John Carter Brown library

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John Carter Brown library

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John Carter Brown Library

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John Carter Brown library Providence, R.I.

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John Carter Brown Library (Providence)

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JCB library

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Providence. John Carter Brown Library

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Brown University. Brown Library.

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Brown Library

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Brown University (Providence). John Carter Brown Library

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Brown University Library

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Brown Library, Brown University

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JCB Abkuerzung

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Providence (R.I.). John Carter Brown Library

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Brown University John Carter Brown Library

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JCB.

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Brown Library Providence, RI

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Brown Library Providence, RI


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Brown university John Carter Brown library Providence, R.I.

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Brown university John Carter Brown library Providence, R.I.


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Brown university (Providence, R.I.). John Carter Brown library

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1903

active 1903

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1953

active 1953

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Biographical History

John Carter Brown of Providence, Rhode Island, began to decisively collect books about America in 1848, although he had started collecting rare books, “the favorite pastime of wealthy noblemen” much earlier. An admirer of Old World traditions, Brown focused upon European voyages and travels, as well as books that provided a background for European expansion.

Around 1846, he began an avid pursuit of Americana, an area of interest he termed “the Great Subject.” His son, John Nicholas Brown (1861–1900), actively continued this tradition and before his untimely death had conceived the idea of giving the Library to the world of historical research as a memorial to his father. In his will, John Nicholas Brown assigned funds for the construction of an appropriate building and for an endowment to support the Library’s work. The original Library building was formally dedicated in 1904.

1827 The earliest date known for the purchase of a book of American interest by John Carter Brown (JCB) (1797-1874). The earliest purchase by a member of the Brown family of a book currently in the Library's collection was the mid-eighteenth century. 1846 JCB begins systematic collecting of Americana, "the great subject," and collects in this one year over 500 items. Of the 500 items JCB acquired, of note are three edition of Christopher Columbus's celebrated "letter" to the Spanish court announcing the discovery of the new lands to the West. One of these "letters" contained the first effort to depict the inhabitants of the New World. 1848 Purchase of the first navigation manual in Spanish (one of the first to be printed in any language), Martin Fernandez de Enciso, Suma de geographia, Seville, 1519. The manual included rough sailing directions for the known coast of America, based on Enciso's actual experience. 1853 John Russell Bartlett, formerly chief of the commission responsible for running the boundary between the United States and Mexico after the Mexican War, becomes JCB's advisor and the Library's unofficial librarian. During the eighteen years he was Secretary of the state of Rhode Island, Bartlett continued in his roles as friend to the Browns and advisor to the collection. Bartlett was a conduit through which JCB became interested in fields virtually untouched by his contemporaries, including native American linguistics and early Latin American imprints. 1859 John Carter Brown (age 62) marries Sophia Augusta Browne (no relation). Together they strengthen and expand the collection. 1859 Acquire Samuel Champlain, Des sauvages, Paris [1603], the first book about New France by the man who gave the French their first permanent foothold in the New World. 1861 Birth of John Nicolas Brown (JNB [I]) (1861-1900). 1863 Fireproof library wing, designed by prominent architect Richard Upjohn, added to Brown family residence on Benefit Street, Providence. The collection's transfer to the new wing marked its transition into an organized reference library. 1865 Publication of a chronological catalog of the holdings of the John Carter Brown Library, Bibliotheca Americana. With this publication, one of the earliest comprehensive printed catalogs to be produced, began the Library's tradition of serving scholars from around the world. 1868 Purchase of the Library's first print--Peter Gordon, A view of Savannah, [London], 1734. 1871 Acquisition of Amerigo Vespucci, Van der nieuwer werelt, [Antwerp, 1507], the only known surviving copy of his third voyage translated into Dutch. It contains some of the earliest woodcut views of American Indians. 1874 Death of JCB. His widow continues to build the collection with the assistance of John Russell Bartlett, who also tutors JNB (I) on the collection. 1881 Purchase of the first book printed in British North America, The whole book of Psalmes, Cambridge, Mass., 1640-the only copy still in its original binding and carrying the autograph of one of its translators, Richard Mather. 1893 Purchase of confidential Revolutionary War correspondence between George Washington and Joseph Reed. 1893 JNB (I) assumes active management of the Library, although Sophia Augusta Brown retains actual title to the collection until 1898. 1893 Purchase of two manuscript atlases. The Agnese atlas was specially commissioned by Charles V for his son (who would become Philip II of Spain), this brilliantly illuminated atlas was created by the Italian cartographer, Battista Agnese. The Maggiolo atlas is one of the earliest atlases to show the American continent and was produced by Vesconte Maggiolo in 1511 within two decades of the discovery of America. 1895 George Parker Winship named first official Librarian of the collection. One of Winship's major achievements was the opening up of the Library for use by scholars. During his 19-year tenure, Winship broadened the Library's scope to include eighteenth-century works. 1896 Acquisition of earliest book printed in the New World of which a complete copy survives, Juan de Zumarraga, Doctrina breve, Mexico, 1544. 1898 JNB (I) marries Natalie Bayard Dresser. 1900 Birth of John Nicholas Brown (II). 1900 Death of JNB (I) in May at age 39. His will includes a bequest to create a new separate building for the Library to be named for his father. It also includes an endowment to ensure its continued operation. The choice of a location was left to the trustees and executors of the estate of JNB (I). Ultimately, the campus of Brown University was selected. 1901 Acquisition of one of the earliest printed maps to use the name, "America," published by Martin Waldseemüller, ca. 1513. 1904 Inaugural of the new home of the John Carter Brown Library, on the main green of the campus of Brown University. The first separate special collections library to be built on a university campus in the United States, it was opened as a semiprivate institution in May 1904. It is governed by its own independent Board of Governors, and according to the terms of the will, its collections can never be indiscriminately mingled with another. From the guide to the John Carter Brown Library Records, 1764-1904, (bulk 1845-1889), (John Carter Brown Library)

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https://viaf.org/viaf/157613561


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https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79125351


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https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n79125351


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Box 1894 John Carter Brown Library Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2725 Fax: 401-863-3477 email: JCBL_Archives@brown.edu


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