Larson, Roger Keith, 1924-

Biography

Roger K. Larson, an avid book collector, has led an active career as a doctor and professor of medicine. Born in Cadillac, Michigan, Larson attended Northwestern University, Wheaton College and the University of Illinois before moving to California in 1949 for his residency in internal medicine. After a stint in the Korean War, Dr. Larson moved to Fresno to practice medicine and eventually became Chief of Medicine at Valley Medical Center.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Larson started buying rare and fine antiquarian books. Thus began his passion for book collecting. Over the next twenty-five years, he built an extensive collection of important and valuable books on Californiana and Western Americana. In the early 1990s, Dr. Larson decided to auction off his collection so that other collectors could experience the thrill of building their own collections. The Pacific Book Auction Galleries held a series of auctions in San Francisco from 1995 to 1997.