Mark Samuels Lasner Collection The University of Delaware

  Mark Samuels Lasner is a well-known collector and bibliographer who specializes in late Victorian and British literature and art between 1850 and 1900. He is also the recipient of the Sir Thomas More medal from the University of San Francisco in 2003 for “private collecting, a public benefit,” as he has loaned his entire collection, estimated to be worth 10 million dollars, to the library at the University of Delaware in 2016. Mr. Lasner is considered an expert, having done extensive research on both Max Beerbohm, a British writer and caricaturist, as well as Aubrey Beardsley, a British artist and illustrator. He can discuss the history of printing and publishing and the effect that these processes had on literature and art.

Mr. Lasner, in our conversation, focused on the literary magazine, The Yellow Book, as well as the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. There was information that I could glean from doing basic research, for example how the Yellow Book got its name from the yellow covering that notoriously scandalous French novels had at the time. The magazine itself was considered scandalous, but still had to go through multiple printings to be able to quell demand. However, due to the visit to the collection at the University of Delaware, certain other aspects were not only learned, but also shown through his impressive collection of first editions of the Yellow Book as well as many others, like work from D.G. Rossetti and Beatrix Potter.

Additionally, the first few editions can be printed with advertisements from the publishing company, and other companies directed towards the target audience. This not only indicates an original version, but also provides great insight into society at the time. I was elated to be leaving with a certain piece of information that I could use on my own to discern first editions from reproduced versions. For the Yellow Book, there was a typographical error for the first printing of the first volume, where instead of writing “April 1894”, the magazine had “Aprtl 1894”. While I had come across this information from doing my own research, the factoid was confirmed when Mr. Lasner showed the error on his first edition of volume 1, where the misspell did in fact exist.

Overall the visit to the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection was riveting and informational. It also allowed a person who has little to no knowledge about both the period and book collecting, and learn vital information that is important in the rare book world. Another aspect that shone through in the meeting was Lasner’s passion and interest in the subject area, something that I learned was vital when entering this world of manuscripts.

The Mark Samuels Lasner collection can be visited by emailing him or his assistant, something that I recommend to everyone who wants a great introduction or access to further research and a riveting discussion.

Mark Samuels Lasner:

marksl@udel.edu

302-831-3250

Rebecca Olsen (Graduate Assistant):

olsenr@udel.edu