lee Library's
viticulture and enology collection, said to be the finest east of the
Rocky Mountains, is comprised of over 2,700 books and over 40 current
subscriptions to periodicals from around the world. Together with the
larger Cornell Library system these holdings in enology and viticulture
exceed 7,000 titles. The Lee Library (located in Geneva, NY) will also be
setting up a display about Dr. Konstantin Frank containing ephemera found
in the book collection. Some of the historical materials found were
vintage photos, tickets and papers.
Located on Keuka Lake a few miles north of Hammondsport, Dr. Frank's has
long been associated with the New York wine revolution. Its founder, Dr.
Konstantin Frank, helped pioneer the introduction of the European vitis
vinifera grapevines in the eastern United States. For his contributions
in the American wine industry he was inducted into the Wine
Spectator's "Hall of Fame". Now in its third generation, Dr. Frank's
continues as New York's most award-winning winery. For more information,
please contact Frederick Frank at (800) 320-0735 or visit the website at
www.drfrankwines.com.
01.15.08
Dr. Frank's Winery Donates Historic Book Collection to Cornell
