Jacob Israel Zeitlin (November 4, 1902 – August 30, 1987) was an American bookseller, publisher, collector, poet and intellectual in Los Angeles in the mid-twentieth century. He was born in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

, but moved with his family to Fort Worth, Texas in his childhood and to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 1925. For many years, Zeitlin lived in the

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

area of Los Angeles. He opened his first bookshop in 1928, on Hope Street near 6th Street in downtown Los Angeles, and over the years moved his shop a number of times, its final location being in a converted barn on La Cienega Boulevard. He founded the Primavera Press, to produce fine printed books, and was a co-founder of the Rounce & Coffin Club,Starr, 308-316 which supported and encouraged fine printing in Southern California for many years. During his sixty years as a rare book seller, he, along with his many friends and associates, known as the "Zeitlin circle," was a significant force in the cultural and intellectual life of Los Angeles. In 1963, he testified in a California Supreme Court obscenity hearing on

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi- autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical re ...

's novel ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towa ...

''. Zeitlin was one of the first people to exhibit the woodcuts of fellow Echo Park resident

Paul Landacre Paul Hambleton Landacre (July 9, 1893, Columbus, Ohio - June 3, 1963, Los Angeles, California) was an active participant in the cultural flowering of interwar Los Angeles, described by Jake Zeitlin as a "small Renaissance, Southern California styl ...

and the photographs of

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

, as well as the first in America to exhibit the work of German artist

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born as Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' a ...

. Zeitlin was also a poet and the editor of ''Opinion'', a short-lived but influential Angeleno intellectual journal. A liberal in politics, Zeitlin was the campaign manager for

Helen Gahagan Douglas Helen Gahagan Douglas (born Helen Mary Gahagan; November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and politician. Her career included success on Broadway, as a touring opera singer, and in Hollywood films. Her portrayal of the villain ...

' Senatorial campaign. He also lobbied against the

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/ Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cienega ...

highway, bringing artistic friends such as actor and art dealer Joan Ankrum to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to protest.

Notes

References

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External links

Articles, speeches, and essays
by and about Jacob Zeitlin posted at HistoryofScience.com
Interview of Jake Zeitlin
Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeitlin, Jake 1902 births 1987 deaths American booksellers Poets from Wisconsin 20th-century American Jews Businesspeople from Racine, Wisconsin People from Fort Worth, Texas Writers from Los Angeles People from Echo Park, Los Angeles 20th-century American poets Writers from Racine, Wisconsin 20th-century American businesspeople