The last stand legacy collection7/25/2023 He once told an interviewer about his love for the library in the small Pennsylvania town where he grew up. Last’s devotion to libraries began in childhood. He also gave funds for professional development to keep the Library’s staff at the forefront of the field, especially in an ever-changing digital age. The results have been a continually growing body of holdings that can be viewed by researchers worldwide. Last’s contributions have included underwriting the salaries of a five-member Digital Library team, among other digital initiatives. “It’s a multiyear endeavor, and Jay was the first person to step up with support.” This includes the systematic digitization of the Library’s holdings to widen their availability, Brooke Gordon says. In addition to providing the financial resources to make his collection accessible to scholars and the public, Last made significant philanthropic investments to keep the institution technologically up to date. And people need to be able to find and make use of them-either in person or digitally.” “He absolutely understood that the items have to be organized and described. “Jay recognized that 200,000 pieces of lithography-let alone our collection of more than 11 million objects-isn’t a library it’s a lot of stuff,” Brooke Gordon says. He may have been drawn to objects from the past, but he wanted to ensure their availability to generations of the future. His involvement with The Huntington went beyond philanthropy, as he took a hands-on approach to working with curators, who continually expanded and cataloged the collection he had donated. My collection strengthens the existing material, which will serve to attract even more scholars in the future.” And there already was strong scholarly demand for similar material in The Huntington’s holdings. When asked about his decision, Last said, “I knew that The Huntington would be in existence forever. After visiting more than 40 libraries and museums, in 2005 he chose The Huntington to be the institutional home for his collection. Last’s connection with The Huntington began when he was conducting research for The Color Explosion, his award-winning book about American lithography. Taken together, it documents evolutions in consumer culture and societal relations, in addition to American lithography as an art form. The collection is especially significant to those researching the history of advertising, printing, and technology. His collection had been shifting over to The Huntington-box by box-for a number of years before his death. When he passed away in November 2021, he left behind some 200,000 posters, advertisements, maps, sheet music labels, and other lithographed items, most of which were printed in the 19th century. Over the years, Last’s fascination with commercial lithography and its history grew-along with his holdings. At Fairchild, he directed the production of the first integrated circuit chips, and photolithography was just as vital to their fabrication as it is in the microchips that drive computer technology today. Lithography embodied the specific intersection of Last’s interests in technology and art. In the late 1960s, he started collecting lithographed citrus box labels, which were artfully designed to make the fresh produce of California groves stand out in the marketplace. “Jay’s relationship with The Huntington originated from his own collecting interests,” says Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library at The Huntington. The preponderance of his gift will support the Library, while the balance will provide essential institutional support. His years of generosity have culminated in a significant bequest from his estate. His passion for arts and humanities led him to become a devoted supporter of The Huntington, to which he donated his finances, time, and lithographic collections. His dedication to the latter led him to become one of the fathers of Silicon Valley and the founder of the pioneering company Fairchild Semiconductor, which paved the way for the tech industry as we know it today. Last was as committed to the arts and humanities as he was to science and technology.
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