ne of Paul Mellon's most remarkable acheivements was the amassing of a collection of rare books, maps, manuscripts,
and drawings relating to the history
of the Americas in general and of Virginia in particular. By the 1970s he had assembled, in the words of distinguished
bookman William S. Reese, a "collection of printed and manuscript Americana [that] was the finest in private hands
in terms of the quality and quantity of its contents. Indeed, when all is considered, one must conclude that only a few
famed collections . . . rival it in quality among collections formed in the twentieth century."
Mellon had begun collecting books as a student at Cambridge. His great library of Americana, however, began with
his purchase of the J. R. Abbey library, which included George Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio,
to which he later added
William G. Wall's Hudson River Portfolio, both of which are featured in
the exhibit. In 1958 New York book dealer John Fleming, with an eye toward the
350th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony, issued a catalog entitled Virginia's Role in American History.
When a copy of the catalog found its way to Paul Mellon, he purchased its entire
contents. One of the most important treasures he acquired is also presented in the exhibition, the 1772 petition from the
Virginia House of Burgesses to King George III against the importation of slaves into the American colonies, a hitherto
unheralded landmark in African American history. The library underwent another surge of growth when Fleming offered
a second catalog, Virginia and Her Illustrious Sons, the contents of which Mellon again bought in its entirety.
Among its many prizes were the unique broadside
Glorious News, which heralded the American victory at Yorktown. With this second purchase from Fleming, the foundation
for the library was firmly established.
Paul Mellon left the final destination of his Americana to the discretion of his
executors, with some guidelines. At the time of his death, there were thousands of
books, maps, manuscripts, sets of plates, and collections of drawings, along with
an extensive reference library and other valuable but uncataloged material. He
directed that these items be distributed among three institutions: the University of
Virginia, Yale University, and the Virginia Historical Society, in any way the
executors deemed appropriate. Throughout his life it had been one of Mellon's
goals to ensure that his collections found permanent homes where they could best
promote scholarship and serve the general public. The plan that the executors
devised honored this principle. They also were guided by Mellon's wish that
Virginia material stay in the commonwealth, unless duplicates were already held
by the University of Virginia or the VHS, and that whenever possible his library be
used to build on the existing strengths of other collections. In all, the VHS received nearly 2,000 items,
including many rare or unique titles
and constitutes the most important gift of its kind in the organization's 170-year
history.
ne of Paul Mellon's most remarkable acheivements was the amassing of a collection of rare books, maps, manuscripts,
and drawings relating to the history
of the Americas in general and of Virginia in particular. By the 1970s he had assembled, in the words of distinguished
bookman William S. Reese, a "collection of printed and manuscript Americana [that] was the finest in private hands
in terms of the quality and quantity of its contents. Indeed, when all is considered, one must conclude that only a few
famed collections . . . rival it in quality among collections formed in the twentieth century."
Mellon had begun collecting books as a student at Cambridge. His great library of Americana, however, began with
his purchase of the J. R. Abbey library, which included George Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio,
to which he later added
William G. Wall's Hudson River Portfolio, both of which are featured in
the exhibit. In 1958 New York book dealer John Fleming, with an eye toward the
350th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony, issued a catalog entitled Virginia's Role in American History.
When a copy of the catalog found its way to Paul Mellon, he purchased its entire
contents. One of the most important treasures he acquired is also presented in the exhibition, the 1772 petition from the
Virginia House of Burgesses to King George III against the importation of slaves into the American colonies, a hitherto
unheralded landmark in African American history. The library underwent another surge of growth when Fleming offered
a second catalog, Virginia and Her Illustrious Sons, the contents of which Mellon again bought in its entirety.
Among its many prizes were the unique broadside
Glorious News, which heralded the American victory at Yorktown. With this second purchase from Fleming, the foundation
for the library was firmly established.
Paul Mellon left the final destination of his Americana to the discretion of his
executors, with some guidelines. At the time of his death, there were thousands of
books, maps, manuscripts, sets of plates, and collections of drawings, along with
an extensive reference library and other valuable but uncataloged material. He
directed that these items be distributed among three institutions: the University of
Virginia, Yale University, and the Virginia Historical Society, in any way the
executors deemed appropriate. Throughout his life it had been one of Mellon's
goals to ensure that his collections found permanent homes where they could best
promote scholarship and serve the general public. The plan that the executors
devised honored this principle. They also were guided by Mellon's wish that
Virginia material stay in the commonwealth, unless duplicates were already held
by the University of Virginia or the VHS, and that whenever possible his library be
used to build on the existing strengths of other collections. In all, the VHS received nearly 2,000 items,
including many rare or unique titles
and constitutes the most important gift of its kind in the organization's 170-year
history. 
