The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears. ~Bill Vaughn
“There is no way that this winter is *ever* going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.”
The first day of February was an odd one. All week long I kept trying to make plans with people and they kept falling through. Unexpected family, unexpected problems etc. My friend Katy and I finally made a plan for yesterday afternoon. Due to our inability to read a calendar the plan collapsed after we were already on our way. This turned out to be a good thing. Since we had booked the time already and neither of us had the desire to return to our respective offices and work, we decided to go do something.
We ended up at the Morgan Library and Museum. the Morgan in the title is J.P. Morgan, well known for making tons of money between the last decade of the 19th Century and the first decade of the 20th. He is credited with, among many other things, building the banking coalition that stopped the Panic of 1907. Imagine that, a banker that actually cared about the country and not just his wallet. Whoda thunk?
The Museum and Library are based in his mansion and his collection was the founding collection of the Museum. If you are ever in NYC, it is well worth a visit. Herewith a few pictures I took (no flash allowed unfortunately).
This may be an early example of a Panic Room.
the vault was lined in solid steel and had a combination lock etc.
Just some random 15th and 16th Century pieces
The Library Fireplace
Ceiling of a foyer
Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to G.E. Selby describing the genesis of “the Hobbit”.
Letter from John Steinbeck to Pare Lorentz describing his belief that the book is “lousy”
There is one other manuscript that I particularly enjoyed BUT I am saving that for this week’s Photo Challenge: Unique.
When we finished at the Morgan we started to go our separate ways but as we walked by The New York Public Library, Katy said that there was an exhibit she had been wanting to see and was I up for it. Titled “Lunch Hour New York City” it is a history of the development of, well, Lunch in NYC.
It closes soon and if you are near the city I strongly recommend it.
All in all a fortuitous misreading of the calendar.
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:11 am
Well … what a great thing that the original plan fell through! I totally LOVE those pictures without flash! You did a great job there.
February 3rd, 2013 at 3:25 am
The Morgan is beautiful! I have never been there, but I can see I must!
February 3rd, 2013 at 7:33 am
Without a flash it is really hard to do it justice. Amazing things building and amazing collection.
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:45 am
Hi,
Totally cool place. It is fascinating to see how people lived in the past. I can’t even fathom how Morgan must have been fabulously rich for his era.
I have yet to discover the cultural “riches” of NYC. The only time hubby & I were there was for a half-day stopover. We did Ellis island, Statue of Liberty and walked about.
Happy Sunday
February 3rd, 2013 at 7:32 am
Those are two good ones to start with (although a bit crowded for my taste!) Have a great rest of the weekend.
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:37 am
Very interesting; I have never heard of the Morgan Library & museum.
Totally cool.
I have yet to come over to properly visit NYC. My last time was a half day layover that we used to to go to Ellis island & the statue of Liberty!
Happy Sunday
February 2nd, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Since I am in a coincidences kind of mood…..we visited the Morgan shortly after the opening of the Piano addition. Some Michaelangelo and Da Vinci doodles on display. We were sitting in the Piano atrium, sipping coffee, and looked up to the balcony to behold an architect friend from Charleston. He came down, and he and MTM had a rousting discussion about the pros and cons of the design. It was a bit surreal for me.
February 3rd, 2013 at 7:31 am
You do seem to get to hear more about architecture than many architectural students!
February 2nd, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Best laid plans, etc.turning out the better for same.
At one time I was friends with Scribner, III. His father let me use one of his short stories in Hometown Press, the first magazine in Huntsville. It featured great stories and photos. That is where I first learned about photography; with a loop, I searched for ragged edges, etc. before accepting any photo. If you look up Charles Siegfried on the internet, he was one of our main photographers. One of my trips to NY was to met with Charles re a book. I came away loaded down with so many books he gave me.
Somewhere along the way we lost touch…any chance you have a photo of their old building?
February 3rd, 2013 at 7:30 am
I will check and see. Odds are good that I do but…the memory can be flighty sometimes.