oral history catalogue

Southern California Bookmen Series

Bennett, Chartres Roberts (b. 1901)

Book Dealer, Poet

1972.

Mr. Bennett was born in California in 1901 and received his education from Berkeley. He began his apprenticeship at Holmes Book Store in Los Angeles in 1937. By 1941, Mr. Bennett, in partnership with Richard Marshall, opened Bennett and Marshall in downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Bennett was a founding member and past president of the Southern California Chapter of Antiquarian Booksellers. Interview I relates Mr. Bennett's experiences as a book dealer and Interview II gives a brief account of his experiences with John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

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Dahlstrom, Grant (b. 1902)

Printer

1975.

Grant Dahlstrom was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1902 of parents of Swedish descent. He began working in the printing shop of Alva Scoville while in high school. In 1926 he attended Carnegie Tech to study with Porter Garnett at his Laboratory Press. Mr. Dahlstrom moved to Los Angeles in 1927 and gives an interesting account of his work for the firm of Young & McCallister in the late twenties and thirties. In 1943 he bought Castle Press, a small printing business in Pasadena and developed a thriving business particularly well-known for the quality of its work. The interview deals primarily with Castle Press and Mr. Dahlstrom's distinguished career as a printer.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

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Henderson, John Dale (b. 1903)

Librarian

Southern California Book Men Series. 1973.

John Henderson was born in Oakland, California in 1903. He received his BA degree from UC Berkeley and later graduated from the Library School at Berkeley. Mr. Henderson began his long, active career in 1933 as Kern County Librarian. In 1937, he became a Field Representative of the State Library of California and in 1947 assumed the position of Librarian of Los Angeles County until his retirement in 1963. Mr. Henderson's interview discusses reminiscences of his tenure as Los Angeles County Librarian, describing his reorganization of the book collection and card catalog, as well as the development of a more decentralized system.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

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Levinson, Harry A. (b. 1904)

Book dealer

Southern California Book Men Series. 1973.

Born in New York City in 1904 of immigrant parents, Mr. Levinson tells of starting his own business in 1929 and of becoming part owner of Chaucer Head Bookshop. In 1948 he moved to Southern California and later opened a shop in Beverly Hills. In 1973 Mr. Levinson moved his business to his home. The interview discusses Mr. Levinson's experiences running a book store in New York City and Beverly Hills and relates many interesting facets of the book business.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

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Schwartz, Kurt L. (b. 1909)

Book dealer

Southern California Book Men Series. 1972.

Kurt Schwartz was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909 where his parents had an antiquarian book business. He worked in the family business until 1938 when he fled Austria. In 1940 he was a librarian for the Royal Asiatic Society in Shanghai and from 1943 to 1947 he was a partner in a Shanghai book business. Since 1947, Mr. Schwartz has conducted his book business in Los Angeles. The interview relates Mr. Schwarz's experiences as a book dealer in Vienna, Shanghi and Los Angeles.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

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Zeitlin, Jacob (b. 1902)

Bookseller

Southern California Book Men Series. 1972.

Reminiscences about experiences as bookseller since 1925. Comments on "finds" and private book collectors.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

See Zeitlin, Jacob in Politics and Government.

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Dawson’s Book Shop Collection: Volume I

Dawson, Glenn and Muir

Book dealers

Southern California Book Men Series. 1972.

Glenn Dawson was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and received his BA from UCLA in 1935. Muir Dawson was born in Los Angeles in 1922 and graduated from Pomona College in 1949. Their father, Ernest Dawson, established Dawson's Book Shop in 1905. The interview focuses on Dawson's Book Shop, which is the pioneer antiquarian book shop in Los Angeles. The brothers now operate the business. They tell of the family's role in organizing the local Antiquarian Bookseller's Association and subsequently the international association. Muir Dawson also speaks about his interest in paper making and printing.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

See Dawson, Glenn in Southern California Bookmen Series.
See Dawson, Muir in Southern California Bookmen Series.

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Dawson, Glenn (b. 1912)

Book dealer

Southern California Book Men Series. 1986.

Describes how the Los Angeles area looked during his childhood and the book buying trips with his father. Graduated from Los Angeles High School, where he learned about printing, in 1931 and then earned a bachelor's degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Dawson relates many stories about family life and his father. He talks about the various locations of the book shop, the well-known people who were customers, book buying trips by various staff members. His specialization in western Americana when working at the shop before he was made a partner in 1937. Father's management of the store: staff meetings, elegant teas. Description of book shop location at the corner of Grand Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard as “a humming place.”

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass.

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Dawson, Muir (b. 1922)

Book dealer

Southern California Book Men Series. 1986.

Born in Los Angeles. Graduate of Dorsey High School. Entered Pomona College. After an interruption for service in World War II in the Mountain Artillery, he graduated from Pomona College in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in History. While in college he studied printing with Dr. Foster of Scripps College. This became a lifelong interest and he purchased his own printing press. In 1948, he married Agnes Cloud. He had helped in his father's book shop was a youngster. Ernest Dawson died in 1947 and left his book shop to his two sons. So Muir then joined his brother, Glen, in operating the business. He speaks of the Sierra Club trips he took his children on. Comments about Willis Kerr, Librarian of the Claremont Colleges [ See Willis Kerr interview (107) ]. Book Shop contacts with Dorothy Drake and Scripps College. He talks about his trips to Japan and Korea to buy books. Discusses his use of hand printing presses. He describes the informal side of his father's personality.

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Shochat, Fern Dawson (b. 1917)

Daughter of Ernest Dawson

Southern California Book Men Series. 1986.

Born in Los Angeles. Graduate of Los Angeles High School in 1935. Married George Shochat in 1938, a high school Music and Language teacher. During World War II she worked at Dawson's Book Shop, but after the war ended she remained home to take care of her children. A year later her brother, Glen, asked her to return to the Book Shop. She did and remained there until 1968, when the Book Shop was moved from 550 South Figueroa to 535 Larchmont. She talks about her father and mother and family life, especially the camping trips the family took to the desert and the mountains. Mrs. Schochat verifies that her father helped many others to get into the book shop business, including Jacob Zeitlin. [ See Jacob Zeitlin interviews (181, 216) ]. She discusses the book shop staff, especially her awe of Dorothy Bevis and Ellen Shaffer, and the elegant teas given at the Book Shop. Appended to Volume I are copies of some papers related to the Book Shop.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

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Dawson’s Book Shop Collection: Volume II

Bevis, Leura Dorothy (b. 1904)

Dawson’s Book Shop Staff

Southern California Book Men Series. 1983.

Born in Minnesota, attended high school in St. Louis. Her family then moved to Southern California. She received her bachelor's degree from Pomona College in 1927 and became interested in rare books. It was during that time that she made her first visit to Dawson's Book Shop. After graduation from college she took training at a business college but soon realized she wished to work with books and people. In 1928, she was hired at Dawson's and remained there until 1939, at which time she worked briefly for San Pasqual Press. She then served as associate editor of the University of California Press. During World War II, Miss Bevis served as a personnel officer for the United States Coast Guard. In 1947, she earned her master's degree from the Library School of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and joined the faculty of the University of Washington Library School. Miss Bevis describes Ernest Dawson's (known to the staff as "Father" Dawson) supportiveness of staff manifested in a variety of ways. She talks about the book buying trips she made for the Shop, how her interest in fine presses and incunabula developed, and how she connected with John I. Perkins and Dorothy Drake at Scripps College. This connection led to his donating his book collection to the college.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

See Bevis, Leura Dorothy and Shaffer, Ellen in Southern California Bookmen Series.

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Bevis, Leura Dorothy and Ellen Shaffer

Dawson's Book Shop Staff

Southern California Book Men Series. 1983.

First met in June 1929 at Dawson's when Ellen Shaffer first worked there. Later shared an apartment for a few years. They describe the Book Shop's institution of having elegant teas and other sometimes spontaneous social activities. Miss Bevis and Miss Shaffer talk about individual staff members and of Mr. Dawson's low-key management style. They discuss the collecting and marketing of rare books.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

See also Bevis, Leura Dorothy under Southern California Bookmen Series.
See also Shaffer, Ellen under Southern California Bookmen Series.

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Drake, Dorothy (b. 1904)

Librarian, Scripps College

Southern California Book Men Series. 1983.

Born in Ohio. Graduate of Knox College (1925). After teaching in the Los Angeles Schools, she soon served as librarian for two high schools. Earned her master's degree in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. Met Ernest Dawson while she was a school librarian, at which time she had developed an interest in rare books, and she became a customer of the Book Shop. In 1938, Miss Drake was appointed Librarian of Scripps College. Over the years she developed a close friendship with Dorothy Bevis and Ellen Shaffer. Miss Drake relates her experiences as a friend of Ernest Dawson, emphasizing his supportiveness. She speaks of the many people she knew at the Book Shop. Miss Drake talks about how she happened to be appointed Librarian of Scripps College. She describes the creation of the furnishings and the stained-glass window in Denison Library. She relates the story of John I. Perkins gift of his collection to Scripps Library and the development of the Library's policy of allowing Scripps students to handle rare books. She discusses the Scripps prize to the senior with the best personal book collection and the creation by Mr. Goudy of a font type for Scripps College.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

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Neal, Thomas A. (b. 1907)

Book Shop Manager

Southern California Book Men Series. 1972.

Thomas Neal was born in Los Angeles in 1907. From 1925 to 1928 he worked at C. C. Parker's book store in Los Angeles and from 1929 to 1932 he managed the Hollywood Book Store. Mr. Neal has worked for Dawson's Book Shop since 1933. The interview discusses Mr. Neal's years at Dawson's, recounting how he started working for Ernest Dawson and became a buyer for him.

Interviewer: David W. Davies, Oral History Program.

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Shaffer, Ellen (b. 1904)

Dawson's Book Shop Staff

Southern California Book Men Series. 1983.

Born in Leadville, Colorado while her father was an engineer in the mines there. Attended Riverside Library School. Completed her bachelor's degree in English at the University of California, Los Angeles and later earned a master's degree in Spanish at the University of Southern California. She relates her first impressions of Ernest Dawson and her days at Dawson's working with on the balcony with Eleanor Reed, who had her own clientele. She describes her dealing with Marks and Cohen, Dawson's English agents, on a buying trip. She discuses Dawson's relationship with Mrs. Edward Doheny's collection. She relates the leftist inclinations of Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and how it affected family life. She discusses private assessing and securing private collections.

Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.

See Bevis, Leura Dorothy and Shaffer, Ellen in Southern California Bookmen Series.

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