"books do furnish a room"

[Ron Butters]

A new italicized «do» would likely be merely emphatic stress, indicating, e.g., contradiction or enthusiastic agreement. of course, few that would depend on the larger context of utterance.

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------Original Message------
From: Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011 11:58:17 AM GMT+0000
Subject: [ADS-L] "books do furnish a room"

In NY Review of Books Anthony Grafton quoted "books do furnish a room." In town here there's a used bookstore by that name--named, I presume, after the 1971 novel with that title, on display there.
Mere google oldest cite is from 1913:
("books do furnish a room so !" as we frequently hear it said)

The next there, from 1941, with italic "do," may also suggest it was frequently said, though perhaps not frequently published:
books _do_ furnish a room

Next, 1971.

Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edy/~goranson

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