As far as I know, the NYPL has never had an exhibit like this one before. It showcases literary pieces from their world-renowned research collections - from a draft of the Declaration of Independence to the original Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends and more. Here are the coolest things that I saw.
This is Charles Dickens’s desk, writing slope, lamp, desk calendar, and chair (below). Fun Fact: “In the fall of 1940, the mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, was invited (or took it upon himself; we don’t know which) to sit in Dickens’s chair and see how it would have felt to have been the great author. Whereupon he broke right through the caning in the seat, and nobody has ever been allowed to sit in Dickens’s chair since that date.”
This is the 1623 first folio of William Shakespeare’s works. It’s just insanity to be able to this see this person.
This is Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga, and Eeyore. Pooh was purchased at Harrods department store in London and given by A. A. Milne to his son Christopher Robin on his first birthday, August 21, 1921. The rest of the toys were received as gifts by Christopher Robin between 1920 and 1928.
This is Arthur Rackham’s design for the cover of the original Cinderella in pen and ink with watercolor from 1919.
And this is Charles Dickens’s paper knife from 1862. It is made of ivory, a cat’s paw and metal. Evidently he was a dog lover, but his daughter Mamie persuaded him to let her keep a cat, Williamina, who later gave birth to a litter of kittens; all but one - Bob - were given away. Mamie related that “the master’s cat,” so called by the household servants for his devotion to Dickens, would “follow him about the garden like a dog, and sit with him while he wrote,” and even snuff out candles with his paw in a bid for attention. After Bob died, his paw was fashioned into this paper knife. It is likely that the paper knife was not actively used, and that it was regarded as a decorative tribute to a beloved pet.
You should definitely take some time before or after your visit to walk around the library itself because it’s breathtaking. It’s been around for over a hundred years and it’s a miracle that it’s still so well preserved. It’ll always blow my mind that it’s free to see.
There are other incredible things to be seen (Virginia Woolf’s walking stick - the one that was found near the water where she killed herself, the Bill of Rights, Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence, etc.) so you really should go take a look for yourself.
Tickets are completely free and can be reserved here for a timed entry.
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