By Benjamin Parke Daily Bruin Contributor Like a marooned
sailor, UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library lies
apart from the main campus, among the stately homes of West Adams,
where the upper crust of Los Angeles society lived in the early
19th century. Begun in 1923, the library was built in three years
by William Andrews Clark, Jr. His father, Senator Clark, after whom
the library is named, was one of the wealthiest men in America. The
elder Clark, who came from Pennsylvania, initially wanted to become
a school teacher. But in 1862, he decided to head west. He
eventually made his way to Montana. Oro y Plata, “Gold and
Silver” ““ words that would eventually become the state
motto of Montana ““ proved providential to Clark, who made a
fortune in various mining and supply operations. He also played a
part in gaining statehood for Montana, and served as a U.S. senator
from that state. Clark made frequent trips to Europe, bringing back
works of art, most of which now reside in Washington, D.C.’s
Corcoran Gallery. Shyer and more introspective than his father,
Clark, Jr. was more interested in literature.
A man, a plan, a library
“Clark, Jr. wanted to collect books, not art,” said
Suzanne Tatian, librarian for Reader Services at the Clark Library.
“When Clark came to Los Angeles in 1911, he formed a library
““ as most wealthy Americans did at that time.” Clark,
Jr. first collected titles that were much sought after in the rare
book market, such as Shakespeare folios. But he decided to
specialize in authors who were less popular at the time, building a
collection of the works of Oscar Wilde as well as books and
manuscripts by authors from the 17th and 18th centuries.
“It’s very definitely one of the finest Dryden
collections in the world ““ in some respects, the best,”
said Alan Roper, professor emeritus of English who specializes in
Dryden. After Clark, Jr. died in 1934, the library became
UCLA’s first special collections library, and for many years
it was the largest gift the school received. Clark, Jr. wanted his
library to be open to the public. His will specified this, so
anyone can use it regardless of whether they are affiliated with
UCLA. Roper, who continues to research since he retired from UCLA,
said he has used about 30 different rare book libraries in the past
five years. “I would place Clark right at the very
top,” Roper said. “Now, mind you, I’ve been going
there for quite a long time ““ that helps a bit. But
I’ve gotten much better treatment down there than at other
research libraries.” To build his library, Clark, Jr.
essentially gave a blank check to architect Robert Farquhar.
Farquhar later went on to help construct the largest office
building in the world when he became one of the seven architects
who designed the Pentagon. The Clark Library stands amid
hedge-lined pathways and sunken gardens, one of which is presided
over by a fountain in the form of a sculpted woman called
“The Maid of the Garden.” The Beaux Arts style building
itself is described in the bible of local architecture, David
Gebhard’s and Robert Winter’s “Los Angeles: An
Architectural Guide,” as having “classical
calmness.” Its thick walls are made up of brick and
travertine. Inside, numerous details give the impression that
you’ve stepped into Versailles, rather than University of
California property. Bronze and glass bookcases, alabaster
chandeliers from Sen. Clark’s dining room and murals by Allyn
Cox (who also painted the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda) are some of
the features of the library’s main level. Currently, research
is done in the basement and visitors must take a tour to see the
rest of the library. A portrait of Cora Sanders, an assistant to
Clark, Jr., peers from the wall of the drawing room. In the south
book room is a small statue of Clark, Jr. with his favorite dog,
Snooky.
The devil is in the details
Books in the collection often have as much artistic detail as
the library building. While in the south book room, Tatian brought
out a limited edition from a collection illustrated and designed by
Barry Moser. “Just look at the leviathan capitals,”
said Tatian, using book printing lingo for what are large-sized
capital letters. In the book, each chapter began with one. Tatian
then pointed to a stark yet elegant “C.” Following it
was a much smaller typeface, and the first complete sentence read
out to be “Call me Ishmael” ““ the opening line of
the quintessential leviathan novel “Moby Dick.” Over
the years, Clark Library changed with the times. An observatory was
dismantled in the 1950s to make room for a parking lot, and the
original house is gone as well. Since Clark, Jr.’s death,
however, the collection has grown from 15,000 titles to 90,000
books and manuscripts. When Lawrence Clark Powell, namesake of the
building that houses UCLA’s College Library, was offered the
position as the school’s University Librarian in 1944, he
accepted it on one condition ““ that he also have authority
over the Clark Library. “Lawrence Clark Powell played a very
important role in developing the Clark’s book
collections,” Tatian said. To give the 17th- and 18th-century
collection some context, Powell acquired contemporary books and
manuscripts dealing with history, politics, theology and music.
Despite his name, Lawrence Clark Powell was unrelated to the Clark
family. One of Clark Jr.’s cousins, however, was married for
a time to a close friend of Powell’s, Gloria Stuart. The
marriage didn’t last, but Stuart’s career did. It spans
from the 1930s ““ when she appeared as a screen starlet in
such films as “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” and
“The Three Musketeers” ““ to the present. In 1998
Stuart became the oldest person to be nominated for an Academy
Award for her role in “Titanic,” in which she played
the 100 year-old survivor of the disaster. She eventually started
making limited edition books of her own, which also appear in the
collection. Besides its function as a special collections library,
the Clark hosts lectures and conferences as well as chamber
concerts. Clark, Jr. had been a music patron, establishing the Los
Angeles Philharmonic. “He thought Los Angeles was destined to
be a great city,” Tatian said. “And a great city should
have a good orchestra.” And a good library.