Rare Book Monthly

Articles - May - 2019 Issue

Major Fire at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in St. Louis

Flames rise from the Karpelis Manuscript Museum in St. Louis.

Flames rise from the Karpelis Manuscript Museum in St. Louis.

A major fire struck the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in St. Louis on the night of March 26. It both was and was not devastating. There was extensive damage to the building, with flames shooting high into the night air from the roof and second story windows. It took firefighters a couple of hours to put it out. Originally built in 1907 as a Christian Science Church, the structure has housed the Karpeles manuscript collection since 2015. It also housed the collection of the St. Louis Media History Foundation. The latter specializes in historic newspapers, photographs, and other documents pertaining to St. Louis' print, radio, and television history.

 

Whether the building can or should be saved is not yet clear. The roof caved in and damage was extensive to the second floor and back of the building. However, it is a solid, steel reinforced structure, and the front was not seriously damaged.

 

Now for the good news - the material inside escaped unscathed. Between firefighters and museum associates, it was all taken out of the building before the fire or water from the hoses reached it. The historic material from both organizations was saved. In the case of the Karpeles collection, that includes both St. Louis items, such as documents pertaining to Charles Lindbergh's famous flight in 1927, to others national or international in scope. It was taken to private homes for safekeeping until such time as a permanent home is prepared for it.

 

For many readers, the next question will be, what is the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum? This is even more interesting than the fire. The Karpeles Museum is actually comprised of numerous locations in unexpected places, which explains its relative obscurity. This story goes back to 1983, when it was founded by David and Marsha Karpeles.

 

David Karpeles is a mathematician who has held both university and private industry positions. However, the Karpeles also have been successful real estate investors, which provided the funds needed to develop a major manuscript collection. The collection began after a visit to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, with two of their children. They were fascinated by the original documents they saw, not just copies, but those created by the hands of great people years ago. They began collecting manuscripts, and as they filled more spaces in their home, looked for a location where they could be shared with others. That led to the opening of the first Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Santa Barbara in 1983.

 

There are a few surprising things about the Karpeles Museum. One is that admission is free. The Karpeles were particularly interested in making the manuscripts accessible to children. The cost of admission is such that even a child can afford a visit. Another is that it is held in numerous locations around the country. There are 14 buildings in 12 cities that house parts of the collection. Each has some documents of local interest, while others are rotated around the locations, enabling residents of each city to see major pieces in the collection at various times.

 

Here is one more surprising thing - the museums are not located in major cities like New York or Los Angeles. St. Louis is the largest city with a Karpeles Museum. The others are Buffalo, Charleston, Duluth, Jacksonville, Santa Barbara, Tacoma, Shreveport, Fort Wayne, Rock Island, Illinois, Newburgh, New York, and Alvin, Texas. The explanation is that they once opened a museum in New York City. Hardly anyone came. There is no shortage of museums filled with wonderful things in New York. However, when they took the exhibition to Jacksonville, the place was flooded with visitors. They were reaching people without access to such material as is available in New York.

 

Along with the historic collections, the Karpeles chose to do one more act of preservation. They placed their museums in historic buildings. That is how the St. Louis museum ended up in a century-old church. They are often in historic neighborhoods as well, part of the reason why they can be somewhat obscure even to locals. They may not be where you would expect to find a museum.

 

The Karpeles collection began with the purchase of a draft of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Other manuscripts now in the collection include a proposed draft of the Bill of Rights, a declaration of allegiance from various American Indian tribes, the Thanksgiving Proclamation of George Washington, and the Confederate States Constitution. It is not limited to such American historical documents. There are manuscripts from musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart, scientists including Einstein and Darwin, religious figures including Calvin and Luther, even Peter Roget's original thesaurus. It now numbers over one million items. We are not aware of a private manuscript collection quite like this, other than the Aristophil collection in France. However, that one was built as a financial investment, and as a Ponzi scheme at that. When the scheme collapsed, it became necessary to sell the collection. That sale is currently underway and will continue for several more years. One imagines the Karpeles will be keeping close tabs on those sales to see what comes up.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: George Washington Three Language Ship's Paper West Indies Trade Voyage.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: An Extraordinary Archive of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry: Over 60 Historic Documents, Naval Commissions, Family Papers, and Photographic Material Spanning the 19th Century.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Abraham Lincoln Appointment for Vice-Consul of Russia.
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: John Adams Signed Mediterranean Scalloped Top ship's passport.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Signed Ships Paper.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Herman Melville RARE -ALS (Moby Dick Author).
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Apollo 10: Flown Flag and Patch Display with Crew-Signed Covers from the Collection of NASA Engineer Clark C. McClelland.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: James Garfield Rare Signature as President - Possibly the largest Autograph as President almost 6 inches long!
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Walt Disney Autograph over 7 inches in Length.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th May 2025
    Forum, May 29: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, first edition, John Murray, 1859. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Forum, May 29: Astronomy.- Apianus (Petrus). Cosmographicus Liber a Petro Apiano Mathematico Studiose Collectus., first edition, Landshut, 1524. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum, May 29: Bound for Jean Grolier.- Negri Stefano. Stephani Nigri Elegantissime è Graeco authorum subditorum translationes, uidelicet., first edition, first issue, Milan, 1521. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, May 29: Gill (Eric). Eve, number 1 of 50, hand-coloured wood-engraving, signed at foot in pencil, [1926]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th May 2025
    Forum, May 29: America.- Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, Dickinson & Co., 1848. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, May 29: Wodehouse (P.G.) Psmith USA, autograph manuscript of his novel "Psmith Journalist", signed and dated at end and dated "11 November 1909, Hotel Earle, 103 Waverley Place". £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, May 29: Women.- Wollstonecraft (Mary). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, first edition, uncut in original boards, 1792. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, May 29: Mathematics.- Whitehead (Alfred North) and Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica, 3 vol., first editions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1910-13. £20,000 to £30,000.

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