Ernest Dawson founded Dawson's Book Shop in Los Angeles, California, in 1905 at 713 South Broadway. Dawson specialized in rare books and went on buying expeditions in Europe and at book auctions in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. The store also published small editions of books related to western America and the history of books. The collection consists of the personal correspondence of the Ernest and Thomas Dawson families, and the business correspondence, catalogs, invoices, and ledgers of Ernest, Glen, and Muir Dawson and Dawson's Book Shop.

Ernest Dawson founded Dawson's Book Shop in Los Angeles, California, in 1905 at 713 South Broadway; Dawson began the store with a purchase of 2,250 books from the Salvation Army at 1 cent apiece, and immediately resold one of them, a book on Indian basketry, for $ 2.50; issued first rare book catalog in 1907, and with its success, Dawson began to specialize in rare books; the shop moved to 518 South Hill St. in 1908; Dawson made his first business trip to London in 1911, beginning a long series of buying expeditions made by members of his staff; soon he was attending book auctions in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York and conducting worldwide searches for collectors; the business moved to 627 South Grand Ave. in 1922, and to 550 South Figueroa St. in 1952; while always dealing primarily in rare and second hand books, the business has published small editions of books related to western America and the history of books; after Dawson's death in 1947, his sons Glen and Muir continued the book shop.

21.5 linear feet (43 boxes and 7 oversize boxes)

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library 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.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance through our electronic paging system using the request button located on this page.