John G. White

John Griswold White (1845-1928) was a prominent Cleveland attorney, a chess connoisseur, and an avid bibliophile.cite book
author1=I.A. Horowitz
author2=P.L. Rothenberg
title=The Complete Book of Chess
publisher=Collier Books
year=1969
pages=p. 45
id=] "Over a period of some fifty years he conducted a determined quest, throughout the world, for desirable additions to his library." Preeminent chess historian H.J.R. Murray made extensive use of White's collection in writing his classic treatise "A History of Chess", [H.J.R. Murray, "A History of Chess", Oxford University Press, 1913, pp. 179, 353, 479, 573-79, 645, 735, 787, 789, 800, 822, 841. ISBN 0-19-827403-3.] and acknowledged that White owned the largest chess library in the world. ["Id." at p. 884.] White donated his collection to the Cleveland Public Library to form the John G. White Collection on Folklore, Orientalia, and Chess.

The library has since split the collection into three. The "John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection" is described as the " [l] argest chess library in the world (32,568 volumes of books and serials, including 6,359 volumes of bound periodicals.)" The "John G. White Folklore Collection" contains 47,040 volumes, "one of the largest in the nation. It is broadly defined in scope and international in coverage without period restrictions. Included are primitive, peasant, native, and folk cultures within geographic restrictions." The "John G. White Collection of Orientalia" " [i] ncludes materials on Asia, the Near and Middle East, Africa, Australia and Oceania," emphasizing "the humanistic and social science aspects of traditional cultures prior to the impact of European influence." [ [http://spc.cpl.org/?q=node/5 Cleveland Public Library, Special Collections] ]

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