The medical and book worlds lost a giant on 17 April 2019. Dr. John Carson, MD, of La Jolla, CA, passed away at the age of 92. He was a cardiologist at Scripps and only recent retired. He was an active, serious book collector and bibliophile: a past president of the Zambarino Club; a Grolier Club member since 1994 (in 2004, John was one of my sponsors from membership in the Grolier Club); and a leader of the Fellowship of Antiquarian Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), among other activities.
I originally met John and his wife, Elizabeth, at the first FABS tour my wife and I attended in Chicago in 2002. The next year, John organized the outstanding Los Angeles and Pasadena FABS tour. We shared many more tours in the following years.
Besides his outstanding medical and rare book reputation, John was a true gentleman, an outstanding speaker and could run a meeting, par excellent.
I always looked forward to the Carson’s annual Christmas card and newsletter detailing the many extraordinary accomplishments of their five children and John and Elizabeth’s travels for the year. I will always recall John wearing his white button down shirt and bow tie!
John’s obituary can be found here. The San Diego Union-Tribune had a wonderful article: Dr. John C. Carson, one of the last doctors to make house calls, dies at 92
John, the book world and our lives are indeed enriched because of you!
