Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy
Regular price
€55.99
14 days return policy
Shipping & Delivery
1920s New York City
A01=Belle da Costa Greene
A14=Anne-Marie Eze
A14=Araceli Bremauntz-Enriquez
A14=Daria Rose Foner
A14=Julia S. Charles-Linen
A14=Juliana Amorim Goskes
A23=Colin B. Bailey
A24=Philip S. Palmer
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
art collectors
Author_Belle da Costa Greene
automatic-update
B01=Erica Ciallela
B01=Philip S. Palmer
black librarian
black New Yorkers
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=AGC
Category=BGL
Category=DNBL
Category=GLZ
Category=GM
COP=United States
cultural history
da costa greene
Delivery_Pre-order
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
J.P. Morgan
Language_English
librarianship
manuscript collections
medieval manuscripts
Morgan library
New York society
PA=Not yet available
passing as white
personal library
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Forthcoming
race and gender in American history
rare books
softlaunch
Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty
visionary black women
women librarians
Product details
- ISBN 9781636811352
- Dimensions: 203 x 267mm
- Publication Date: 26 Dec 2024
- Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
The incredible story of the first director of the Morgan Library: a visionary Black woman who walked confidently in an early 20th-century man’s world of wealth and privilege
Published with Morgan Library & Museum.
When J.P. Morgan’s personal library opened as a public institution in 1924, the choice for its first director was an obvious one: Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950). Not only had she organized and cataloged the collection, she had significantly expanded its holdings and displayed its treasures in curated exhibitions. While she was famous and well known for her librarianship in her lifetime, few people also knew that she had been born to a prominent Black family, and by her early 20s was passing as white in New York City.
After Greene was hired by J.P. Morgan in 1905, she emerged as one of the highest-paid women in America and commanded respect in a field dominated by men. She spent millions of dollars on Morgan’s behalf to acquire outstanding medieval manuscripts, rare printed books and works of art. Following Morgan’s death she continued to work with his son, who established the library as a public institution. All told, she headed the Morgan for 43 years and was single-handedly responsible for turning it into one of the most important collections of rare books and manuscripts in the United States.
Published to coincide with the centennial of the museum and of Greene’s appointment as director, Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy presents a thematic collection of essays with new research on her family, education, portraits, professional networks and her own art collection, while also engaging with larger themes such as race in America, gender and culture, and the history of Black librarianship. The book offers a full picture of Greene on her own terms and in her own words—revealing her rich career as a curator, collector, library executive and dynamic New Yorker.
