University of Pennsylvania Libraries received a collection of items reflecting South Asian History as a gift from Psychiatrist and collector of south Asian art, Kenneth X. Robbins and his wife Joyce Robbins.
The Kenneth and Joyce Robbins Collection of South Asia History includes books, manuscripts, medals, fine artworks, Hindu, Islamic, and Bollywood movie posters, postcards, flags, and manuscript ledgers from Indian synagogues.
Mitch Fraas, director of special collections and research services, said, “This is the largest collection of Indian ephemera outside of India. It provides a lot of insight [into] social and cultural history topics that people are interested in. Generations of scholars will find research topics here and use this material in their teaching.”
Speaking about the collection, Robbins said, “There are a lot of valuable things [in the collection]. But there also are a lot of things that nobody has collected because unless they are in huge quantities, they don’t have any historical importance. You get a much fuller picture, and that’s the idea.”
“You get all sorts of information from the collectors who have all sorts of data … but that information is lost to the general researcher. My intention [by giving the collection to the Penn Libraries] is to bring that into the general historical discussion,” he added.
The couple has additionally donated a planned gift of US$400,000 to the libraries for processing and preservation of the items in the collection.
