‘Oriental Culture Nucleus’: The P. M. Suski Collection of Chinese Rare Books at the University of Southern California

Abstract

Abstract Dr Peter Marie Suski was born in Japan but migrated to the United States in 1898. He practiced as a physician in southern California but had a lifelong interest in the languages of East Asia and put together a valuable collection of books, which was donated to the University of Southern California in 1962. Revealing a little-known treasure at USC , this paper traces Suski’s life and book collecting through his autobiography and correspondence, and examines the subject coverage, research value and rarity of his collection of Chinese rare books. Several rare and special editions of Chinese rare book titles are highlighted in the paper, such as a 1618 manuscript copy of Shimo Juanhua 石墨鐫華 , a 1748 palace edition of Yuanjian Leihan 淵鑑類函 , and an 1825 first impression of Zijian 字鑑 , all of which are featured in the USC Libraries online exhibit “Eastern Culture Nucleus: Chinese Rare Books in the USC Libraries ( https://scalar.usc.edu/works/chinese-rare-books/index ).”