LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/13/1972 - HFSID 73608

LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL
The leading American librarian and author writes to a friend, thanking for her role in obtaining papers for a special collection at the University of Arizona, signs name in blue ink
Autograph letter signed: 'Larry" in blue ink. 2 pages, 8½x11. Original envelope included. Tucson, Arizona. May 13, 1972. Addressed to Constance Spencer of San Francisco, California. In full: "Dear Connie - I'm thrilled by your report of Mrs. Matthias' interest in our possibly having her Jeffers books here at the University of Arizona. I have no hesitation in saying that it would be a perfect place for them. The Special Collections dept. was modelled 15 years ago on the one I developed at UCLA, & now it will be housed soon in a great new library building being funded by the stat. I made a quick check, & found that although the library contains most of Jeffers' trade books in circulating copies, the Special Collections dept. has only 5 of his titles. Thus duplication would be at a bare minimum. I do remember meeting Mrs. Matthias, and I know of course what a dear and cherished friend she was to Lina and Robin. I would give my personal attention to the receipt& instillation of her collection & would hope to commemorate it by an appropriate printed handlist. The University also has the Ruth Stefan Poetry center, and endowed facility that sponsors the Collection of Contemporary Poetry and the reading by today's poets. I can see it taking part in a Jeffers event to mark the gift by Mrs. Matthias. We will be in Malibu June through September, and I plan to come north for work in the Bancroft on Kino and Garces. Perhaps we could call on Mrs. Matthias then & discuss the matter further. We plan to return to our home here in October & remain until the following summer. I'm sure you will be pleased to know that dear Margaret Girduer's Quimper Collection is here with us. We bought a spacious pecan wood cabinet to house the finest pieces & it attracts much attention. We also eat off the service & with every bite bless memory of that great-hearted person, bless her forever. I am thrilled too that Alison Saunders will read to Ida Sproul from my book. Fond regards to all & to you Connie, heartfelt thanks for your constant encouragement, and the same to Mrs. Matthias. Yours ever,". Lawrence Clark Powell (1906-2001) was an American librarian, literary critic, bibliographer and author of more than one-hundred books. Powell studied at Occidental College, later earning his doctorate from the University of Burgundy in Dijon and his Certificate of Librarianship from UC Berkley in 1937. He gained his literary reputation as the University Librarian at the UCLA Library and head librarian at the Williams Andrews Clark Memorial Library from 1944 to 1961, after which he was named the first dean of the School of Library Service at UCLA (later the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies). After retiring in 1966, Powell moved to Tucson where he worked as Professor in Residence for nearly two decades at the University of Arizona and played an instrumental role in the growth of their Graduate School of Library Science. A Lawrence Clark Powell Memorial Lectures is held in Tucson annually in his honor, and the Fay and Lawrence Clark Powell Endowment for Southwest Research continues to support Powell's interest in the geography of the southwest United States. His works include Books: West Southwest: Essays on Writers, Their Books, and Their Land (1957), The Southwest of the bookman (1974), An Orange Grove Boyhood: Growing Up in Southern California, 1910-1928 (1988), and Eucalyptus Fair: A Memoir in the Form of a Novel (1992). Normal mailing folds. Toned. Corners rounded. Light surface creases. Otherwise, fine condition.