Lasker (Edward) Manuscript Collection, 1523-1994, bulk 1988-1994

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Summary

Title:
Edward Lasker manuscript collection
Dates:
1523-1994, bulk 1988-1994
Abstract:
The collection contains correspondence, scrapbooks, photograph albums, and other material related to Edward Lasker's horse library, as well as 19 manuscript volumes from his library.
Extent:
9.09 Linear Feet (8 boxes and 24 volumes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Edward Lasker manuscript collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The correspondence files consist 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, including photographs. Several folders contain photographs of books, copies of title pages, or other resource material.

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. Photograph albums include snapshots of of horses and horseracing culture.

The manuscripts, all formerly owned by Edward Lasker, span five centuries of horse and horse racing history, mostly in Great Britain and the United States. There are also 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. HM 68502 is a subscription agreement for the Prince's Stakes races at Newmarket, signed by George IV when he was Prince of Wales and several other British nobility.

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:
Gift of Cynthia Lasker, 1998-2005. Gift of Courtland E. Palmer, November 2010.
Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: Correspondence Files (Boxes 1-5); Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums (Box 6-7; Volumes 1-4); Manuscript Volumes (HM 68495-68513).

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-01-21 15:47:16 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Edward Lasker manuscript collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

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