Allison Fife, Utah State University
History
In 2004, Utah State University acquired a collection of approximately 1,200 rare volumes about the history of science and technology as a result of a bequest by Peter W. van der Pas. A Dutch immigrant and survivor of World War II, van der Pas proved to be an avid book collector and intellectual. Examining the nature and origins of this collection of rare books has permitted consideration of how this specific collection reflected the particular ambitions and needs of its creator. As a result, my pre-cataloging analysis of the books has developed into attempts to demystify van der Pas. Driven in part by an immigrant background, I believe that van der Pas used this collection both to demonstrate his worth as a scientist and engineer, and to legitimize himself in American academia. Through this sort of analysis, we begin to understand both the ways and reasons that significant book collections come into existence.