Princeton University receives $300 million donation of rare books

Princeton University announced Monday that they received a donation of manuscripts and books worth $300 million. This was the largest donation in the institution’s history.

William Scheide–alumnus of the Class of 1963, musician and philanthropist–died in November at the age of 100, and he left his 2,500-volume collection of books and manuscripts to the Ivy League school. The rare collection included the original print of the Declaration of Independence along with six of the first printed editions of the Bible. It also included an autographed Beethoven music sketchbook from 1746.

According to the Daily Princetonian, University librarian Karin Trainer confirmed that the collection was worth $300 million and was notable for its “breadth and depth.” Trainer said that Scheide announced that he would bequeath his collection at a Princeton-hosted luncheon held for his 90th birthday.

The collection has been housed at Firestone Library since the death of Scheide’s father in 1959. Scheide permitted the collection’s move, and he continued to oversee it and add items to it over the years. Trainer believed that Scheide was happy with the way the collection was being used and that he trusted the staff to be “good custodians.”

The collection spans three generations. It began with Scheide’s grandfather, William T. Scheide, who started collecting books and manuscripts in 1865. The Scheide Library, which was founded in 1964, is the final private library to be housed in an American research library, according to Trainer.

The library has already begun digitizing the collection for optimal use and accessibility. It can be viewed by students, scholars and the public upon request; the collection will remain in Princeton’s Firestone Library.

President of Princeton University, Christopher Eisgruber, said in a statement that the collection was “one of the greatest collections” of manuscripts and rare books “in the world today.” He added that he could not imagine a more “marvelous collection” to act as the “heart of our library.”

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *