The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino hosts David Pearson, former director of culture, heritage, and libraries for the City of London Corporation, on Wednesday, May 4, as he looks afresh at the Bridgewater Library, the remains of an aristocratic English family library developed over several centuries that Henry E. Huntington bought for $1 million in 1917.
The Bridgewater Library has since been celebrated as a collection of English literature – although it contains much more – and its original owners would have looked at it differently. The books now in The Huntington’s collection are only a part of what was once a larger whole, with a complex history.
In this Zeidberg Lecture in the History of the Book, Pearson, informed more broadly by recent work on 17th-century private libraries, discusses how Huntington readers and visitors should approach such a library, and how it should be appreciated in the context of other contemporary collections.
He also talks about whether the values traditionally associated with the library are the right ones, in an age when so many of its texts are online, and notions around literary canons are increasingly questioned.
Attendance is free with reservation. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required at this and all indoor events at The Huntington. By attending, you attest and agree to provide proof of full vaccination. Masks are required indoors, and recommended outdoors, per Los Angeles County’s current COVID-19 safety protocols.
To register, visit www.huntington.org/events/
The lecture will be at Rothenberg Hall from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
For more information, call (626) 405-2100.
