Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
Encyclopedia
The Karpeles Manuscript Library is the world’s largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents.
The library was founded in 1983 by California
real estate magnates, David and Marsha Karpeles, with the goal of stimulating interest in learning, especially in children. All of the Karpeles Manuscript Library services are free.
s across the US. Items are rotated between museums quarterly and each of the museums present a daily general exhibit and one or more special scheduled exhibits throughout the year. In addition, Karpeles is aggressively expanding the content of its website. Each of the libraries is located in an historic building.
neighborhood. Most residents have never even heard of, let alone visited, Karpeles, but many of their children have. There is also an antique-book library, with volumes dating from the late 1800s, and a children's center.
. It was built as a Methodist church.
The library was founded in 1983 by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
real estate magnates, David and Marsha Karpeles, with the goal of stimulating interest in learning, especially in children. All of the Karpeles Manuscript Library services are free.
Libraries
To make the documents more accessible, there are ten Karpeles museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s across the US. Items are rotated between museums quarterly and each of the museums present a daily general exhibit and one or more special scheduled exhibits throughout the year. In addition, Karpeles is aggressively expanding the content of its website. Each of the libraries is located in an historic building.
Jacksonville, Florida
The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Jacksonville is located in the former First Church of Christ, Scientist building, a 1921 neoclassical structure in the SpringfieldSpringfield, Jacksonville, Florida
Springfield is a historic neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, located to the north of downtown. Established in 1869, it experienced its greatest growth from the early 1880s through the 1920s...
neighborhood. Most residents have never even heard of, let alone visited, Karpeles, but many of their children have. There is also an antique-book library, with volumes dating from the late 1800s, and a children's center.
Duluth, Minnesota
The Duluth Museum 46°47′49"N 92°04′58"W is housed in an old Christian Scientist Church built in 1912.Charleston, South Carolina
The Charleston library is housed in an 1856 building that is a copy of the Temple of Jupiter in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It was built as a Methodist church.
Buffalo, New York
The Buffalo museum building was originally a Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science Church) built in 1911. Part of the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum's facade fell off on the southeast side of the building on February 18, 2008 but no one was hurt.Fort Wayne, Indiana
Kapeles Manuscript Museum, Fort Wayne, is housed in a domed church built in 1940 as the First Church of God. It is located at 3039 Piqua Ave. The Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 4. The museum houses a rotating collection of unique documents and artifacts. The collection's caliber and breadth are the direct result of the efforts of David and Marsha Karpeles. The museum provides an educational outreach program in the form of mini-museum displays that are set up in local school buildings and maintained by museum staff.Music
- Beethoven's "Emperor Concerto"
- Handel's "Messiah in the hand of Beethoven"
- Mozart's "The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
" - Wagner's "Wedding March"
Science
- DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's Theory of Evolution - DescartesRené DescartesRené Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
' Treatise as the Father of Philosophy - Einstein's Theory of RelativityTheory of relativityThe theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
- GalileoGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
's announcement of the completion of his publication Dialogue on Two New Sciences - Excerpts from John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- A note written by Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
- A portion of NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
's studies on religion - Astronomer Michael R. Molnar's Mystery of the Star of Bethlehem
Religion
- The first printing of the Ten CommandmentsTen CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
from The Gutenberg BibleGutenberg BibleThe Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed with a movable type printing press, and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status...
(ca. 1455) - Calvin's Ioannis Calvinus
- Crusades: Proclamation of the Holy Crusades
- LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
and the Birth of Protestant Movement - Pope Lucius IIIPope Lucius IIIPope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
's Proclamation of the Holy Crusade
Literature
- Roget's Thesaurus
- The dramatic version of Mark Twain's Tom SawyerTom SawyerThomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
- WebsterNoah WebsterNoah Webster was an American educator, lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author...
's Dictionary
Political history
- Bill of RightsBill of rightsA bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
- Confederate Constitution
- The Declaration of Allegiance to the Government of the United States by the Native American Indians
- LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's Emancipation Proclamation - Hancock: John HancockJohn HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
's Cover Letter to the Declaration of Independence - Olive Branch Petition
- Thanksgiving Proclamation of the United States
- George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's Thanksgiving Proclamation
Exploration
- Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
's Lettera Rarissima - Sir Ernest ShackletonErnest ShackletonSir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
's hand-drawn map of Antarctica - Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
's Certificate of Landing for her solo flight across the Atlantic
Artwork
- Pat Burger Homeless Exhibit Collection
- Louise Donahue Music Composers Exhibit Collection
- The Lawrence Williams Presidential Collection
- Dona McPhillips Historical Exhibit Collection
- Norman RockwellNorman RockwellNorman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
pencil drafts Exhibit Collection - The Brock Brothers Illustration Archive
- Classic Book Illustrations