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New Exhibit



Visit the exhibition, "Private Passions, Public Legacy: Paul Mellon's
Personal Library at the University of Virginia," on display through August
15 in the McGregor Room of Alderman Library. The exhibition displays rare
books, maps, manuscripts, and other items from the recently acquired
collection of noted American philanthropist and collector, Paul Mellon.
Visitors to the exhibition can:

 Discover the New World with Christopher Columbus by reading the printed
letter he wrote describing what he found. Published in 1494, this extremely
rare edition of the Columbus letter includes four woodcuts by European
artists attempting for the first time to depict the New World.

 Hear the alarm in Thomas Jefferson's voice in his famous "fire-bell in the
night" letter. In this letter, written on April 22, 1820 to John Holmes,
former senator from Maine, Jefferson expresses his concerns over the
Missouri Compromise. He likens the country's slavery crisis to having "the
wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go." Five
other letters by Jefferson are also on display.

 See the American West as it once was through the hand-colored
illustrations of George Catlin and Prince Maximilian of Wied from the
mid-1800s.

 Experience first-hand the trial of abolitionist John Brown by reading the
hand-written notes of presiding judge Richard Parker, who sentenced John
Brown to hang.


 In addition to these highlights from the collection, also on display are
items relating to exploration and westward expansion, colonial and
revolutionary Virginia, and the Civil War. Included are early maps of
Virginia and North America, letters written by George Washington and James
Madison, items relating to Lewis and Clark's expedition, and hand-colored
portraits of Native Americans.

 "Mr. Mellon loved his adopted state of Virginia and avidly collected maps,
books, and manuscripts concerning the state," said Director of the Albert
H. Small Special Collections Library Michael Plunkett and co-curator of the
exhibition. "We are thrilled to be able to show some of these Virginiana
treasures that have remained in the state thanks to Mr. Mellon's
generosity."

 Upon his death in February 1999, Paul Mellon's collection of 1,700 rare
books, manuscripts, maps, and atlases pertaining to Virginia and American
history was divided among Yale, the Virginia Historical Society, and the
University of Virginia. From this bequest, the U.Va. Library received 447
items.

 "Paul Mellon collected the authentic and the original with a passion,"
said Co-curator Heather Moore and head of Public Services for Special
Collections. "This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for the public to
view one of the finest collections of Americana and Virginiana ever amassed
by an individual."

 An interactive Web site accompanies the exhibition and provides a
three-dimensional view of some of the items. Visitors to the site, located
at http://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/mellon, can enlarge some of the
items to see close-up their fine details. For example, when viewing one of
the earliest maps of Virginia, it is possible to move and zoom in and out
of the image to rotate and change the position of the map. Visitors to the
site can also watch scrolling scenes on a Myriopticon depicting the Civil
War. This 19th century toy contains a panorama of 22 Civil War scenes
mounted on two rollers that can be turned by a key, causing the panorama to
pass across a viewing hole.

 Visit "Private Passions, Public Legacy: Paul Mellon's Personal Library at
the University of Virginia" in the U.Va. Library Special Collections
Department in the McGregor Room Monday through Thursday from 9am to 9pm;
Friday and Saturday, 9am to 5pm. Inquiries advised for holiday and summer
schedules. For more information, call (804) 924-4966.

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