NYC Culture Scene

First trip to the NY Public Library

Having family in town is always a good chance to visit places you haven't been before. In this case, we hit the New York Public Library to take a peek at its Treasured Maps and Gutenberg Bible exhibitions.

The library is amazing, to the say the least! For any book lover, this is what all libraries should be like. The paintings, inscriptions, murals, displays, architecture and, of course, books make you want to spend all day exploring the building.

The exhibitions themselves were well worth the visit too. The Gutenberg Bible is a standalone piece in the center of the same hall that the Treasured Maps exhibition is in. The little blurb beside it makes you realize the immensity of Gutenberg's historical contribution... Not sure about you, but imagining a world without books puts me in a sorry state!

The maps in the collection are also outstanding (make sure you start at display #1 and work your way round!). Looking at the changing/evolving geography across the centuries makes you appreciate how well charted the world is today, and of even more interest are the maps of places that you're familiar with. The maps of India, for example, highlighted Golconda and Cochin; no dots for Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore though!

Now that I've been there, am looking forward to my next NYPL trip for the ZS lecture.

posted by Bhawna Paul @ 3:16 PM