A Cathedral of Books

Exhibition Program | Exhibition Program Committee | Exhibition Schedule

A Cathedral of Books: Rediscovering George Peabody's Gift to Baltimore

May 11, 2004 - August 8, 2004
George Peabody Library Exhibition Gallery

Exhibition Description

A Cathedral of Books Video
(Winner of a 2005 Gold Medal from CASE, the Council for Advancements and Support of Education, in the category Electronic Media: General Information Feature.)

INTRODUCTION

In February of 1857, George Peabody, a wealthy businessman, described his vision for an “extensive Library” that would be part of the first major cultural center in an American city. The Institute envisioned by Peabody was founded to enrich the intellectual and artistic horizons of the citizens of Baltimore.

This exhibition celebrates the grand reopening of the historic George Peabody Library following renovations and showcases works from a magnificent collection that has contributed to Baltimore City’s vibrant literary and artistic culture for more than 125 years.

Over 100 works from the collection of 300,000 volumes are featured. Beautiful editions of 15th-century books printed just after the invention of the printing press, modern editions of the works of literary greats such as Edgar Allan Poe, superb exemplars of 19th-century works in science and engineering, marvelous travel guides, and fascinating works on great voyages of discovery are just a few of the treasures highlighted.

Now one of the Sheridan Libraries of The Johns Hopkins University, the George Peabody Library is part of the research library collections that serve Johns Hopkins academic programs worldwide. In accordance with the provisions in George Peabody’s original gift, the library remains open to the public and is used by scholars in Baltimore, across the nation, and around the world.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Friends of the Libraries for their generous support of this exhibition. Special thanks are due to the following individuals who have made the exhibition possible.

Contributing curators

Professor Sanjay Arwade
Johns Hopkins University, Department of Civil Engineering

Madeline A. Copp
Librarian for English, Film & Media Studies,Writing Seminars, and Humanities Center

Thomas Izbicki
Librarian for Near Eastern Studies and History of Science

Amy Kimball
Assistant Curator of Rare Books

Kimberly Kraus
Distance Education Librarian

Liz Mengel
Librarian for Science and Engineering

Susan Payne
Librarian for Science and Engineering

Jeannette E. Pierce
Librarian for History, Political Science, and Sociology

Cynthia Requardt
Kurrelmeyer Curator of Special Collections

Professor Benjamin Schafer
Johns Hopkins University, Department of Civil Engineering

Stephen E. Stich
Librarian for Science and Engineering

Sue Waterman
Librarian for German and Romance Languages

Exhibit Program Committee

Sophia K. Jordan
Director of Preservation and Chair, Exhibits Committee

Linda Claremon
Associate Director for Library Development

Pamela Higgins
Director of External Relations

Amy Kimball
Assistant Curator of Rare Books

Cynthia Requardt
Kurrelmeyer Curator of Special Collections

Sue Waterman
Librarian for German and Romance Languages

Exhibit Staff

Martha Edgerton
Conservator

Stephen Loew
Conservator

Jay Van Rensselaer
Johns Hopkins Photography

Lena Warren
Conservator

Special Thanks to
Elizabeth Schaaf
Peabody Archivist