On Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. Although I've lived within 100 miles of it for the past twelve years, I had never been to the library. What a wonderful place! As I went with students from the college, we were given the "behind the scenes" tour that included the cataloging area, the conservation laboratory, and the photography studio. The conservation lab, in particular, impressed me. As someone who used to buy rice paper by the small sheet for book repairs, I was bowled over by the huge rolls of the paper mounted on the wall like wrapping paper rolls in department store gift wrap departments. (I know I'm dating myself here. Do gift wrap departments even exist any more?) The equipment and workspaces were first class. I asked a conservator who was working on a personal project where he had taken his training. He had attended a post-graduate program in England. He was working on an old family Bible, painstakingly removing damaged paper from the spine.
In the catalog area we saw an 1808 imprint with an exquisite fore-edge painting. In the library's display area we were treated to the Gutenberg Bible and the Audubon Birds of America in the double elephant folio.
But wait, there's more. We had a tour of the gardens - just beautiful even in January. And then I spent more than an hour in the house itself, now a gallery of British and European paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. I kept coming up to works that I had seen only in art books previously. Not just the famous (and overly familiar) Blue Boy and Pinkie, but many, many works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney. I know I didn't see even 10% of what was available. I'll definitely be going back to the Huntington soon. If you are visiting Los Angeles, be sure to plan a visit to the Library and Art Galleries. It will be an outstanding experience for any art lover.
