Roy Vernon Sowers was born in Brantford, Ontario on August 7th, 1897. He spent most of his youth in the nearby town of London, Ontario, where he had a variety of odd jobs. Sowers attended the University of Toronto and graduated in 1921 before attending St. John's College at Oxford. Limited finances caused him to leave Oxford and travel to Germany before returning to Ontario.
He later moved to Pasadena, California and worked for Mrs. Willard, an antiquarian book dealer who lived in one of the area's Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Sowers eventually moved on to work at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. He later moved to San Francisco after marrying, but divorced his first wife and built a home in the mountains near Santa Cruz, California. Sowers was familiar with the owners of the Grabhorn Press and set up one of the first exhibitions about their press. He operated a rare book and fine print business out of his personal library until the late 1960s before his death in 1970.
From the guide to the Roy Vernon Sowers Collection, 1940-1996, (William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.)
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Send Feedback
Please add comments or notes to our development staff in the box below. The feedback system will automatically attach a screenshot of this page, the page URL, and referrer.