As a chief financial officer, Robert Bothamley deals with lots of numbers. In his personal life, however, he’s more enamored of another medium: printed words and pictures.
Specifically, the words and images in his collection of rare and antique books about California history and early photography.
Bothamley, 59, estimates his collection at about 3,500 volumes spread over several shelves in his living room and office. The oldest is a book about Father Junipero Serra published in 1787; the most valuable, an 1839 treatise on photography worth about $100,000.
Why does he collect?
“It’s one thing to study history’s dates and names,” Bothamley said, “but another thing entirely to read the firsthand accounts of people who were actually there. These books give you a connection to the past that you can’t get in any other way.”
Bothamley, CFO of Daum Commercial Real Estate Services in downtown Los Angeles, was set to spend a good chunk of the Feb. 12-14 weekend poring through volumes for sale at the 43rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
Would he look for anything in particular?
“I’m always looking,” he said, “it just depends on what’s there.”
Digging In
When J. Michael Hennigan isn’t serving as chief lawyer to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the massive clergy-abuse litigation, he stays busy with an unexpected avocation: He runs one of the largest sweet potato farms in the United States.
Hennigan’s venture started out with a relationship with a client who owned a 2,000-acre sweet potato farm in Merced County. Two years ago, the 66-year-old attorney took over the farm, Quail H Farms LLC.
Hennigan, a well-known litigator who founded downtown L.A. firm Hennigan Bennett & Dorman LLP 15 years ago, cites his roots in farming.
“My grandparents on both sides were farmers, and I grew up around it,” Hennigan said. “I like the process of seeing the crops grow. It keeps you humble.”
Hennigan spends several days each month at the farm, and more time during harvest season from late August to November. At peak, Hennigan employs about 600 people. The farm produces about 60 million pounds of sweet potatoes, which are sold throughout the United States and internationally.
Even though he’s the boss, Hennigan isn’t shy about getting his hands dirty.
“I do get out there and harvest them,” he said. “It’s kind of fun.”
Staff reporters David Haldane and Alexa Hyland contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
