The New York City Library collects more than just books. A LOT more. Their collection consists of 56 million items. Some of those objects are featured in its current exhibition entitled: TREASURES.
The exhibition is well named. A stroll through this free, rotating exhibit feels like a mini trip to the Smithsonian -only more international.
The show is DIVERSE, showcasing the breadth and richness of the library’s holdings, from a Gutenberg Bible to a beaded veve flag used in the practice of voodoo. The exhibit will rotate artifacts, so it’s worth revisiting. The day I visited included such treasures as:
The stuffed toys belonging to A. A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, which inspired him to write “Winnie-the-Pooh.”
Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the Declaration of Independence written in his hand with his revisions. Curiously, the original included a condemnation of slavery. Curious because he was himself an enslaver.
One of my personal favorite objects was Virginia Woolf’s walking stick. The very walking stick Woolf took down to the River Ouse when she placed a heavy rock in her pocket and drowned herself after she felt that she had “lost all power over words.”
And as a ballet lover, I loved the Coco Chanel hand-painted ballet shoe worn by Serge Lifar in the premier of Balanchine’s classic dance: Apollo.
How about this umbrella owned by the author of Mary Poppins. Notice anything familiar?
I also saw Shakespeare’s first folio and Charles Dickens’ desk and personal copy of “A Christmas Carol.”
The New York City Library is itself a treasure trove. The building is gorgeous with the lion statues, Patience, and Fortitude, flanking the front steps to the entrance like two giant marble bookends.
The walls and ceilings are covered in beautiful paintings. The Rose Room is the most famous and the loveliest.
Besides art and artifacts, the library has… duh, books! Over 4 million books are housed underground, beneath Bryant Park alone. That’s astonishing to this nerd. But, keep in mind that the iconic library at Fifth Ave and 42nd Street is just one branch and only a research facility. You can work, study, and request materials for research, but you cannot check anything out.
However, across the street, housed in a modern high-rise, you’ll find a lending branch of the library. What use is a lending library to a tourist? None. But, on the top floor of this library, you’ll find a rooftop terrace and cafe. Useful.
A great place to either work or take a break.
So, reserve your complimentary, timed-entrance ticket to Treasures at nypl.org/treasures.
And / or grab your laptop and head over to either of these branches of the NYC library. Whether you’re searching for inspiration or suffering from a case of writer’s block, I think you may appreciate the scenery and view.
And maybe even a little sun.
Love the pictures!
What a gorgeous library.
I’m wondering how that library acquired those items to put on their rotating display and how they have a copy of the Gutenberg bible among other items. And since it’s a public library, how they are funded to be able to pay for upkeep and security, etc.
Guess I need to read my history!
Fascinating New York!
I’m glad you asked, because I really should have mentioned that the exhibition is thanks to a generous donation ($12 million dollars) by Dr. Leonard Polonsky.