![]() One visit you might see letters written by Eva Perón or John Adams - and on another visit you could view religious tracts by John Calvin or Martin Luther or maybe scientific studies by the likes of Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, or Albert Einstein or musical compositions by such luminaries as Ludwig von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or Richard Wagner. The exhibition at each location changes four times per year. These libraries feature selections drawn from the world's largest private manuscript collection, which includes documents from prominent artists, composers, explorers, scientists, political leaders, religious figures, and other culturally and historically significant people. Housed in a mid-19th century Greek revival church, Charleston's Karpeles Manuscript Library is one of several such scattered around the United States. It is fascinating just to stand in a room and look at some of them. Karpeles estimates that he and his wife have acquired more than one million documents in the last 30 years. ![]() George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation and all of the documents of the Spanish Armada, including all of the correspondence between King Phillip and his commanders. Among the most interesting documents that the Karpeles has acquired are Richard Wagner's "Wedding March," Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, a note written by Charles Lindbergh, the first printing of the Ten Commandments from The Gutenberg Bible, the Bill of Rights, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, John Hancock's cover letter to the Declaration of Independence, Christopher Columbus' Lettera Rarissima. Following renovation, the building reopened on November 11, 1990. Hurricane Huge tore off its roof and destroyed its interior on September 21, 1989. During the Civil War, Confederates used the building as a hospital and stored medical supplies there. The building is in the Green Revival style following the Corinthian order and was inspired by the Temple of Jupiter in Rome. And how many people-certainly not me-even were aware of this wonderful depository of knowledge until I accidentally walked past the Charleston museum during our recent visit? The Charleston library is housed in a former Methodist church named St. Documents include music, science, religion, literature, political history, exploration and artwork. 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. It was founded in 1983 by California real estate magnates David and Marsha Karpeles, with the goal of stimulating interest in learning, especially in children, To make documents more accessible, there are 12 Karpeles museums located across the United States-Charleston, Alvin, Texas, two in Buffalo, N.Y., Duluth, Minn., Fort Wayne, Ind., Jacksonville, Fla., Newburgh, N.Y., Rock Island, Ill., Santa Barbara, Calif., Shreveport, La., and Tacoma, Wash. It is the world's largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents. Just the mere size and scope of the Karpeles Manuscript Library at 68 Spring Street in Charleston, South Carolina, takes your breath away. We were happy to learn that when we return mid-May, 2018, there will be a completely new exhibit on display. A concurrent permanent exhibit was a series of large format photos showing the construction of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River, a significant engineering feat. ![]() Very interesting and all written in longhand. ![]() Included were correspondence between Samuel Morse and various government entities dealing with patents, plans and contracts. We saw documents following the invention of the telegraph machine through the construction of a line between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland. I should point out that exhibits change every four months and they follow a theme. The inside of the building is in considerably better repair than the outside and it’s a worthy home for the very interesting documents currently on exhibit. This week’s chilly wet weather called for indoor activities and the library made its way to the top of our list. We have stayed at an Air B&B pretty much across the street from the Karpeles several times and have never visited in spite of its being the most imposing building on the street. ![]()
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