Have you ever wanted to visit the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., to see the historical treasures of our country? Have you ever wished to go to the greatest museums of Europe to view the historical relics you read about in school? If so, then you're in for a real treat.
In the main exhibition gallery of Firestone Library's Rare Books and Special Collections Division, there is an exhibit titled "A Century for the Millennium: 100 Treasures from the Collections in the Princeton University Library." It is the second most impressive collection of historical treasures I have ever seen in one room. The most impressive is the exhibit in the British Library in London which has, among other things, a Gutenberg Bible, the First Folio of Shakespeare, pages from Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, the Magna Carta and some of the oldest fragments of the New Testament.
And though I have been to the Library of Congress' collection of American treasures — which includes the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pant pockets the night he was shot and Woodrow Wilson 1879's handwritten Fourteen Points — the Firestone exhibit puts the Washington, D.C. display to shame. This exhibit ends Nov. 5, and its collection of relics is something you may never see again in your lifetime. Even more impressively, these relics are only a small collection of historical treasures — perhaps not even the most noteworthy — that Firestone contains.
High school teachers have traveled for hours to take their classes to see this exhibit. Princeton professors have stopped their busy lecture schedules to walk their students over to Firestone. To further convince you of the importance of what you're missing, I have recorded below what were — in my humble opinion — the most spectacular pieces on display. For some of these, I have added my own thoughts on their significance; the rest are so well known that anything I add would be superfluous:
1. A copy of the Declaration of Independence — one of only 25 broadside printings.
2. One of only seven extant copies of Major George Washington's journal, published just before he was 22. If you're about to write your thesis, take note of Washington's precocious style.
3. Handwritten and signed letters by Ben Franklin, James Madison 1771, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. If you haven't noticed that the art of calligraphy is dead in this country, look at Franklin's handwriting. If you can imitate that signature, you have my respect. Washington's handwriting is much like his personality — stately and neutral. It's not too flashy or too dull. Lincoln's letter is titled "On Sectionalism." You can hear the power of his speech and the tug of his rhetoric as you read his final paragraph.
4. Not one but two copies of the most famous collection of plays in the English language: Shakespeare's First Folio. Shakespeare was an unparalleled master and molder of our language — see what his work looked like when it was first printed.
5. One of the few remaining copies of the famous Gutenberg Bible — the first significant example of European typographic printing, circa 1455.
6. Beethoven's sketchbook, written in 1815 more than a decade after he lost his hearing.
7. A signed letter by Johann Sebastian Bach, the only surviving correspondence in which he mentions one of his compositions.
8. A dazzling 16th-century illuminated manuscript of the Qur'an. The intricacy of the design and the patience of the manuscript's artist defies all comprehension. In fact, the creation of a work like this showcases religious devotion unparalleled in the modern world.
It's very easy to get caught up in your weekly routine at Princeton. How many of us have gone to more than one — or even just one — production at McCarter Theatre? I haven't. How many of us have seen the entire art museum? I haven't.
But now, finally, I have broken out of my routine. To think that I've missed exhibits like this in the past two years because of of my insular habits is shameful. But not as shameful as it would be if you miss it after this column. Jeff Wolf is a philosophy major from Chevy Chase, Md. He can be reached at jeffwolf@princeton.edu.
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