Jorge Luis Borges is a reader of Latin and keeper of books who appears in two borrowing records: in 1922, as a young man who returned the Necronomicon to the University of Buenos Aires, and in 1967, as the nearly blind director of the National Library, where a book marked as returned never came back.
| Type | Character |
| Residence (1922) | Bulnes 2216, first floor, near Berruti |
| Office (1967) | Director of the National Library |
| Spanish entry | Jorge Luis Borges |
History
1922. A tall young man “just arrived from Europe with his family”, in a suit, with a handkerchief, “not yet with a belly”. He lives at Bulnes 2216, first floor, almost at the corner of Berruti, among low houses. The family is “lower middle class”. He is “an excellent reader of Latin” and obtains books by loan or office, never by purchase. Of the Necronomicon borrowed from the University of Buenos Aires library it was said: “young master Borges already returned it”. Heart of Darkness (1899) is called one of his favorite readings.
1967. “A big fellow, now almost 70”, “almost completely blind”, director of the National Library. There he “approved something” on a book and a mark shows it, “but he did not return to the book”: the return is marked, yet the book is absent desde el 26 (“since the 26”). The Guardian of the Library refers inquiries to him. A sealed letter with his name on the envelope exists.
Relationships
- His membership in the Lodge is only suspected by the company. The one stated link is indirect: it comes from Jorge Malnati, a bar sorcerer who gives tips to Rómulo, and passes through Victorio Acampo.
- No direct contact with the company is recorded; access runs through Malnati, Acampo or the Guardian of the Library.
Other Jorges, not to be merged with him: Jorge Malnati; Jorge Álvarez, a federal officer of military bearing with an aquiline nose, tied to security in the operation; Jorge Moreno, foreman of the Echegoyen estate; and Jorge, the sorcerer-magnate, who sends Rómulo south to “find a book” — whether Borges, Malnati or a fourth Jorge is not established.
Open questions
- Whether the Necronomicon returned to the UBA in 1922 and the book absent from the National Library are the same; the shelfmark BN 1016 is an open doubt.
- Whether the two returns, one confirmed and one false, form a pattern.
- Who wrote the sealed letter, and what it says.
- No relative at Bulnes 2216 is named; the 1967 man has no description beyond age and blindness.