Say what you will about the great financier, monopolist, and strategist of the Gilded Age, he had a degree in art history, was among the founders and major contributors to the Met, and was, by all accounts, a man of learning and reflection, motivated not merely by greed alone. He collected books as well as art, and his library on Madison at 36th St. is a must-see for librarians, retired librarians, and lovers of books, libraries, and librarians. We visited on October 11th.
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| The library complex is an annex to the mansion next door |
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| Entry hall, mostly European Renaissance paintings |
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Book of Hours, 1460, by the Master of Jean Rollin II...a successor
of van Eyck? |
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| A Memling, late 15th |
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In a sort of transition hall between the entry and the main
vault...Morgan's is not a rags to riches story...he was born
to great privilege, educated mostly in Europe, and spent
months of nearly every year abroad |
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He knew what great European art looked like (having bought a good bit of it...) |
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| Mask of GW |
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| Panning around the main vault |
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| Nice tapisserie |
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Oh yes, the books...here's a 1455 Gutenberg Bible...the Morgan has
three copies of the known 50 to have survived from that first run of
160... |
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| Original manuscript of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, 1912 |
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| More books; no, they're not really organized by color |
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| For toasty evenings in the city |
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The Lindau Gospels...Carolingian...c. 880...hard to say
whether the book or its binding is more impressive...or
priceless... |
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| Another Carolingian specimen, a Gospel Book, from Tours, 9th century |
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St. Elizabeth Holding a Book, painted and gilded Lindenwood,
Germany, late 16th |
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The Old Book of the Founding of Cuzco, 1530s manuscript, here
including the signatures of some thirty of the Conquistadores, including
Pizzarro's brother |
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Reliquary shrine, Byzantine, 12th; originally contained fragments
of the True Cross, the True Tomb, the True Whatever, etc. |
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Moving right along, now in a separate part of the large
annex, more displays, art as well as library items...
here, specimens of very early Mesopotamian writing |
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A Donor Presenting a Mummified Osirus (so it said),
26th dynasty... |
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| Black Sea jewelry, late Roman period |
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| Disc brooch, gold etc., c. 150BC |
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| Our Founder |
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Belle da Costa Greene, Morgan's librarian, the woman who developed
and managed the place...quite a story on her own...as told in The
Personal Librarian...a woman of color, passing.... |
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| Helpful older model of the complex, the library on the right |
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Looking down on the now-enclosed are between the mansion and
library; the gift shoppe was one of the better ones, too |
