Phil Sinitiere, philliplukesinitiere@gmail.com
I'm currently working on the history of bibliography related to W.E.B. Du Bois, meaning bibliographies that scholars generated of Du Bois’s work as well as the history behind the scholars who wrote or published Du Bois bibliographies. I’m writing to see if any list members knew a Du Bois bibliographer named Paul Partington (1937-2020), corresponded with him, or ever met him and would be willing to share their memories. While I’m interested in Partington’s scholarship, I’m also interested to understand him more as a person and what sparked his interest in Black history. Partington passed away last February after an extended illness, so I never had a chance to meet him or discuss his Du Bois research.
Partington was a white scholar based in Whittier, California, a Quaker, and worked in grocery store management. He did not have a university appointment but carried out his research in the evenings and on weekends. In the 1960s and 70s he published a few pieces on Du Bois in various periodicals including the Journal of Negro History and Negro History Bulletin. Partington also self-published a couple of his own bibliographies of Du Bois. Atlanta University librarian Casper LeRoy Jordan wrote an introduction for one of those volumes. (Partington was also an avid stamp collector and published a number of anthologies of stamps through the American Topical Association.) Finally, on at least one occasion he presented a paper on Du Bois at the annual ASALAH meeting (1977).
Thanks in advance for any and all leads about more information on Partington and his work. Feel free to reply off-list at philliplukesinitiere@gmail.com.
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