Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1922-02-26 | Page 12 | Chicago Gains Rare Treasure

bnluAuU Urlbw RARE TREASURE CHICAGO, Fob. 25 Brisk and kind ly.oyed at 80 years, Chicago's moat extensive collector, Edward Everott Aver, is now rounding out his con-quoata con-quoata of tho paat Younger Chicriro has forgotten if it over know, that Mr. Ayer was first preaidont of (he $8,000,000 Field Museum Mu-seum of Natural History on its lake front, but it gapes at the Egyptian mummies he himself boucht along Che j Nile and the American Indian collec-I collec-I tion he gave the museum. It perhaps I does not generally know that for 32 years he has been a trustee of it? art institute, nor that he gave the New berry library the greatest collection yet made of American Indian literature. litera-ture. INSPIRATION IN BOOK. Chicago has other wealthy men who are great collectors, but none the range of whoso interest has been so broad. Their tastes ran chlofly to art and books, his to natural alitor It was a strange turn that led this j farmer boy and later lumberman to .gather the treasure of king's palaces. I but stranger still that his inspiration should have come from an old history ot Mexico. "All the success I have had in col-1 ! looting." Mr Ayer observed recently,, I "I owe to Prescott's History of Mexico It was the first book I ever read. I came across it while fighting Indians; during the Civil war in New Mexico! and Arizona. It made me interested In them, and then in their literature, and later I began collecting other I things." AMASSES WEALTH. If it was Prescott's History of Mexico Mexi-co that put Mr. Ayer into collecting, it i was a very successful business that kept him there. Mr Ayer's business field was lumber, particularly railroad ' ties. He built up a very largo concern con-cern but he did not let it worry him and for 26 years ho and Mrs. Ayor spent four raon.ha a year in Europe, 'traveling and collecting. Bronses from Naples, silver and gold Jowelry from northern Africa, Venetian Ve-netian glass, rare old laces, atuffs and lusters aro among tho treasures of the Old World that Mr. Ayer has brought back to enrich Chicago. He also has given the Field museum one of the finest libraries on fishes in the United Unit-ed States, and a library on birds to match. Th museum has named a hall after uim. and the collection ho gav9 I ,the Newberry library has been namr-d H after him. To top off his collecting Mr. Ayer has delved into pewters and furniture He has also endowed the museum, the institute, and the li- oo .