Background
Robert Clarke was born May 01, 1829 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. He was the son of Peter Clarke and Margaret (Henderson) Clarke. In 1840 he came with his parents to Cincinnati .
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Robert Clarke was born May 01, 1829 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. He was the son of Peter Clarke and Margaret (Henderson) Clarke. In 1840 he came with his parents to Cincinnati .
Clarke was educated at Woodward College.
At an early age Clarke displayed an interest in literary and scientific subjects, and as bookkeeper for William Hanna probably developed the neat, methodical habits so characteristic of the later man. His first venture into the business field was the opening of a secondhand book-shop at the corner of Sixth and Walnut Sts. , which in time became the favorite resort of literary men in the city. With the retirement of the publishing firm of H. W. Derby in 1858 Clarke succeeded to their business and organized the firm which in 1894 was incorporated as the Robert Clarke Company. The directors of the new company were all members of the old firm. One of Clarke’s business proverbs was: “Keep a little ahead of the public, ” and this he endeavored to carry out. He specialized in bibliographies, especially in the fields of American history and archeology, and how well the firm succeeded in its efforts is evidenced by the fact that Justin Winsor declared that the Americana catalogues of the Robert Clarke Company were the most complete published in America.
In addition to his activities in the printing, binding, and bookselling trade Clarke was both author and editor. He wrote a pamphlet entitled, The Pre-Historic Remains Which Were Found on the Site of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a Vindication of the Cincinnati Tablet (1876), and edited, in large part, the Ohio Valley Historical Series, in seven volumes (1868 - 1671), published over the protests of his partners. The collection and publication of this series was probably his best work. His love of books caused him to be an indefatigable collector of rare Americana. Ex-President R. B. Hayes was the purchaser of one of his collections and another, consisting of over 6, 000 volumes, was sold to William A. Proctor who presented it to the University of Cincinnati. In 1896 Clarke retired from business, made a tour of the globe, and devoted his remaining years to study and writing. Always interested in furthering the advancement of history and literature, he made his home in Glendale a center of intellectual activity; his modest, unassuming manner attracted a host of friends.
Clarke was unmarried.