Thursday, January 04, 2007

Vegetarian Cookbook/Ephemera Collection Goes to Radcliffe

The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge (MA) has acquired the vegetarian cookbook and ephemera collection of Jim Whitten, a third-grade teacher from Suffield, CT. Over the last six years - after becoming a vegan himself - Whitten has been accumulating materials relating to vegetarianism, and his collection now comprises "more than 200 American and British volumes and periodicals dating from the 17th century to the present, as well as menus, autographs of well-known vegetarians, even a plastic guitar pick belonging to the late Linda McCartney," according to the Boston Globe.

Whitten decided to sell the collection about a year ago, and Radcliffe purchased it to complement its 150,000 volume culinary collection. Ever the collector, Whitten is now purchasing signed poetry books, many by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors.

(h/t Bibliophile Bullpen)