RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER AND ALBERT EINSTEIN’S ORIGINAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY NOTES AMONG NEW TREASURES ON VIEW IN THE MORGAN’S RESTORED McKIM BUILDING

Press release date: 
Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Morgan Library & Museum announced today that a new group of highlights from its permanent collection will go on view February 15 in the newly restored McKim building. The historic original building of the Morgan reopened on October 30, 2010 after several months of renovation aimed at providing enhanced exhibition space for the institution's renowned holdings of art, literature, and music.

Nearly two dozen exceptional new works will be displayed. The selection of important Americana includes Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia (1785)," one of two hundred copies privately printed in Paris for Jefferson while he was ambassador to France and a great rarity. The Morgan's copy is inscribed by Jefferson to the Comte de Rochambeau, commander of the French forces at Yorktown, where the British army surrendered to George Washington, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. A first edition of "The Star Spangled Banner," one of the few surviving copies of Francis Scott Key's great work, will also be on view. Key's original poem, inspired by the sight of the United States flag flying over Fort Henry after the British attack in September 1812, was set to John Stafford Smith's 1770s melody for "To Anacreon in Heaven." Not until 1931 was "The Star Spangled Banner" declared the nation's official anthem. This first edition sheet—with patriotic misspelled in the subtitle—is one of only a handful of surviving copies.

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