Edward Lasker manuscript collection, 1523-1994, bulk 1988-1994

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Summary

Creators:
Lasker, Edward, 1912-1997
Abstract:
The collection contains correspondence and other material related to Edward Lasker's horse library as well as 19 manuscript volumes from his library.
Extent:
1,894 items in six boxes plus 19 manuscript volumes
Language:
The records are in English.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence Files: The correspondence files consist of 5 boxes of letters, faxes, invoices, and book catalogs related to Edward Lasker's rare book and manuscript purchases that made up his horse library. Notable corespondents include: Blood-Horse Inc., DeWitt Clinton, Fasig-Tipton Co., J. A. Allen & Co., and James Cummins Bookseller. There is also a folder containing material regarding British jockey Fred Archer, who shot himself in 1886, including photographs. Several folders contain photographs of books or copies of title pages, etc.

Scrapbooks: The two scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings about Edward Lasker's racehorses and their races, most of which are from the Daily racing form. There are also some clippings about the horse By Zeus, which was owned by Jane Greer.

Manuscript Volumes: The 19 manuscripts, all formerly owned by Edward Lasker, span five centuries of horse and horse racing history, mostly in Great Britain and the United States, although there are two Italian manuscripts, one in German, and one in Arabic. The volumes include stud books; treatises on horse care and treatment; manuscripts with illustrations of bits and bridles; manuscripts on horse training, breeding and racing; horse pedigrees; horse registers; and two volumes dealing with horse races at "The Derby," and "The St. Leger." Many of the volumes have illustrations, and two are illuminated. One manuscript (HM 68502) is a subscription agreement for the Prince's Stakes races at Newmarket which is signed by George IV when he was Prince of Wales; it is also signed by several other notable British nobility. This finding aid contains a detailed list of the manuscripts.

Organized in the following manner: Correspondence Files (Boxes 1-5); Scrapbooks (Box 6); Manuscript Volumes (HM 68495-68513). The Correspondence Files are arranged in alphabetical order and the Manuscripts are in chronological order.

Biographical / historical:

Edward Lasker was the son of American businessman and philanthropist Albert D. Lasker and his first wife Flora Lasker. He graduated from Yale University in 1933. He worked at his father's advertising agency, Lord & Thomas, until 1942 when he joined the U.S. Navy. After the war, Edward Lasker moved to California where he became a film producer. In 1947, Lasker married actress Jane Greer, with whom he had three sons: Alex, a screenwriter; Lawrence, a retired producer/screenwriter, and Steven, a Jazz historian and record remastering engineer. In 1955, Edward graduated wtih his law degree from the University of California in Los Angeles and began practicing law in Los Angeles. Lasker and Jane Greer divorced in 1963 and he married Cynthia Palmer. Edward Lasker died in Los Angeles in 1997.

Edward Lasker was long involved in Thoroughbred horse racing as an owner and breeder. He also collected early and rare books and manuscripts about horses. His collection was donated to the Huntington Library by Cynthia Lasker in a series of gifts from 1998 to 2005. The Edward Lasker Collection includes approximately 1400 rare titles, chiefly books and serials.

Acquisition information:
Gifts of Cynthia Lasker, 1998-2005, and Courtland E. Palmer, November 2010.
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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