Donors

Lillian Rose Witz Lipson was born and raised in Chicago. She graduated from Lakeview High School in 1935 before attending the University of Chicago. Over the years Lillian Lipson amassed a collection of books, magazines, pamphlets, and flyers relating to peace and social justice. A tireless activist, she supported more than seventy organizations and wrote countless letters to newspapers, political figures, and others, advocacy efforts she considered her life’s work.

The Lipson collection joins gifts from other University of Chicago alumni that document contemporary progressive movements.

Eva Overton Lewis (1893-1945) was the daughter of Anthony Overton (1865-1946), a well-known businessman and owner of the Chicago Bee, a noted African American newspaper. Eva attended the University of Chicago, completing her degree in 1916. While at the University Eva was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Eva was initially involved with some of the Overton businesses, including the Chicago Bee. After marrying Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD, in 1916, she traveled and raised their three children.

Julian Herman Lewis (1891-1989) is thought to be the first African American to hold both an MD and PhD. His groundbreaking research on race and blood typing led to his 1942 book, Biology of the Negro, which debunked the racist idea that African Americans were biologically inferior. Dr. Lewis earned his PhD in 1915 and MD in 1917. Later that year he became the first African American to teach at the University of Chicago, where he was a noted expert in immunology.

Howard Courtney is a firm believer that some people are born collectors. He is certainly one of those individuals. Born in Michigan, Howard has pursued interests that have taken him to thirty countries. He started collecting foreign stamps in his youth as he was intrigued with geography and foreign languages. Later, Howard progressed to antiques, which led to Persian carpets, stained glass windows, numerous specialized stamp collections, ancient coinage of the Nabataeans, autographs of famous people and jazz musicians, World War I posters, U.S. Presidential/political posters, Chicago mayoral posters, art, antiquities, World War I trench art, and George Washington Bicentennial philatelic and other memorabilia. Howard’s friendship with Famoudou Don Moye of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and many other jazz musicians, led him to develop an interest in original jazz posters and memorabilia. Presented as a gift to the Library, his collection spans more than 3,200 posters with several thousand autographs.