On Tuesday the Morgan Library & Museum opened an exhibit that will display nearly thirty rare works taken from its extensive holdings. The following items provide a taste of the exhibit, and I'm sure they will entice you to plan a visit.
- The only surviving portion of The Scarlet Letter manuscript, a single sheet containing the title and table of contents.
- A letter from Madame Roland to Jacques-Bernard-Marie Montané, written while she was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror (only two months before she met her fate at the guillotine)
- The typescript of two chapters from Henry James's novel What Maisie Knew
- Paul Revere's first bound printing of a compilation of Handel's music, which is though to be the first American publication of the composer's work
- A first edition of Faulkner's only pulp novel, Sanctuary
- The first edition of Edmund Spenser's The Shepheardes Calender, which is "considered by many to be the first great non-dramatic work of the Elizabethean era"
- Tarot cards from the 15th century
- A receipt by Picasso that includes a quick sketch of his Woman Seated in an Armchair
This exhibit will be on display in the Morgan's McKim building (which was recently restored and is breathtaking) until June 3, 2012.