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Lenox Library (New York City)
The Lenox Library was a library incorporated and endowed in 1870. It was both an architectural and intellectual landmark in Gilded Age–era New York City. It was founded by bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, and located on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the building, which was considered one of the city's most notable buildings until its destruction in 1912.
The library's collection of Bibles was unsurpassed and included the first Gutenberg Bible to cross the Atlantic. It was also known for its collection of Shakespeare, Milton, and early American literature. The library became a part of the founding collection of the New York Public Library (NYPL) in 1895, and it opened to the public as part of the NYPL's Main Branch in 1911.
The Lenox Library began as the personal collection of James Lenox, housed in his home at 53 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. Lenox began collecting—principally books, but also fine paintings and sculpture—around 1845. He kept his books piled in the rooms of his townhouse, not on shelves or according to any organized system, until the overcrowding and inaccessibility of the collection inspired him to build a separate institution with the express purpose of housing it.
He worked briefly with the London literary agency Wiley & Putnam, and then with Henry Stevens of Vermont, for the next thirty-five years, until his death. Stevens worked mostly in Europe, locating fine and rare volumes for the growing Lenox collection. He bought them and sold them to Lenox with a ten percent commission.
The Lenox Library was incorporated by an act of the New York State Legislature on January 20, 1870. The nine named trustees were James Lenox, William H. Aspinwall, Hamilton Fish, Robert Ray, Alexander Van Rensselaer, Daniel Huntington, John Sheafe, James Donaldson, and Aaron Belknap. Lenox built his library on a lot on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st streets. James Lenox had inherited some thirty acres of farmland between 68th and 73rd streets and Fifth and Madison avenues from his father, Robert, in 1839. Even after the construction of the Lenox Library, the Lenox farm continued operations in the surrounding lots. Robert Lenox advised his son before his death not to sell the land too soon, for he predicted the city would expand uptown towards his land and raise its value. He was correct, and when James Lenox did choose to sell some of his land in lots to wealthy homebuilders, he made a great deal of money.
Lenox hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to design his library in 1870, and by March 1871 work had begun on the foundation. Work progressed slowly from there, and it was not completed until 1877. Designed in the Neo-Grec style, the library was considered one of New York City's greatest architectural works at the time of its completion at a cost of over $510,000 (equivalent to $13.8 million in 2024), with the land valued at nearly the same amount. It was a fire-proof structure, with outside walls of Lockport limestone, with a front of 200 feet and a depth of 114 feet. It contained four spacious reading rooms, a gallery for paintings, and another for sculpture.
The galleries of paintings and sculpture opened to the public on January 15, 1877, and the rare book rooms opened later that year. The reading room was not available to the public until 1880. Even in 1880, none of these resources were easily accessible to all. The first librarian, Samuel Austin Allibone, was appointed in 1879. On November 7, 1887, the library ceased requiring admission tickets, and the visitation increased rapidly.
The collection of the Lenox Library (around 85,000 books) was impressive by any standard – the collection of Bibles, in particular, was considered superior even to the libraries of Oxford, Cambridge, and the British Museum. Lenox was in possession of the Mazarin Bible, the first Gutenberg Bible to enter the New World. According to bibliographic legend, Henry Stevens instructed customs officials to remove their hats when they saw the bible, as it was such a great treasure that is deserved reverence. Lenox also focused on Milton, Shakespeare, and Americana. His library was "patchy" to a librarian seeking to have a broad array of resources, but incredibly valuable to a bibliophile like himself who developed passions about specific fields. The library was described by Wilberforce Eames as lacking "books on almost every subject besides the few subjects on which Mr. Lenox collected."
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Lenox Library (New York City)
The Lenox Library was a library incorporated and endowed in 1870. It was both an architectural and intellectual landmark in Gilded Age–era New York City. It was founded by bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, and located on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the building, which was considered one of the city's most notable buildings until its destruction in 1912.
The library's collection of Bibles was unsurpassed and included the first Gutenberg Bible to cross the Atlantic. It was also known for its collection of Shakespeare, Milton, and early American literature. The library became a part of the founding collection of the New York Public Library (NYPL) in 1895, and it opened to the public as part of the NYPL's Main Branch in 1911.
The Lenox Library began as the personal collection of James Lenox, housed in his home at 53 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. Lenox began collecting—principally books, but also fine paintings and sculpture—around 1845. He kept his books piled in the rooms of his townhouse, not on shelves or according to any organized system, until the overcrowding and inaccessibility of the collection inspired him to build a separate institution with the express purpose of housing it.
He worked briefly with the London literary agency Wiley & Putnam, and then with Henry Stevens of Vermont, for the next thirty-five years, until his death. Stevens worked mostly in Europe, locating fine and rare volumes for the growing Lenox collection. He bought them and sold them to Lenox with a ten percent commission.
The Lenox Library was incorporated by an act of the New York State Legislature on January 20, 1870. The nine named trustees were James Lenox, William H. Aspinwall, Hamilton Fish, Robert Ray, Alexander Van Rensselaer, Daniel Huntington, John Sheafe, James Donaldson, and Aaron Belknap. Lenox built his library on a lot on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st streets. James Lenox had inherited some thirty acres of farmland between 68th and 73rd streets and Fifth and Madison avenues from his father, Robert, in 1839. Even after the construction of the Lenox Library, the Lenox farm continued operations in the surrounding lots. Robert Lenox advised his son before his death not to sell the land too soon, for he predicted the city would expand uptown towards his land and raise its value. He was correct, and when James Lenox did choose to sell some of his land in lots to wealthy homebuilders, he made a great deal of money.
Lenox hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to design his library in 1870, and by March 1871 work had begun on the foundation. Work progressed slowly from there, and it was not completed until 1877. Designed in the Neo-Grec style, the library was considered one of New York City's greatest architectural works at the time of its completion at a cost of over $510,000 (equivalent to $13.8 million in 2024), with the land valued at nearly the same amount. It was a fire-proof structure, with outside walls of Lockport limestone, with a front of 200 feet and a depth of 114 feet. It contained four spacious reading rooms, a gallery for paintings, and another for sculpture.
The galleries of paintings and sculpture opened to the public on January 15, 1877, and the rare book rooms opened later that year. The reading room was not available to the public until 1880. Even in 1880, none of these resources were easily accessible to all. The first librarian, Samuel Austin Allibone, was appointed in 1879. On November 7, 1887, the library ceased requiring admission tickets, and the visitation increased rapidly.
The collection of the Lenox Library (around 85,000 books) was impressive by any standard – the collection of Bibles, in particular, was considered superior even to the libraries of Oxford, Cambridge, and the British Museum. Lenox was in possession of the Mazarin Bible, the first Gutenberg Bible to enter the New World. According to bibliographic legend, Henry Stevens instructed customs officials to remove their hats when they saw the bible, as it was such a great treasure that is deserved reverence. Lenox also focused on Milton, Shakespeare, and Americana. His library was "patchy" to a librarian seeking to have a broad array of resources, but incredibly valuable to a bibliophile like himself who developed passions about specific fields. The library was described by Wilberforce Eames as lacking "books on almost every subject besides the few subjects on which Mr. Lenox collected."