Holte, Clarence L., 1909-1993

Resident of Harlem, N.Y, advertising executive, and bibliofile

From the description of Clarence Holte advertising portfolio, 1944 and undated. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 646844798

Clarence Holte, was a resident of Harlem, N.Y., an advertising executive with Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osbourne, Ind., and a bibliofile. He specialized in marketing to African Americans.

From the guide to the Clarence Holte advertising portfolio, 1944 and undated, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

Clarence Leroy Holte (1909-1993) is principally known as an African-American bibliophile who collected books pertaining to Africa and the African diaspora. He was also an advertising executive and for twenty years worked as an ethnic market specialist for a general market advertising firm.

Holte assembled a collection of approximately 8,000 volumes covering the history and culture of Africans and people of African descent in the Americas and Europe. He collected both rare books and contemporary publications, the earliest published in 1690 and extending into the 1970s, including many first editions. This collection was sold to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria in 1977 following its exhibition at the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in Nigeria.

Holte founded "The Basic Afro-American Reprint Library," with the goal of educating a primarily black audience about black history. Additionally, he donated funds for a literary prize, awarded biennially in recognition of a significant contribution by a living writer to the cultural heritage of Africa and the African diaspora. The award, named for him, was created in 1977, with the last prize given in 1988.

Between 1952 until his retirement in 1972, Holte was on the staff of the Madison Avenue advertising agency of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osbourne, Inc., where he supervised the consumer ethnic markets operation which developed plans for the promotion of products geared towards these markets. In this position he made numerous trips to Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia to promote construction projects in these countries.

From the guide to the Clarence L. Holte papers, 1947-2003, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)