Dawson was the first dealer of quality antiquarian books in Los Angeles and a friend and customer of Doctor Rosenbach. His tale of a visit to the Rosenbach Company’s Philadelphia shop and the Rosenbach home on DeLancey Place reveals some of Doctor R.’s sales techniques: a cultivated air of opulence; attentive and devoted customer service; and playing up his family history to burnish his already solid credentials as a bookman. The Doctor’s methods seduce even a seasoned dealer like Dawson, who not only buys many books, but writes of falling asleep in the Rosenbach home while dreaming of bookish treasures.

Ernest Dawson, A visit with Doctor R. Los Angeles: Dawson’s Book Shop, 1988.