MSS 393 Ernest J. Wessen Papers

              Ernest J. Wessen Papers
1 cubic foot
Standard inventory
Collection Synopsis
Provenance: The Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society acquired the Ernest J.
Wessen Papers as a g i f t of Ernest J. Wessen, Mansfield, Ohio,
and Arthur H. P h i l l i p s , Columbus, Ohio, i n March and May 1971.
S h e r r i l l Dryden- Baird compiled the inventory i n May 1981.
Property r i g h t s : The Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society owns the property
r i g h t s to t h i s c o l l e c t i o n .
Copyrights: Copyrights have n- ot been dedicated t o the public.
Consideration of the requirements of copyright is the responsi-b
i l i t y of the author and publisher.
Access: This c o l l e c t i o n i s open under the r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s
of the Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society.
c i t a t i o n : Researchers are requested t o c i t e c o l l e c t i o n name,
c o l l e c t i o n number, and the Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society i n a l l
footnote and bibliographic references.
Biographical s k e t c h : Ernest J. Wessen of Mansfield, Ohio, became
i n t e r e s t e d i n c o l l e c t i n g r a r e Americana while a youth i n Boston,
Massachusetts. He bought h i s f i r s t " old books" with the two
d o l l a r s h i s f a t h e r had given him on h i s f i f t e e n t h birthday f o r
shoes or some other necessity. In 1925 he began s e l l i n g r a r e
books as an avocation. About f i v e years l a t e r he opened the
Midland Rare Book Company and soon began issuing Midland Notes,
a c a t a l o g o f p a r t of h i s c o l l e c t i o n of books, pamphlets, maps,
and other e a r l y Americana ( e s p e c i a l l y on Ohio and the Midwest)
which he was o f f e r i n g f o r s a l e . By January 1969, he had pub-l
i s h e d one hundred and two numbers of Midland Notes.
M r . Wessen and h i s book scouts unearthed innumerable scarce and
valuable i t e m s , and h i s c a r e f u l l y annotated catalogs served
l i b r a r i a n s and book dealers as guides t o e a r l y imprints and
other r a r e Americana. The Midland Notes make i n t e r e s t i n g reading
for they r e f l e c t M r . Wessen's f a s c i n a t i n g personality. H i s
business c o n t a c t s led t o personal f r i e n d s h i p s with many of the
p r i n c i p a l book c o l l e c t o r s and d e a l e r s i n the country. One of
h i s most valued customers and f r i e n d s was Thomas W. S t r e e t e r of
Morristown, New Jersey, and New York City.
Throughout many years h i s wife, M r s . Yetta Wessen, w a s associated
with her husband i n the business. In October 1970 they r e t i r e d ,
closing the Midland Rare Book Store, which they had operated a t
30 Bowman S t r e e t , Mansfield, f o r nearly t h i r t y years. Ernest J.
Wessen was born on December 4 , 1887, and died i n December 1 9 7 4 .
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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