On Tuesday, February 21, 2017, students toured the Morgan Library & Museum with Dr. Robert Koenig. The museum was created by John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan, where he kept manuscripts and printed books as part of his own collection. After his death, J.P. Morgan’s son made the library available to the public.

As part of our tour, students were guided through various parts of the museum. They were able to see the Rotunda, which contained mosaic panels and curved walls featuring “literary epochs represented in Pierpont Morgan’s collections – the ancient world, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance” (“The Rotunda” The Morgan Library & Museum). The room also contained many manuscripts housed in glass casings such as letters from Susan B. Anthony and Alexander Hamilton.

The tour guide then led us to the North Room. The North Room now has relics from the Ancient World and the Early Middle Ages. Currently, the Museum & Library display engraved seals that were used as signatures in northern Mesopotamia. This showed the students the type of writing and signatures that existed previously.

After the North Room, we were led to the actual library. Three stories worth of books lined the room, as well as a huge tapestry and rare books within glass cases. The tour guide took us throughout the room and explained the type of books within the cases. She also explained to us how the printing press allowed for copies to be made without the painstaking process of copying by hand that was done by scribes. We also learned about the art on the wall within the library which contained “allegorical depictions of the arts and sciences alternate with portraits of figures from Socrates to Michelangelo, identifying the library as a place for the preservation of art and ideas (“The East Room”).

The Morgan Library & Museums is a historic and beautiful place to visit. Students who attended earned Student Advancement credit, which is an essential part of the School of Management. They were also given the opportunity to learn more about J.P. Morgan, a successful banker and prominent person within the Business field today.

By Konstance Teleisha