Manuscript Mondays
J.K. Lilly, Jr. and His Collecting of Manuscripts
Special Date: January 13, 2025
8:00 PM Eastern
Free, Live Webinar
J.K. Lilly Jr. was a visionary, a keen businessman with a generous spirit and one of Lilly Endowment’s three founders. He built extensive collections of coins, stamps, books and manuscripts, nautical models and military miniatures, among others.
Upon opening, the Lilly Library featured nearly 100,000 rare books and one million some manuscripts. Rare items from J.K. Lilly Jr.’s collection included John James Audubon’s “Birds of America”; Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the first printing of the Bill of Rights; a first edition of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”; the original manuscript of J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan”; and the William Shakespeare “First Folio” of 1623 – the first printed collection of Shakespeare’s plays.
Joel Silver, the Director of the Lilly Library at Indiana University, will answer questions from attendees about J.K. Lilly and his collecting, the development and future of the Lilly Library, and the Lilly Library in general. Attendees, please come prepared to ask questions of a leading authority in rare books, manuscripts, and special collections and the director of one of the finest special collections libraries in the United States.
Presenter: Joel Silver
Appointed as the director of the Lilly Library in 2013, Joel Silver has served in several capacities at the Lilly. He began his long-standing career with the Lilly Library in 1983 and has served as head of public services, curator of books, associate director, and interim director for two separate appointments. In addition, Joel is an adjunct associate professor and director of the special collections specialization in the IU School of Library and Information Science. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of English. He also serves as a faculty member at the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.
An undergraduate English major at the University of California, Los Angeles, Joel went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Whittier College School of Law and his MLS at Indiana University.
Joel has also made significant academic contributions with his scores of published articles, multiple books and numerous exhibition catalogs. He has a distinguished record as a lecturer and leader of rare-books-related workshops, and he has curated many exhibitions at the Lilly Library, including “The Reign of Charles II,” “J.K. Lilly, Jr.: Bibliophile,” “English Renaissance Prose” and “Five Centuries of Music.” His book, “Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly: Book Collecting in a Golden Age,” was published by Oak Knoll Press in 2011.
Register for the Webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1gkKYKq2RJeiObybe3fDAg
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