Peter G. Thomson and the Bibliography of the State of Ohio at the CMC

FALL 2013 65 Collection Essay Peter G. Thomson and the Bibliography of the State of Ohio at the CMC C incinnatian Peter G. Thomson (1851-1931) is better known today as the founder of Champion Papers and for his palatial estate, Laurel Court, than for his contribution to the field of history. However at his death his obituary in the Cincinnati Enquirer noted, “Proud as Mr. Thomson was of a magnificent and successful business career, he was much more proud of his ‘Bibliography’ and of his collection of books published in the days when Ohio was in the making .”1 Thomson’s collection of books concerning Ohio and the Northwest Territory became part of the collections of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, one of the predecessor organizations of Cincinnati Museum Center, in 1891. Born in 1851 in Cincinnati, Thomson worked first as a shipping clerk in the bookstore of the Robert Clarke Company. He opened his own bookstore in 1877 on Vine Street. A voracious reader and student of history, his interest in books led him to publish the Bibliography of the State of Ohio in 1880, the fourth of such state bibliographies. Thomson visited all the major libraries of the time over an eight-year span to compile the work. His bibliography encompasses works from the early exploration of the region before statehood up through 1880, and includes bibliographical and critical notes, along with prices paid for many of the books at private and public sales since 1860. An avid collector, he used his extensive knowledge to assemble a sizable personal collection of books and pamphlets relating to the state of Ohio and the Northwest Territory. In 1887, Thomson approached the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, to which he belonged, about purchasing his collection. Not coincidently, this was also the last year a listing for his store appeared in the Cincinnati city directory . In the 1880s, Thomson expanded his entrepreneurial pursuits to include toys, and children’s books and games, using the recently developed process of color printing. His new endeavors put him in competition with McLaughlin Brothers, a Brooklyn, New York, firm that eventually purchased Thomson’s enterprise in 1887. Thomson wanted to sell his collection in part to raise additional capital for his new business enterprise, the manufacture of coated paper. The development of the half-tone printing process in the 1880s had created a demand for higher quality papers. Thomson saw an opportunity to supply that demand and decided to establish a paper manufacturing facility in Hamilton that was later incorporated as the Champion Coated Paper Company. PETER G. THOMSON AND THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE STATE OF OHIO 66 OHIO VALLEY HISTORY The Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio had an interest in acquiring the collection, and members created a subscription fund to raise the five thousand dollars Thomson requested. The fund initially raised twenty-two hundred dollars but then efforts faltered. Thomson grew impatient and in 1890 published a catalogue of his collection. He noted in its preface, “An idea of its completeness will be seen from the fact that the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society, after upward of thirty years’ collecting, has only three hundred and forty-three of the seven hundred and eighty-three numbers described.”2 The society renewed fundraising efforts when Rufus King contributed five hundred dollars. In its 1891 annual report, the society noted that it had raised $4,650 by March 1891, enough to buy the collection. In September of that year, Thomson presented the collection Peter G. Thomson (1851-1931). CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER BARBARA J. DAWSON FALL 2013 67 of 768 bound and 1,163 unbound volumes to the society. Since many of the titles in Thomson’s collection were originally published in paper covers, he had them beautifully bound by well-known bookbinders of the time such as Pawson & Nicholson of Philadelphia and William Matthews of London, England. The society decided to keep the collection of bound volumes in the same order as his 1890 catalogue: arranged alphabetically and numbered sequentially . Bookplates reading, “Library of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio. The gift of the subscribers to the Thomson Books Fund, September 5...