ROBERT CLARKE.
1829-1899. -
Robert Clarke was a native of Annan,
Dumfreeshire, Scot-
land, where he was born May 1st, 1829. He came with
his parents
to Cincinnati in 1840 and was educated
in the public schools of
Cincinnati and at Woodward College. For
a short time he was
bookkeeper for William Hanna and then
followed his bent by
becoming interested in a little
second-hand book-store near the
corner of 6th and Walnut streets.
The story of his subsequent life is the
history of the famous
Robert Clarke Company of which he was
the founder. The origin
of this firm dates back to the 50's when
books were of less import-
ance in the western community than were
lumber, flat-boats and
pork. Its birth-place was in the little second-hand
book-store
in Sixth street above mentioned, where
Mr. Robert Clarke was one
of the proprietors, and where he began
his education in "Amer-
icana" that early made the firm an
accepted authority on any
question pertaining to American
publications. In 1858 Robert
Clarke & Co. assumed its firm name
and succeeded H. W. Derby
& Co. as book-sellers. From book
selling to book publishing was
and easy and natural step, and for
nearly half a century the pub-
lication of books of the better class in
all departments of literature
has been carried on by this firm. In
1894 the partnership was
incorporated as The Robert Clarke
Company, with a board of
directors-composed of Robert Clark, R.
D. Barney, John W.
Daley, Howard Barney and Alexander Hill.
The directors of
this company were all members of the old
firm.
The wonderful collection of American
publications issued
by this firm caused Justin Winsor in his
"Narrative and Critical
History" of America to say;
"The most important American lists
at present issued by American dealers
are those of the Robert
Clarke Company of Cincinnati."
Mr. Clarke was a constant reader and
hard student all his life,
not only of the contents of books, but a
connoisseur of their form
and exterior. He was not merely a
successful bibliophile, but he
was a veritable living cyclopedia on
bibliography. It is doubtful
(487)