Gilbert W. Dilley, Collector
Gilbert W. Dilley (1902 to 1996) began collecting American Indian Art at a young age. Introduced to the collecting world by a former Buffalo Bill show Cherokee performer, Dilley was told tales of American Indian culture, but it wasn’t until 1926, after Dilley opened a law practice in Akron, Ohio, that his collecting habits burgeoned. His hobby as armature archaeologist and associations with archaeologists and collectors such as Warren K. Moorehead, Henry Clyde Shetrone, and Byron Knoblock also expanded his knowledge and collections.
The same year Dilley opened his law practice, he purchased a portion of Edward E. Ayer’s (1841 to 1927) American Indian art collection. Ayer had made his fortune supplying timber to the railroad industry. His true passion however, lay in collecting American literature about Indians – books, manuscripts, and ephemera, such as a program for a Catlin exhibition. Ayer’s collection became one of the largest assemblages of historical and Americanist literature accumulated in the early 20th century. His donation of nearly 50,000 books and articles from his collection provided the foundation for The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, of which he was the first president.
Information courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc., September 2008.