Thursday, January 18, 2018, 6:30 – 8 p.m. EST

James Smithson (c.1765-1829), an 18th-century gentleman of science, included his library with his bequest to the United States, and those books now reside in the vault of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. The collection consists of 126 titles, primarily scientific monographs and journal articles, but also history and memoirs, political pamphlets, travel books and museum guides, and a few household items like cookbooks. 

In honor of the Smithsonian Libraries' 50th Anniversary, Heather Ewing, author of The Lost World of James Smithson and Executive Director of the Center for Italian Modern Art in New York, will offer a brief biography of the fabled Smithsonian donor, with discussion of how the library reflected the man. Leslie Overstreet, Smithsonian Libraries Curator of Natural History Rare Books, willfollow with a few words about interesting aspects of Smithson’s books and their history at the Smithsonian. The presentation will include a display of selected books from Smithson’s collection.

Please note: enter National Museum of American History on Constitution Ave entrance. Madison Drive/Mall entrance will be closed to visitors at this time.