Weekly Gem #141 A old book lover's dream
Published 11/18/2017
Location: This Weekly Gem is located at the west end of East Mt. Vernon Place in Baltimore, MD (see the Clue Me! Map). Whether you're an elderly lover of books, or a lover of elderly books, the George Peabody Library is for you.
“I wish to provide for an extensive Library, to be well furnished in every department of knowledge, and of the most approved literature; which is to be maintained for the free use of all persons who may desire to consult it.” ~~George Peabody
The library itself is awe-inspiring, but to get there you pass through a series of displays of some of the most impressive volumes in the Peabody Library collection.
For example, you might see an early Latin translation of Aristotle's works, with carefully hand-ruled pages, dense Latin script, carefully drawn color images, everything by hand and a level of perfection that is hard to imagine.
Maybe you'll see Ptolemy's 'Geography of the World' (paraphrasing the original "Geographiae opus novissima traductione e Grecorum archetypes castigatessime pressum"). If so, note Ptolemy's selective presentation of certain facts ... although prepared 25 years after Columbus' voyages to America, no part of the Americas was pictured in his map of the world. His 'world' was limited to Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Whenever you visit, chances are you'll be awestruck before you even enter the library proper. To really cap off your visit, bring the oldest book you can lay your hands on and read for a while. Your old book will thank you.
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Here's the hidden gem entry from our Clue Me! map.
Clue
Book lover's paradise
Description
George Peabody Library
Why It's Interesting
The architecture is fabulous.
