R. Dunaway Bookseller Collection
Collection Summary
Title: Dunaway Books Collection
Dates (Inclusive):  ca. 1963 - 2000
Creator(s): Dunaway, Reginald Patrick (d. 2004)
Language: English
Abstract: The collection contains business records from Dunaway Books, a bookstore originally started by Reginald Patrick Dunaway.  The records include file folders and index cards containing information regarding sales, subjects, and authors of books sold at Dunaway Books, as well as contact information for return patrons, and information used in the listing of books in Mr. Dunaway’s catalogs.  
Collection Number: M-332
Size: 32 linear feet
Location: Special Collections 
St. Louis Mercantile Library at UM – St. Louis 
Thomas Jefferson Library Building 
One University Boulevard 
St. Louis, Missouri 63121
Historical/Biographical Note:  Reginald Patrick Dunaway operated a bookstore for thirty-seven years on Delmar Boulevard, in St. Louis, Missouri.  At the beginning, his business was almost all mail order, but as time went on he came more and more to rely on the in-store trade as well.  Mr. Dunaway possessed file cabinets filled with index cards on which he recorded information regarding the sales of his books, the contact information of his clientele, and listing information for his catalogs.  These cards make up the bulk of the Dunaway Books Collection.
Mr. Dunaway was born in Findlay, Illinois.  He first came to St. Louis as a student at Washington University in 1945 where he enrolled for a semester before serving in active duty in the Navy in 1946 and 1947, and an additional eight years in the reserves.  Mr. Dunaway graduated from the University of Missouri in 1951 with a major in classical language, which would serve him well as in his profession as a rare book dealer.  Mr. Dunaway went to work for a used book store in the early 1960s and soon after started his own store, which he sold in 2002.  Dunaway Books relocated to the “Grand South Grand” stretch of Grand Avenue, where it currently resides.  Reginald Patrick Dunaway died on September 9th, 2004.
Scope and Content Note:  The collection consists of 32 record boxes (32 linear feet) of file folders and index cards containing information regarding the sales, subjects and authors of books sold at Dunaway Books from the period approximately 1963 – 2000.  There are 4 series in the collection; Sales Records, Subject File Cards, Author File Cards, and Contact Information Cards.  Mr. Dunaway tended to order his records alphabetically, although some records would jump around a bit alphabetically, depending on the space available in Mr. Dunaway’s storage.  The original order of the collection has been maintained, so in some cases there may be supplemental files, or boxes may contain alphabetical sorting but then start over at A with the next box, rather than an entire series being arranged from beginning to end alphabetically.
Series 1, Sales Records, is split into four subseries; Sales Files, Sales Cards, Subject Sales Cards, and Author Sales Cards.  Subseries 1, Sales Files, contains file folders listing information about sales of various types of books concluded with individuals or university departments.  Information commonly contained in Subseries One includes receipts or purchase vouchers; correspondence to and/or from the purchaser; the titles, authors, publishers and prices of books purchased; the date of payment; and the mailing address of the person or persons purchasing books from Dunaway Books.  
Subseries 2, Sales Cards, consists of index cards used to record information pertaining to the books and their sales sold at Dunaway Books.  Bibliographic information on the cards includes a subject heading (e.g. Belles Lettres, Faulkner) in the upper left hand corner.  Below that, the name of the author or editor of the title is typed.  The subseries is alphabetically arranged by author’s last name.  The title of the work comes next, and if there is no author, the title is used for the alphabetical arrangement.  Below the author and the title is typed other bibliographic information as needed; this can include place of publication, publisher, date of publication, page count, notes on edition or condition, and other notes regarding special features (e.g. “illustration” or “slipcase”).  Sometimes a listing price is given as well.  These cards also contain handwritten notes about the date of sales, the date of shipping, the price of sales, and the purchaser.
Subseries 3, Subject Sales Cards, consists of index cards used to record information pertaining to books related to specific subjects.  The subject is located at the top of the card, and below that the author or editor of the work, both in red typeface.  Below those entries, the author or editor of the work is listed, last name first.  The subseries is alphabetically arranged by author’s last name.  The title of the work comes next, and if there is no author, the title is used for the alphabetical arrangement.  Below the author and the title is typed other bibliographic information as needed; this can include place of publication, publisher, date of publication, page count, notes on edition or condition, and other notes regarding special features (e.g. “illustration” or “slipcase”).  Sometimes a listing price is given as well.  Years of sale are recorded in red ink in the upper right hand corner, and some cards contain hand-written notes about the date of sales, date of shipping and/or price of sales.
Subseries 4, Author Sales Cards, consists of index cards used to record information pertaining to authors of books sold by Mr. Dunaway.  The cards are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name (e.g. Adams, Amy; Adams, Andy).  Other information present on the cards include the title of the work by the author, and information about that work, such as date of publication, place of publication, publisher, and page count.  Additional information could include information about illustrations, editions, print runs, etc.  Prices of the books are handwritten in the upper right-hand corner, and details of the sale (date of sale, amount, customer name) are handwritten at the bottom.  Each work by an author is given a separate card, in the case of multiple works by an author being held by Dunaway Books.
Series 2, Subject File Cards, consists of index cards arranged alphabetically by subject.  Below the subject are listings, by author last name and title, of works dealing with the subject of the card.
Series 3, Author File Cards, consists of index cards arranged alphabetically by author’s last name.  Below the author’s name is additional information including, the title of a work and other bibliographic information when appropriate, including place of publication, year of publication, date of publication, sale price, and notes about annotations, editions, illustrations, etc.  Different works by the same author get different index cards.
Series 4, Contact Information Cards, consists of mailing addresses and sales notations for customers of Dunaway Books.  Note: due to the potentially sensitive nature of these records, this series is currently restricted.

Restrictions: 

Access Restrictions:  Some of the material in Special Collection M-332 may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, subject to condition.  Series 4, Contact Information Cards, is currently restricted.  Researchers viewing this collection will be asked to sign a Personal Information Non-Disclosure Form.

Copyright Information: The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Citation:  When citing material from this collection, the preferred citation is: From the Special Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri − St. Louis.

Subject Headings: Booksellers and bookselling – Missouri – St. Louis
Independent Bookstores – Missouri – St. Louis

Contents List:

	Series #	Series	Subseries #	Subseries	Description	Box #
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Abi - Iow	1
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Unlabled	1
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Jac - Pru	2
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Ram - Yoc	3
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Ade - Merc	4
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Mat - Z; Air - Col	5
	1	Sales Records	1	Sales Files	Bow - You	6
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Ada - Aly	7
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Ama - Arv	7
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	As - Bar	7
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bar - Bel	7
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bra - Bro	8
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bia - Bos	8
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bel - Bha	8
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bos - Boz	8
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bub - Cal	9
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Cal - Cap	9
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Bro - Brz	9
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Car - Che	9
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Col - Cow	10
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Cow - Dal	10
	Series #	Series	Subseries #	Subseries	Description	Box #
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Dal - Dic	10
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Che - Col	10
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Dic - Dun	11
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Dun - Emu	11
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Enc - Fun	11
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Fio - Fre	11
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Geo - Gou	12
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Gua - Har	12
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Gou - Gse	12
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Fre - Geo	12
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Her - Hon	13
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Hon - Hos	13
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Hot - Iz	13
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Har - Hep	13
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Jab - Jon	14
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Jon - Kin	14
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Kin - Lar	14
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Lar - Lew	14
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Lew - Luc	15
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Mas - Met	15
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Luc - McM	15
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	McM - Mas	15
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Off - Pat	16
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Mor - Nea	16
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Nea - Off	16
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Met - Mor	16
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Pat - Pop	17
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	 Ran - R. L.	17
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Roa - Rub	17
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Pop - Ran	17
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Rub - Sce	18
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Sch - Sha	18
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Sha - Smi	18
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Smi - Sta	18
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Sta - Str	19
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Str - Tha	19
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Tha - Tra	19
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Wam - Wha	19
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Tre - Vau	20
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Wol - Zw	20
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Vau - Whi	20
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Whi - Wol	20
	Series #	Series	Subseries #	Subseries	Description	Box #
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Supplemental Sales 	21
	Records, A-Z
	1	Sales Records	2	Sales Cards	Sales Cards, 	22
	Unarranged
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Americana, A - Dun	23
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Americana, Dun - Lat	23
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Americana, Lau - Sil	23
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Americana, Sin - You	23
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Art, Psychology, 	24
	Cards	Periodicals, History 
	(Supplemental), 
	Music, Theatre, 
	Foreign, Baseball
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Books About Books, 	24
	Cards	Belles Lettres
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Criticism and 	24
	Cards	Biography, A - Doy
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Criticism and 	24
	Cards	Biography, Dra - Kit
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Criticism and 	25
	Cards	Biography, Kle - Pey
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Fiction, A - Hol	25
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Criticism and 	25
	Cards	Biography, Sim - Z
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Criticism and 	25
	Cards	Biography, Phe - Sil
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Fiction, Hol - Run	26
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Fiction, Rus - Z	26
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	History, A - G	26
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	History, H - N	26
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Miscellaneous, A - M	27
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	History, O - Z	27
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	History, 	27
	Cards	Supplemental, A – Z

	Series #	Series	Subseries #	Subseries	Description	Box #
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Miscellaneous, M - S	27
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Poetry and Drama	28
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Miscellaneous, S - Z	28
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Odd Volumes, 	28
	Cards	Modern Library
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Music (cont.), 	28
	Cards	Business, Library of 
	America, Best Plays, 
	Best American Short 
	Stories
	1	Sales Records	4	Author Sales 	Author Sales Records	29
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Religion	29
	Cards
	1	Sales Records	3	Subject Sales 	Theatre and Cinema	29
	Cards
	2	Subject File Cards	Anthologies, Art, 	30
	Festschriften, Natural
	 History
	2	Subject File Cards	American History 	30
	Index, N - Z
	2	Subject File Cards	American History 	30
	Index, A - M
	3	Author File Cards	Authors Index, A - K	31
	2	Subject File Cards	History Index, N - Z	31
	3	Author File Cards	Authors Index, L -Z	31
	2	Subject File Cards	History Index, A - M	31
	4	Contact 	A - G	32
	Information Cards
	4	Contact 	H - Q	32
	Information Cards
	4	Contact 	R - Z	32
	Information Cards
	4	Contact 	Loosely Organized by 	32
	Information Cards	State (U.S.) and Canada