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Bookplate Index by Library or Collector
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Jackie Gleason Collection, University of Miami The
Jackie Gleason Collection reflects the multidimensional talents and
interests of a legendary actor and comedian. Jackie Gleason's personal
library included
more than 3,700 volumes and focused on two subjects: entertainment and
parapsychology. According to friends and family, Gleason’s serious
interest in parapsychology was not born of pure belief, but rather of a
curiosity about the unknown and a lifelong search for spiritual
fulfillment. Marilyn Gleason, his widow, donated the collection to the
University of Miami in 1988. She felt strongly that the collection
belonged in Miami, and at the University of Miami, due to her husband’s
long association with the city. The Archives and Special
Collections Department houses Richter Library's collection of rare
books, manuscripts, and university records. Rare books and special
collection materials include approximately 25,000 volumes, 350 manuscript
collections, 10,000 photographs, 5,000 maps, 2,000 architectural drawings,
and 1,750 linear feet of university records. The department is
recognized for outstanding collections relating to Florida and the
Caribbean region, including Cuba and the Cuban exile experience.
Additional subjects of note include American and British literature, architecture,
natural history, exploration and travel, aviation, and many others. The
published works of notable authors including Wallace Stevens. Sir Richard
Burton, Aldous Huxley, Lafcadio Hearn, and Charles Dickens contribute to
departmental holdings. The Gleason Collection also provides fascinating insights into the
private life of a truly public figure. Jackie Gleason was a largely
self-educated man, with a passion for reading that rivaled his desire to
make us laugh. Gleason cherished books, personally selecting each title
for his library, and he often devoured entire volumes in a single sitting.
Through books and literature, Gleason explored his personal interest in
such areas as reincarnation, mental telepathy, UFOs, witchcraft, and the
occult. Gleason
compiled a wide range of materials relating to parapsychology,
approximately 1,700 volumes. In addition to many popular works, Gleason
amassed a number of rare, unusual, and scholarly titles. The Gleason
Collection includes lengthy, although incomplete, runs of the Journal
of the American Society for Psychical Research (1907-1982); Journal
of the Society for Psychical Research (1887-1930); Occult Digest (1925-1939);
Borderland (1893-1897): and Fate (1948-1976). Monograph
titles found in the collection include Ancient Mysteries Described,
by William Hone (London, 1823); On Hallucinations: A History and
Explanation of Apparitions, Visions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and
Somnambulism, by Alexandre-Jacques-François Brierre de Boismont,
translated by Robert T. Hulme (London, 1859); and Ghostology: Or the
Experience of Immaterial Men in Earth, Heaven, and Hell, by William
Sheldon (Boston, 1862). The collection also includes titles from the world of entertainment, with
numerous biographies and autobiographies of contemporary comedians and
actors. George Jessel’s This Way, Miss (New York, 1955) and Cindy
and I: The Real Life Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Joey Adams (New York.
1957) both bear inscriptions to “The Great One." In addition, the
Gleason Collection contains issues of Fun-Master Monthly—The
Comedian, a compilation of jokes, skits, and comedic lines for the
professional entertainer. The Jackie
Gleason Collection bookplate celebrates the comic genius of a remarkable
performer who entertained millions of people as Ralph Kramden, the
Brooklyn bus driver; Reginald Van Gleason III, the wealthy, bumbling
aristocrat; the sorrowful Poor Soul; and many others. The stick figure
depicted on the bookplate holds the familiar pose Gleason assumed
following the completion of the opening monologues on his long-running
television variety show. As he struck this classic burlesque comedy pose,
with a showman’s flamboyance and style that never failed to capture the
attention of his huge audience, Gleason would utter the words “And away we go!" This phrase, like so many other classic lines delivered
by Gleason, is now fully ensconced in the lexicon of American culture. The bookplate
serves as a most appropriate introduction to Gleason's books, inviting the
reader to explore the world of entertainment and the world of the
supernatural. The source for the design is Jackie Gleason himself. Gleason
drew this figure in the early 1950s, and the image soon appeared on such
items as personal stationery and jewelry commissioned for Marilyn Gleason. Under these circumstances, the quest
to select an appropriate bookplate design found one clear choice. The
bookplate measures 3 3/16 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches high. The
stick figure, forever balanced on one leg, dominates the bookplate. Text
above the figure identifies the permanent home for this fascinating
collection, the "University
of Miami Library." The phrase that appears underneath the figure.
“from the library of jackie gleason 1916-1987," offers a simple
tribute to Jackie Gleason—actor, comedian, entertainer, book lover, and
book collector. William
E. Brown, Jr. Otto
C. Richter Library University
of Miami, Coral Gables [Originally published in Journal of Library History, vol. 26, no. 4 (Spring 1991): 608-610.]
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| Last updated June 30, 2001 |
