Thirty Rare Works on View August 5, 2011

The Morgan Library & Museum will display more than thirty rare works from its collections in the recently restored McKim building. The selection includes examples of art, literature, music and American history and ranges from Mozart's earliest compositions at age five to a recently acquired letter from the reclusive author J. D. Salinger sent to the dust jacket designer of his groundbreaking novel 'The Catcher in the Rye.' The selection of Americana includes the original folio edition of the Stamp Act of 1765, which played an important part in the run-up to the Revolution. The landmark thirteenth amendment, dated April 8, 1864, abolished slavery. This was the first change made to the Constitution since 1804, and represents the first substantial expansion of civil liberties since the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Morgan's copy is written on vellum and countersigned by Abraham Lincoln.