Dr. J. A. Munk
Written by Claire Hildman, Phoenix, Arizona
Came to Arizona in 1884 from Topeka, Kansas having invested in 1882, with two brothers, in the Munk Cattle Ranch at Wilcox, in the Heart of Apacheland, where raids are frequent. Due to his wife’s health, resumed practice in Los Angeles, but spent long periods at the ranch, exploring the Grand Canyon and other scenic wonders of northern Arizona.
A lover of music and books, prompted by his great love of Arizona to begin collecting material on the early history of the state, a history of starvation, thirst and martyrdom; rattlesnakes, Redskins and gila monsters; barefoot padres, hunters, trappers, cowboys, prospectors, stage drivers, crucified Apaches, tortured immigrants, adventure and disaster, barren deserts, purple mountains and crimson sunsets. Spent forty years collecting this library of “Arizonaians”, of more than 16,000 books, maps, prints and other items concerning the state, which he donated to Southwest Museum in Los Angeles in 1908, with appropriate book plate signifying “The beginning of primitive knowledge in the Southwest.”
The library contains some very rare volumes – some entirely out of print. Of the printing of “The Poker Rubaiyat” by Kirk La Sholle, F. C. Lockwood in Arizona Characters has written most entertainingly. He also makes a selection of a “five foot shelf” – fifty of the outstanding books (“No book named without a reason, and no book in the list dull”).
Dr. Munk passed on in Los Angeles when past 80 greatly beloved by a large circle of friends for his generosity, considerateness, modesty, ripe wisdom and cheerful philosophy – a character genial and human. He was the author of several books, one being “Arizona Sketches”, Arizona Characters, F. C. Lockwood, Times-Mirror Press, Los Angeles, Calif., 1928.
Came to Arizona in 1884 from Topeka, Kansas having invested in 1882, with two brothers, in the Munk Cattle Ranch at Wilcox, in the Heart of Apacheland, where raids are frequent. Due to his wife’s health, resumed practice in Los Angeles, but spent long periods at the ranch, exploring the Grand Canyon and other scenic wonders of northern Arizona.
A lover of music and books, prompted by his great love of Arizona to begin collecting material on the early history of the state, a history of starvation, thirst and martyrdom; rattlesnakes, Redskins and gila monsters; barefoot padres, hunters, trappers, cowboys, prospectors, stage drivers, crucified Apaches, tortured immigrants, adventure and disaster, barren deserts, purple mountains and crimson sunsets. Spent forty years collecting this library of “Arizonaians”, of more than 16,000 books, maps, prints and other items concerning the state, which he donated to Southwest Museum in Los Angeles in 1908, with appropriate book plate signifying “The beginning of primitive knowledge in the Southwest.”
The library contains some very rare volumes – some entirely out of print. Of the printing of “The Poker Rubaiyat” by Kirk La Sholle, F. C. Lockwood in Arizona Characters has written most entertainingly. He also makes a selection of a “five foot shelf” – fifty of the outstanding books (“No book named without a reason, and no book in the list dull”).
Dr. Munk passed on in Los Angeles when past 80 greatly beloved by a large circle of friends for his generosity, considerateness, modesty, ripe wisdom and cheerful philosophy – a character genial and human. He was the author of several books, one being “Arizona Sketches”, Arizona Characters, F. C. Lockwood, Times-Mirror Press, Los Angeles, Calif., 1928.