Collecting Jack London!
Our speaker for February 6th was Darius Anderson, a Jack London historian. In his spare time Darius is the founder and Chairman of Platinum Advisors, a governmental affairs lobbyist firm. He is also the founder and CEO of the California Opportunity Fund, which invests in new California ventures. He is also the founder and Managing Member of Sonoma Media Investments, LLC, the owner and publisher of the Press Democrat! His talk, however, was about his lifelong interest in all things Jack London, including the acquisition and maintenance of Jack London memorabilia. Some interesting facts about Jack London: Back in his time he was considered a believer in the common man. He was published all over the world, and his work continues to be translated and published worldwide. He wrote at least 51 published books and thousands of short stories. His writings were often published in installments in magazines and newspapers, as was common in the time. He was a renaissance man, an artist, writer, entrepreneur, revolutionary, art collector, war correspondent and photographer. Jack lived life to the fullest, always going 180 mph. He wasn’t a saint; he had trouble with alcohol, was a communist, and was horrible to his two children.
Darius’ own Jack London collection contains at least 8,000 items. The largest collection of Jack London memorabilia is in the Huntington Museum in San Marino, CA. The Huntington has 42,000 Jack London items! Sonoma State University has also received Jack London collections.
Darius also talked about some of London’s books. His favorite is “People of the Abyss,” about the contrast between rich and poor in London. Another amazing book, and a favorite of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, is “Martin Eden”. Another amazing fact; London collaborated with Luther Burbank on agricultural issues, even joining together to import Eucalyptus trees to Sonoma County!
Thank you, Darius for the fabulous talk. The sheer volume of information you provided to us was amazing and fascinating. Keep up with the great work on all your endeavors and come back soon. We may even take you up on your offer of a tour of your collection!
