Becoming Alice Millard

Alice Millard is finally receiving her due through the meticulous and insightful research of Michele Cloonan who has produced a biography worthy of the larger-than-life antiquarian bookseller and proponent of the object beautiful. -- Charles Nelson Johnson, Research librarian and historical consultant Michèle Cloonan offers a compelling account of one of California's first great antiquarian booksellers. From her precarious, purpose-built La Miniatura, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Alice Parsons Millard celebrated the art of the book and crafted an unconventional approach to the trade. -- Heather O'Donnell, Honey & Wax Booksellers This much-needed volume introduces to a wider audience the fascinating life of Alice Millard, a bibliophile, businesswoman, and scholar whose life was bound up with the books she bought and sold in Southern California. Cloonan walks readers through the private and professional aspects of Millard, who balanced social perceptions of femininity and personal aspirations to create a successful rare books business during the Golden Age of Book Collecting. This account of Millard’s life both revels in the details of her relationships and family and moves readers toward the greater contributions Millard made to the collection of and study of rare books in the United States. It is a welcome addition to the growing amount of literature on women collectors and dealers. -- Kate Ozment, Director, Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship, PhD, Case Western Reserve University