Members of the MSNH met at the ever-wonderful American Museum of Natural History in the late afternoon of May 22nd to be greeted by Mai Reitmeyer, the Sr. Research Services Librarian at the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center of the museum. After passing through the spectacular reading room, we learned that the library is not only collecting books and papers, but also memorabilia related to the museum. Amongst those treasures, we saw hand painted covers of the Natural History Magazine, Charles R. Knight’s studies, and a sled which was used for one of those early North Pole expeditions. We ventured further into the rare book collection, where Mai and her wonderful colleagues allowed us to get a close look at the most remarkable books – books which needed to be carried by two people, big as they were. While the sizes of the books would have been enough to impress us, their illustrations received standing “aahs” and “oohs” from our members. We learned a lot about publishing history, printing techniques, paper types, and general history during the viewing. The librarians patiently answered all our questions and stayed well beyond opening hours. We would like to thank the enthusiastic librarians for their time, knowledge and for giving us the opportunity to see those rare books.
For more information on the AMNH library and it’s astonishing digital collections please visit:
AMNH Library website.
Digital Collections (includes digitized illustrations, photographs, films and manuscript material)
Here are additional links to digitized libraries:
Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)
For more information on the library’s collection, please check out their series books in their rare book collection.
Natural Histories: Extraordinary Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library - ISBN 978-145491214
Extraordinary Birds: Essays and Plates of Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library - ISBN 978-1454906599
Opulent Oceans: Extraordinary Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library -ISBN 978-1454913412
The Butterflies of North America: Titian Peale's Lost Manuscript -ISBN 978-1419717840
Innumerable Insects: The Story of the Most Diverse and Myriad Animals on Earth (Natural Histories) - ISBN 978-1454923237