Inside the Rare Book Vault

Last week I visited the rare book collection at the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Library. "In Wisconsin" is producing a report about Chester Thordarson, the Icelandic immigrant who acquired most of Rock Island on the tip of Door County. His boathouse is the crown jewel of what used to be Thordarson's 30-acre compound. It's modeled after the Parliament Building in Thordarson's native Iceland.

At one time the boathouse had a collection of 11,000 rare books. A avid reader Chester's collection grew when he made only 4 dollars a week with one dollar always set aside to buy a book. He amassed a significant collection on botany, natural history and ornithology like these huge color plate portfolios. In fact, his books became the basis of the rare book collection at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Watch for our report on Chester Thordarson on In Wisconsin after the New Year.