Finding Aid for the Robert Ernest Cowan Library and Bibliographical Lists, ca. 1935

Processed by Dan Luckenbill; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
© 2003
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Robert Ernest Cowan Library and Bibliographical Lists, ca. 1935

Collection number: 2046

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA
Processed by:
Dan Luckenbill, July 1978
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, November 2003
© 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Robert Ernest Cowan Library and Bibliographical Lists,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1935
Collection number: 2046
Creator: Cowan, Robert Ernest, 1862-1942
Extent: 8 boxes (4 linear ft.) 1 oversize box
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Robert Ernest Cowan (1862-1942) was a San Francisco bookseller (1895-1920) and author of bibliographies of history of California and the Pacific Coast. He was also the librarian for William Andrews Clark, Jr. (1919-33). Cowan's collection of books and manuscripts form the nucleus of the UCLA Department of Special Collections' holdings in Californiana. The collection consists of library and bibliographical lists of the Robert E. Cowan Library made by Mr. Cowan and members of the UCLA Library staff.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Robert Ernest Cowan Library and Bibliographical Lists (Collection 2046). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4232913 

Biography

Robert Ernest Cowan was born in 1862 in Toronto, Canada; came to San Francisco in 1870; student at UC Berkeley 1882-84; San Francisco bookseller from 1895-1920 and author of bibliographies of history of California and the Pacific Coast; librarian for William Andrews Clark, Jr., 1919-33; moved to Los Angeles at Clark's request in 1926; Cowan's collection of books and manuscripts form the nucleus of the UCLA Department of Special Collections' holdings in Californiana; married Marie Margaret Fleissner in 1894; only child was Robert Granniss Cowan; died in 1942.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of library and bibliographical lists of the Robert E. Cowan Library made by Mr. Cowan and members of the UCLA Library staff. Includes a manuscript catalog made in Cowan's hand in 1935, a list of 3534 items in the Cowan Library with a bibliography, manuscript catalogs with Cowan's valuations, UCLA catalog cards with full entries on 3 × 5” slips, and a manuscript volume of a list of Cowan's books, chiefly Californiana. Cowan's Library formed the nucleus of UCLA's Californiana holdings.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Cowan, Robert Ernest, 1862-1942--Archives.
Bibliographers--California--Archival resources.
California--Bibliography--Archival resources.

Related Material

  • California bibliographers: father and son [oral history transcript] / Robert G. Cowan, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1979. Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
  • Robert Ernest Cowan Papers (Collection 232)  . Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
  • Robert Ernest Cowan, Californiana (Collection 2048). Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.

Box 1

Catalog of the Robert E. Cowan Library. October 1935.

Physical Description: ca. 750 leaves. Manuscript catalog in Cowan's hand; written in pencil on 8.5 × 11” sheets.

Scope and Content Note

Includes bibliographical commentary and prices. The catalog was compiled as a means of appraising the Library prior to its sale to the UCLA Library.
Boxes 2-4

Titles of 3,534 items in the Cowan Library and Bibliography.

Physical Description: Typescript and holograph on 8.5 × 11” sheets.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, as follows:
  • A-E (Box 2)
  • F-N (Box 3)
  • 0-Z (Box 4)
Boxes 5-7

Unprocessed bibliography.

Physical Description: Primarily typescript on 8.5 × 11” sheets. Prices annotated in pencil.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, as follows:
  • A-H (Box 5)
  • I-Z (Box 6)
Boxes 5-7

Additional lists.

Physical Description: Typed on halved 8.5 × 11” sheets.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, with headings for each group.
  • Box 5: Miscellaneous - not listed in previous catalogues; and Duplicates.
  • Box 7: First manuscript catalog, items valued by Mr. Cowan at $5.00 or less, each, priced independently by K.R.M., UC Library
  • First and second manuscript catalogs, items valued by Mr. Cowan at more than $25.00 each
  • Second manuscript catalog, material valued by Mr. Cowan at $5.00 per item, or less
  • First manuscript catalog, items valued by Yr. Cowan at $5.00 or less, each.
Box 8

Cowan Library - UCLA cards.

Arrangement

Full entries, with call numbers, on 3 × 5” slips, with the following headings:
  • Entered in Cowan bibliography (approximately 900 slips)
  • To be entered (approximately 2200 slips)
  • Cannot be located in Cowan bibliography (approximately 350 slips)
  • Not in bound bibliography, to be checked in Cowan suppl.[?] (approximately 150 slips).
Flat box 9

List of books. Chiefly Californiana, giving author, title, place, and date of publication.

Creator/Collector: Cowan, Robert Ernest, 1862-1942
Physical Description: 1 vol. Manuscript.