Historical Perspective
Dr. Edwin Brown's collection has been built over a 23 year period. His first purchases were made in Dublin and Belfast where he worked with Jack Gamble of Emerald Isle Books. Since then, Dr. Brown has spent over two decades scouring the market, traveling when possible to build the finest collection. He has stretched his resources, and has never accepted less than the highest quality. The collection is quite extraordinary in scope and quality. It is one of the finest and most valuable private collections of these authors in the world.
The collection includes first English and American editions of books written by Lewis, books edited or with prefaces by Lewis, published essays and lectures, books about Lewis, and two very rare Lewis manuscripts. It also includes first and reprint editions of Dorothy L. Sayers, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield.
Over 15 years ago, David Neuhouser began taking students enrolled in his Lewis and MacDonald Honors Program Seminars to visit Dr. Brown. Viewing the collection and listening to Dr. Brown tell about his experiences, especially his meeting and getting to know people connected with Lewis such as Owen Barfield, Walter Hooper, Pauline Baynes, and Douglas Gresham, greatly enriched the educational experience of the students in these seminars.
A few years ago Dr. Brown decided that he would like to find a more permanent location for the collection. His daughter had graduated from Taylor University and the geographical proximity of Upland to his Indianapolis home made Taylor his first choice. Because of the great monetary investment in the collection, he felt that he could not afford to give it away. However, he was willing to sell it at a reasonable price if it could be given to Taylor.
Joining Neuhouser's students on one of their annual visits to Dr. Brown's home, Jay Kesler, Daryl Yost, and David Dickey were impressed by the educational value the collection would offer Taylor. However, a donor would have to be found who would be able to buy and donate the collection to Taylor without taking away from potential gifts for other essential projects. This was the situation until 1996 when such a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, was found. The collection arrived on campus Feb. 13, 1997, and is housed on the lower level of the Zondervan Library.
