Pierpont Morgan Library

Pierpont Morgan Library originally the private library of J. Pierpont Morgan, in 1924 made a public institution by his son J. P. Morgan as a memorial to his father (see Morgan , family). The library is privately supported; it is located at Madison Ave. and 36th St., New York City. It consists of the original Beaux-Arts building (1906) designed by McKim, Mead & White, a 1928 annex, and a modern addition (2006) designed by Renzo Piano. The library is especially rich in illuminated manuscripts and in authors' manuscripts (including works by Dickens, Scott, and Balzac); the collection also includes, among many other riches, hundreds of Bibles in all languages, early printed books, outstanding Old Master prints and drawings, one of the largest collections of Aldine Press editions (see Aldus Manutius ), and the only perfect copy of Malory's Morte d'Arthur printed by Caxton. The publications of the library include monographs, catalogs of collections and exhibits, reprints, and fascimiles. It is open to scholars for research and to the general public for exhibitions and lectures.

Morgan Library (Properly, the Pierpont Morgan Library), originally the private library of the elder J.P. Morgan, was given to the public by his son. It is housed in an art gallery constructed by McKim, Mead, and White (1905) and an adjoining library building (1920), adjacent to the old Morgan residence in New York City. In addition to an important collection of books and manuscripts, there are significant paintings, drawings, bookbindings, coins, and medals. Among the noteworthy categories in the collection are illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, early liturgical works, and manuscripts or first editions of English and American literature and history. Since its establishment as a public institution (1924), it has been open for research, lectures have been given by prominent scholars, and important exhibitions of its own and of borrowed materials have been arranged.

Morgan, J. Pierpont (1837–1913). American financier, industrialist, and art collector. The son of a financier and head of one of the most powerful banking houses in the world, Morgan used his personal fortune to spend lavishly on works of art. His main collecting interests were manuscripts and rare books and after his death his son, also J. Pierpont Morgan (1867–1943), endowed the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York as a research institute and museum in memory of his father. It has superb collections of illuminated manuscripts and Old Master drawings and also contains stained glass, sculpture, and metalwork. The Metropolitan Museum in New York also received an important bequest from the elder Morgan, who was chairman of its governing board for many years.