Co-owner of Peri Lithon Books leaves final gift to GIA Library

By Jaime Kautsky

When Marge Sinkankas passed away on May 30 at 89 years old, she left behind an indelible legacy in the gem and mineral world.

Sinkankas was born on March 25, 1918, in Paterson, New Jersey, as Marjorie Jane McMichael. She attended New Jersey State Teacher's College and married her college sweetheart, U.S. Navy Captain John Sinkankas, on Feb. 5, 1940. They were married for 52 years and had four children.

Marge Sinkankas, here with husband John at GIA Carlsbad on his 86th birthday, was a well-known figure in the gem and mineral world. GIA file photo

Dirlam, who knew the "dynamic" couple for nearly 30 years, said Marge Sinkankas was more than supportive of her husband's burgeoning interest in gems, minerals, lapidary work and, perhaps most of all, books.

"Marge shared John's vision of the importance that books, journals and art could bring to the life of a gemologist, jeweler or mineralogist," Dirlam said.

The Sinkankas', who eventually settled in San Diego, traveled together, shopped together, and ran Peri Lithon Books, which sold literature about the earth sciences, together. Their extensive book collection was acquired by GIA's Library in 1998 and, Dirlam said, became the "cornerstone" of the Library's Cartier Rare Book Repository and Archives.

Marge Sinkankas made two donations to the RTL Library in the six years since her husband's death in 2002. The most recent was made just a week before her passing and included 37 boxes of books, journals, awards, letters and scrapbooks, as well as original watercolors and manuscripts of some of John Sinkankas' famous books.

Included in the donation are an original typescript of Peri Lithon catalogs; a five-volume set, Encyclopédie ou Dictionnairé Raissoné des Sciences, des Arts, et des Metiers, 1969; Curtis Schuh's 1989 draft of Mineralogy and Crystallography: A Biobibliography from 1469 to 1920; illustrations from John Sinkankas' Gemstones of North America 3rd edition; a 1994 manuscript of the translation of Arab Roots of Gemmology by Al Tifaschi; and early Rocks & Minerals magazines from 1951 to 1954.

"This gift is special because it represents important milestones of their life together," Dirlam said. "In our visits together in the last several years, Marge was always engaged and interested in what was happening in gemology and at GIA. It was her wish that this donation be used to continue support of the GIA Library in Carlsbad, though she also envisioned it being a part of the creation of libraries for other campuses as GIA expands internationally."

Dirlam added that Marge Sinkankas was always appreciative of the GIA Library's "caretaker philosophy" regarding rare books and manuscripts.

"As Marge often said, 'No one really owns a book. You are merely the custodian of it and are given the opportunity of protecting it during that time.'"