Collection Highlights

Occidental College's interest in fine printing is illustrated by two important collections, the Ward Ritchie Press Collection (ca. 500 volumes) and the K. Garth Huston Plantin Press Collection . A 1928 graduate of Occidental College, Los Angeles printer and book designer Ward Ritchie's work is represented by autographed and numbered copies, limited editions, and miscellanea of works he both printed and designed; as well as items from his earlier association with the Press of Anderson, Ritchie and Simon. The collection contains gifts from Mr. Ritchie and items purchased from his press from its beginnings until it was sold in 1975. Ritchie's collection is enriched further by his Ward Ritchie Christmas Book Collection (ca. 150 items) of privately published books and cards celebrating Christmas. The cards are those collected mostly from California printers, artists, and notable families. The K Garth Huston Plantin Press Collection is a collection of nearly all the books printed by Saul and Lillian Marks at their Plantin Press in Los Angeles. The Markses were well-known in the Southern California printing community, and many of their imprints are examples of the best in fine press work. Currently, access to the Plantin Press Collection is restricted and permission to use this collection must be obtained by writing to the College Librarian, or the Special Collections Department. 
 
 

Doyle, Arthur Conan, 1859-1930.  A Study in Scarlet.  London: Ward Lock, 1887.

The Ned Guymon Mystery and Detective Fiction Collection (16,000 volumes) was donated to the college by E. T. Guymon, Jr., a San Diego businessman, alumnus of Occidental College, and an inveterate collector. Because he was a personal friend of many of the authors whose works he collected, many items in the collection contain very personal, entertaining inscriptions. Consisting of first editions, manuscripts, film scripts, photographs, and other material relating to mystery and detective fiction from 1592 to 1975, the collection is especially notable for the large number of original dust jackets which were kept with the titles.  Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and appeared for the first time in literature in Beeton's Christmas Annual , an annual "bonus" publication of Beeton's Magazine. One of the treasures of the Guymon Mystery and Detective Fiction Collection is a copy of this inauspicious first appearance of perhaps the greatest detective in English literature. Doyle was paid only 25 pounds for his efforts, yet the character he created has become so famous that Holmes seems to have a life of his own, often eclipsing that of his creator.

The Pauley-Voorhis Western Americana Collection, made possible through the generosity of Edwin W. Pauley augmented by funds from the Rockefeller Foundation, is a choice collection (ca. 250 volumes) of original published narratives of the men who explored and settled the West. Collected by Charles B. Voorhis over a period of thirty years, the volumes enrich the library's other collections relating to the history of the West and the Southwest. The Max and Virginia Hayward Californiana Collection is a small (ca. 300 volumes), but valuable, collection of narratives and histories which deal with the early settlement of California. It resembles the Pauley-Voorhis Western Americana Collection in the type of books it contains, yet its emphasis is limited only to California. It is particularly rich in books and magazines publicizing the wonderful California climate which made the state so attractive to Eastern tourists. 

Documenting the history and development of the aviation industry in Southern California is the John K. Northrop-Richard W. Millar Aviation Collection established in 1953 to honor aviation pioneer John K. Northrop by his friend and Occidental College trustee Richard W. Millar. The core of the collection comes from Mr. Millar's collection assembled while he was a vice president at Northrop. The collection consists of aeronautical literature, pamphlets, and reports and also includes handbooks, annuals, histories, and dictionaries of aviation; works on aerodynamics and medical aspects of flight, government bulletins, reports and conferences; bibliographies, flight fiction, and anthologies of poetry.  These books (ca. 1,500 volumes) are cataloged and can be found in OASys, the electronic catalog. Approximately 20 boxes of materials such as news clippings, press releases from different aviation companies, photographs and reports were recently inventoried (2006) and these inventories are available in Special Collections.

John Lloyd-Butler, a rancher from Saticoy, California, took an interest in American railroading, but was never able to devote himself to it until he retired from ranching. He and his wife spent the last ten years of his life traveling the American railroads and buying books on the subject. The result is the John Lloyd-Butler Railroadiana Collection, covering the history and development of the American Railroad from 1846 to the early 1970's. It contains over two thousand published books, rare government reports, railroad periodicals, and ephemeral materials, including time-tables, advertising brochures and tickets. 

The F. Ray Risdon Collection (ca. 4,000 volumes) is the result of a fascination with Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War by Los Angeles lawyer and collector, F. Ray Risdon. Purchased from Risdon in the mid-1950's, this historical resource focusing on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War is especially rich in pamphlet material from the Civil War period and in books and pamphlets dealing specifically with Abraham Lincoln. The collection also includes a section of memorabilia connected with past American presidents and presidential campaigns consisting of campaign buttons, banners, photos, portraits and statues. 

The E. L. Doheny Research Foundation Collection is the archival record of a research foundation, founded by Edward L. Doheny. Around the turn of the century Doheny sent a team of experts in several disciplines to Mexico to search for oil deposits, and to analyze the economic, political, and social climate of the country. The uncataloged collection includes typewritten reports and studies on all aspects of Mexican political, economic, and social life prior to 1917. A bibliography, by Dennis Alward, The Doheny Research Foundation: what remains today (1965) assists in locating materials from the collection. 

The William Jennings Bryan Collection is a small collection of books by and about the former statesman William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) and a group of approximately twenty-four boxes of manuscript letters. The letters are mostly personal, between members of Bryan's family and himself, but includes significant items such as Bryan's resignation as Secretary of State and Woodrow Wilson acceptance. The collection must be used under the supervision of the Special Collections Librarian. 

The Upton Sinclair Collection (ca. 1,000 volumes) includes works by and about the writer and social activist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968). In addition, the collection contains many foreign translations of his works. Established in 1951 the collection also contains many rare and unusual items, as well as much periodical material and many newspaper clippings covering the year 1934 when Sinclair was a candidate for governor of California on the Democratic ticket. Bibliographic access to part of the collection is through the library's catalog. Uncataloged items which are part of this collection are listed in Kate Steinitz's The Upton Sinclair Collection: From the Library of Dr. and Mrs. Elmer Belt, a bibliography published when the collection was given to Occidental College. 

The Earle V. Weller Romantic Literature Collection (ca. 2,000 volumes), a gift of Mr. Earle V. Weller, the son of one of the founders of Occidental College, is dedicated to the works of English poet John Keats. Other contemporary Romantic poets also are well represented in this collection which contains many rare and scholarly items by and about the English Romantic Movement. 

A collection (ca. 2,000 volumes) of scholarly and reference works focusing on the history of Latin America up to 1917 is known as the Robert Glass Cleland Collection on Latin America. Cleland was a well-known California historian, Dean of the Faculty of Occidental College, and Latin American scholar. His collection was donated to the college after his death. 

Given to the library over a period of years beginning in the late 1950's by M. N. Beigelman, M.D. and his son, the M.N. Beigelman Collection (ca. 1,000 volumes) consists of first editions, illustrated books, landmarks in the fields of European, British and American literature, Modern Russian literature, the classics, and the history of science. Much of this collection remains uncataloged. 

Among the library's treasures is its collection of incunabula and 16th century books. Rare treasures such as an Aldine edition of Aristotle's Organon (1495) which contains the first known copyright statement and Ortelius' early world atlas, Theatrvm Orbis Terrarvm , published in 1579.  The following links are to some of the Special Collections Department's early important rare books: 

The Bill Henry Collection (ca. 2,500 volumes) is the personal library of Los Angeles Times columnist William M. "Bill" Henry (1890-1970). It also contains photos, ephemera and memorabilia, all of which are housed in the Bill Henry Room, a room designed to resemble a comfortable study. The facility was donated to the college by the Henry Family and the Times-Mirror Corporation. Information on the Olympic Games from 1932 to the present, modern history, presidential campaigns, and aviation in Southern California are the predominant subjects contained in the Bill Henry Room Collection. An Index to the Bill Henry Letters from Famous Persons, compiled by George Main, is kept on the desk in the Bill Henry Room. 
 

The Carl F. Braun Collection is housed in another special room which bears the same name. It was a gift from the family of the late industrialist, C. F. Braun, to honor his memory. Mr. Braun was also a book collector and a devotee of letterpress printing, so the collection of books which fill this beautiful wood-paneled room are all specimens of fine workmanship and serve to show how the art of printing has developed from the beginning in Europe to the present day. Many of the best examples of beautifully designed and printed limited editions which reflect great writing, world literature, the fine arts, the graphic arts, history, and science make up the bulk of this superb collection.  The Occidentalia Collection contains the archives of the college. It consists of publications by faculty and alumni, administrative files, student publications, campus photos, theses, and the Faculty and Alumni File. There is also information on famous alumni, campus speakers, faculty reprints and photos, and general information about people connected with the college. The entire collection is a rich resource which is frequently used by students, faculty, researchers, and various offices from throughout the college.	Jean Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire.  Candide. New York, Random House, 1928. Illustrations by Rockwell Kent. One of 95  copies colored in the studio of the artist.

The Special Collections Department owns the Japanese American Relocation Collection which includes letters, pamphlets, newspapers, and other publications related to the forced internment of people of Japanese heritage during World War II. A complete research guide to the collection and selected letters and papers are available online in the Online Archive of the Japanese American Relocation During World War II.  

Perhaps the largest group of holdings in the department is the Asterisk Collection. It is not a "named collection" but rather all of the single gifts and purchases obtained over the years. Covering a wide range of subjects and themes, the books are rare or of unusual nature and  selected according to Special Collections preservation/conservation criteria. These books are identified from the asterisk(*) placed above items' call numbers. Look for the * by the call number in the catalog!  

The Special Collections Department also owns several smaller collections:

Two themed collections, the Artists' Books Collection and the Miniature Books,  were developed and established by the late Michael Sutherland, Librarian during his 35 years as Special Collections Librarian (1972 -2005). The Sam and Isabella Zeitlin FDR Collection is a small but choice collection of published items about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his presidency, family, and influence.  There is also the Jacob & Josephine ver Brugge Zeitlin Collection on Bookselling, Publishing, Book Collecting & Printing.  This latter collection was assembled over a period of years, then given to the College by the late "Jake" Zeitlin in the early 1990s.  Mr. Robert E. Carney presented the library with a fine collection of books on the late John F. Kennedy.  In the year 2000 the family of  jazz critic, Stanley F. Dance, presented his Collection of Books on Richard III to Special Collections in his memory.  Mr. Anthony F. Greno presented his collection of books on Travel in Mexico and a variety of modern historical topics.  These have been integrated into the "* Collection;" but there is a small collection of ephemera in metal-edge boxes kept together under Mr. Greno's name. Small collections of the papers of author Edna Anderson, Osgood Hardy and Charles Fletcher Lummis including  Mr. Lummis' handwritten "Daily Journal"  are also among the department's holdings.  There are two excellent collections of information on World War II Propaganda kept in special collections.  One is The Carl Dentzel Collection, assembled by Carl Dentzel, the former director of the Southwest Museum. Another is named simply The Public Information Collection.  These two collections cover publications from almost all countries involved in the Second World War.  The Dr. Paul Popenoe Collection is also available for research.  Dr. Popenoe was a psychologist and scholar during the 1940s and 1950 here in California.  He performed some research into the field of Eugenics.  There is also a collection of miscellaneous music scores from the estate of the late Nelson Eddy.

Acknowledgements: 
California Private Academic Libraries, Striking research gold, 1988.
Michael O'Neal-Petterson, Computer magic
Betty Lieu & John Knapp, Inspiration

We welcome your Comments and Suggestions.

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