Great European Libraries at The Morgan

From December 10, 2010 through January 9, 2011 one of America's great libraries, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, will host an exhibit of photographs of Europe's great libraries. The Morgan commissioned Massimo Listri, a photographer from Florence, Italy, to take the photographs. The large format photographs which are almost five feet in width and four feet in height include among others: the magnificent Long Room of Trinity College Library at the University of Dublin (shown above with permission from The Morgan); the Malatestiana Library in Cesena, Italy; the St. Gall Monastery Library in Switzerland; the Laurentian Library in Florence, which was designed by Michelangelo; and the Vatican Library. A visit to The Morgan is a wonderful experience in itself, this exhibit makes it even more so.

When I learn of a special event such as the one above I check my collection to see if I have any related items. I have several items that I picked up at a visit to The Morgan a couple of years ago, but the most interesting item I have is a brochure for the traveling exhibit of treasures from the library that took place on its 50th anniversary in 1957. This exhibit included 108 items which were selected to show the range and quality of the library's collection. Three of the items were of special note. They included the Gutenberg Bible on vellum, the 1459 Psalter on vellum, and the Constance Missal (only one of three known copies). The exhibit traveled to seven of the nation's most prominent museums. A web page with links to information about the history of The Morgan can be found HERE.