Treasures of The New York Public Library

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It was the great French poet and critic Théophile Gautier who christened Cordier's bust of an African woman as the "African Venus," the name by which the sculpture is now generally known.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier. <i>African Venus</i>. Bronze, 1852.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division, Gift of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
"The Pyramids of Geezeh." Exodus I. II.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <i>The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments ... Illustrated with Photographs by Frith</i>. Glasgow; Edinburgh; London: William Mackenzie, 1862-63.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Photography Collection, from the Lenox Library.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br /> <br />
This broadside of the Declaration of Independence was published by order of Congress six months after independence was proclaimed. The work of an early American woman printer, Mary Katherine Goddard, it bears the names of the Signers, except for Thomas McKean of Delaware.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> United States Congress. Declaration of Independence. Baltimore: Mary Katharine [sic] Goddard, after January 18, 1777.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division, Emmet Collection (no. 1535).<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
In Gillray's depiction of the happy couple <i>before</i> marriage, all is in rapturous accord: in an oval picture, Cupid takes aim at amorous doves; cats gambol playfully; goldfish swim toward each other; even a butterfly is attracted to his reflection in the mirror. The couple harmonize in love duets, and between them on the table is a copy of Ovid's <i>The Art of Love</i>.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> James Gillray. <i>Harmony Before Matrimony</i>. Etching and engraving, hand-colored, October 25, 1805. Published by Hannah Humphrey.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
When Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux started work on Central Park, newspapers predicted that property overlooking the park would be among the most desirable in the city. In 1862, the English novelist Anthony Trollope concurred: "The present fashion of Fifth Avenue about Twentieth Street will in course of time move itself up to the Fifth Avenue as it looks, or will look, over the Park at Seventieth, Eightieth, and Ninetieth Streets."<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> John Bachmann. <i>Central Park</i>. Color lithograph, 1863. New York: Published by John Bachmann, 76 Nassau St.; printed by F. Heppenheimer, 22 & 24 N. William St.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division.<br><hr><br>
Page 335: <i>The Pennsylvania Evening Post</i>, vol. II, no. 228, July 6, 1776. Philadelphia: Benjamin Towne, in Front-street, near the London Coffee-house.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
Plate 5: Figure 1 shows the mode of placing conic glass windows with stop cocks in case of accidents. Figure 2 shows Fulton himself taking an observation through a conic window. (Periscopes had not yet been invented.) "This mode of making a window conic renders it as strong as the surrounding brass," commented the inventor. Figure 3 is a bathometer showing the depth of the vessel under water.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> Robert Fulton. Plate 5 from a series of drawings relating to his submarine. Watercolor and ink on paper, signed, 1804.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, Robert Fulton Papers.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
Constellation of Arctophylax, represented as an antique hero, nude and armed.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> Gaius Julius Hyginus. <i>De astronomia</i> [On Astronomy]. Manuscript on vellum, written by Francesco Buzzacarini; illuminated by Giovanni Vendramin and the Douce Master. Padua, 1475-80.<br><br /> The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.
Leading man Jimmie Ellison and his wife, Gertrude Durkin, riding the Parachute Jump at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York World's Fair 1939-1940 Records.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
Leading man Jimmie Ellison and his wife, Gertrude Durkin, riding the Parachute Jump at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York World's Fair 1939-1940 Records.<br><br><br /> <hr><br /> <br />
Explore rare, beautiful, historically significant, and unusual (sometimes even quirky) gems from the Library's vast collections.

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