About the Donor
Archie Nedelman was a successful pharmacist and ran a small business in the heart of Beverly Hills, California for over 30 years.
Mr. Nedelman became a collector of many things over the course of his life: he accumulated a substantial collection of Chicano art that he eventually donated to a San Diego museum; he loved jade and Asian artifacts and had an eclectic collection furnishing his home; he loved pottery and porcelain; he was an avid gardener with a large collection of rare succulents; and he collected people. His friends were numerous and diverse, and in the course of his work, he also became friendly with many famous people.
As Mr. Nedelman got older and moved to a somewhat remote location in the hills northeast of San Diego, he became increasingly invested in book collecting. The internet proved a wonderful tool for his project and allowed him to connect with booksellers all over the world. Mr. Nedelman chose to do homage to the people and the publication that had fed his literary needs all his life.
Nevertheless, this cultured gentleman always regretted that he had never received a liberal arts education. He studied his whole life to fill that artistic gap, reading The New Yorker magazine among other things. In the days before television, magazines and newspapers were powerful forces in American cultural life, and The New Yorker in particular was very good at cultivating new literary talent.
Mr. Nedelman always enjoyed The New Yorker and especially admired the self-made nature of founder and editor Harold Ross. Mr. Nedelman particularly admired Ross's taste in humor. Mr. Nedelman was himself regarded as a funny man, always able to turn the most mundane or even sober events into occasions for a laugh. While he admired the literary talent of the writers he met, some of whom wrote for The New Yorker, Mr. Nedelman was also aware of their human foibles and this was a source of some delight for him.
His The New Yorker collection was a source of great pride for him. He viewed it as a major achievement and was eager to display it and discuss it whenever the opportunity arose. His family was pleased that it should remain as a memorial both to Mr. Nedelman, and the power of The New Yorker as a cultural and educational tool. Mr. Nedelman was reportedly very happy that his granddaughter attended Oberlin College.
Text provided by Deborah Nedelman
