Locke, Robinson, 1856-1920

Robinson Locke (1856-1920) was a journalist, newspaper editor, diplomat, drama critic, Mason, bank director, and civic leader, of Toledo, Ohio. Owner and editor of the Toledo Blade, an Ohio newspaper founded by his father, Locke was a serious collector of material documenting American theater history. From the 1890s, Locke served as drama critic for his newspaper under the name of Rodney Lee. Starting as a small reference collection of theatrical clippings to support his work, the collection expanded by gift and purchase. Soon a growing staff was required to clip all items of theatrical interest from the many national newspapers and magazines Locke received, and to paste the material into scrapbooks. Locke often travelled to New York to attend performances and Toledo was frequented by touring companies. According to Locke's wife, for many years until his death, every musical or dramatic artist who visited Toledo, visited Locke and his collection and almost always donated an autographed portrait. Locke was married twice: in 1886 to Kate King who died in 1894, and in 1909 to Mabel Dixey, a former actress, who gave addenda to the collection after his death.