Building the Bookman’s Paradise: J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library

Belle da Costa Greene ran the Morgan Library for forty-three years

The Morgan Library & Museum presents J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library: Building the Bookman’s Paradise, on view June 10 through September 18, 2022. This exhibition traces the design, construction, and early life of one of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture in the United States through works such as rarely seen architectural drawings, period photographs, and a selection of the most significant rare books and manuscripts from Morgan’s collection. It honors the architects, designers, tradespeople, artists, and builders who created the Library more than a century ago and celebrates the completion of the current campaign of exterior restoration and enhancement of this landmark building, which anchors the campus of the Morgan Library & Museum.¹

Gutenberg Bible, Golden Gospels

One book that Morgan simply had to have as he began to direct significant attention and resources to his library during the 1890s was a copy of Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust’s Bible, a pivotal publication that represented the technological breakthrough of movable type in Western Europe.

Also on display is the Golden Gospels of Henry VIII. This thousand-year-old manuscript was created by some sixteen scribes in a Benedictine abbey in Trier (in what is now Germany). They used gold ink to copy the text of the Gospels onto parchment that had been dyed with a plant-based purple pigment, creating a luxurious object that was likely an imperial gift. Though it was made in the tenth century, the manuscript has come to be known as the Golden Gospels of Henry VIII because the English monarch owned it some five centuries later.

Belle da Costa Greene

Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950) was one of the most prominent librarians in American history. She ran the Morgan Library for forty-three years.² She was particularly focused on making rare books accessible to the public, rather than locked away in the vaults of private collectors. When the Morgan Library became a public institution and she was named its first director in 1924, she celebrated by mounting a series of exhibitions, one of which drew a record 170,000 people.

1. J. Pierpont Morgan's Library: Building the Bookman's Paradise. Fine Books and Collections. May 19, 2022.

2. Ardizzone, Heidi (2007). An illuminated life : Belle da Costa Greene's journey from prejudice to privilege (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.