The Morgan Library and Museum showcased a who's who of handwriting exhibits last year that I really need to show you. From their website:
Handwriting works magic: it transports us back to defining moments in history, creativity, and everyday life and connects us intimately with the people who marked the page. For nearly half a century, Brazilian author and publisher Pedro Corrêa do Lago has been assembling one of the most comprehensive autograph collections of our age, acquiring thousands of handwritten letters, manuscripts, and musical compositions as well as inscribed photographs, drawings, and documents. This exhibition—the first to be drawn from his extraordinary collection—features some 140 items, including letters by Lucrezia Borgia, Vincent van Gogh, and Emily Dickinson, annotated sketches by Michelangelo, Jean Cocteau, and Charlie Chaplin, and manuscripts by Giacomo Puccini, Jorge Luis Borges, and Marcel Proust.
Rather than focusing on a single figure, era, or subject, Corrêa do Lago made the ambitious decision to seek significant examples in six broad areas of human endeavor—art, history, literature, science, music, and entertainment—spanning nearly nine hundred years. From an 1153 document signed by four medieval popes to a 2006 thumbprint signature of physicist Stephen Hawking, the items on view convey the power of handwriting to connect us with writers, artists, composers, political figures, performers, explorers, scientists, philosophers, rebels, and others whose actions and creations have made them legends.
I found this exhibit to be really quite fantastic. To see the handwriting of Russian Royalty, a papercut made possibly in 1871 (that was totally gorgeous!), Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, The Marx Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, Abe Lincoln, Al Capone, a 7 year old Princess Victoria (to be Queen Victoria), and Marie Antoinette is a real treat. I think it is sad that handwriting is going out of style, with computers and cell phones, it is something to be kept as is such a large part of history. I hope you enjoy looking through these wonderful items as much as I did. The Morgan Library is always a wonderful stop in the city, so many treasures to be found!!
The Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street
New York, NY 10016
Hours
The Morgan Library & Museum and the Morgan Shop are open
Tuesday through Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Monday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
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