Donated by Jacquie Vaughan, date unknown.
[identification of item], Scrapbook on Long Family and Long's College Book Company, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0320, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Ashleigh Minor, 2019 February; finding aid written by: Ashleigh Minor, 2019 February.
Frank C. Long (1881-1956) was the founder and owner of Long’s College Book Company. Long graduated from the Ohio State University’s College of Agriculture with a bachelor’s degree in 1903. He worked his way through school by growing and selling pickles, as a caretaker on the university’s farms, by digging the foundation for a campus library building, and eventually as a clerk in the campus bookstore. When the owner of the bookstore retired in June 1902, Long purchased the store for $500.00. The name of the bookstore changed many times through the years, and had several locations along High Street in Columbus, Ohio.
Frank Long had two sons, Robert and Frank Jr. In 1929, Robert G. Long (1906-1953) joined the bookselling business after graduating from the Ohio State University. Robert opened and operated The Bibliophile as a subsidiary of his father’s store to sell general interest, rare, and bargain books. When the store expanded in 1948, Robert continued to manage the rare books department until his death in 1953.
When Frank C. Long passed away in 1956, his younger son, Frank C. Long, Jr. (1909-1998), left his career as a medical doctor to take over the bookstore. Frank Long, Jr. was also an alumnus of the Ohio State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1932, and his medical degree in 1936. Long continued to run the store until his death in 1998. In 2000, the Long family sold the store to Campus Partners, who merged the store with Barnes and Noble College Booksellers, Inc.
The Scrapbook on Long Family and Long's College Book Company contains photocopies of information and photographs about various Long family members and the history of the Columbus, Ohio bookstore that was owned and operated by the Long family. Materials include photographs of Long family members, census records, correspondence, company letterheads and form templates, newspaper advertisements, diary entries, business cards, book lists, and obituaries for Frank C. Long, Robert G. Long, and Frank C. Long, Jr. The scrapbook also contains copies of excerpts from books and newspaper clippings about the history of the family and the bookstore. The dates of the photocopies are unknown, but were likely made circa 2006; however, the original dates of the materials span from 1899-2006.