"This is the end of a two-year saga that has been exhilarating and, at times, surprisingly emotional," said Franklin. "I’ve concluded an intellectual journey with books written by Afro-Americans. The lessons and joy these writers have brought to me makes this journey worthwhile. The collection will anchor the newly formed Black Diasporic collection at the John Hay Library. Brown is the perfect home.
"Hopefully, I can help fellow book collectors, at least those who’re the last generation to live in a segregated America, think creatively about redistribution their collections. My new motto: let the books go where they’ll be loved and appreciated."
Bibliophile's Lifetime African-American Collection Heads to Brown University
Scott Cranin
The Conjure-Man Dies: A Harlem Mystery by Rudolph Fisher, from the Oliver St. Clair Franklin collection
After working with New York bookseller Scott Cranin from Ivy Ridge Books for the last two years, Philadelphian businessman, bibliophile and Honorary British Consul for Greater Philadelphia Oliver St. Clair Franklin has sold much of his collection to the John Hay Special Collections Library at Brown University.
Highlights of the lifetime collection which Franklin has assembled include: a signed copy of Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks; a first edition of The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chestnutt; Blacks by Gwendolyn Brooks inscribed first edition; Negro History by Harry Hawood, first edition; The Life of John Thompson, Fugitive Slave by John Thompson, a former slave; and Chattels No Longer from The Liberator, January 9, 1863. "This collection represents a lifetime of his seeking of knowledge and love of books," said Cranin.
