The J. N. Petit Library (officially the J. N. Petit Institute) is a membership library in a Grade II heritage structure in Fort, Mumbai. It was founded in 1898 by a group of Parsi students studying at Elphinstone College. Membership is open to residents of Mumbai. The library is one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Mumbai. In 2014–15, it was restored by a team led by the conservation architect

Vikas Dilawari Vikas Dilawari (born 1964) is an Indian conservation architect who has restored at-risk monuments and heritage buildings in Mumbai, including the Victoria Terminus, Rajabai Clock Tower, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Wellington Fountain and Christ ...

. The restoration project won the Award of Distinction under the

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (since 2000) are given with as the strategic purpose of UNESCO with in the region Asia Pacific. The objective is to motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organi ...

in 2015.

History

The library traces its origins to a smaller library that was set up in 1856 by students of Elphinstone College who were living in Fort. In the beginning, it was called the "Fort Improvement Library". In 1895, the Parsi philanthropist Bai Dinbai Nusserwanji Petit donated 250,000 for the construction of a library building, to be erected in memory of her deceased son, Jamsetjee Nesserwanjee Petit or J. N. Petit. The library was inaugurated on 1 May 1898. Today, it is run by a private trust, which depends on donations and membership fees.

Architecture

The library is considered to be among the finest examples of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architecture in the city. It was designed in the Venetian Gothic variant with a polychromatic limestone exterior. It has two storeys and a mezzanine, and the high-ceilinged reading room has

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

portraits of the Petit family.

Restoration

Between 2014 and 2015, the library was restored by the conservation architect

and his team. Both exteriors and interiors, including the Reading Room, were restored to the original state. The

was restored by Swati Chandgadkar, one of the country's few glass restorers. In 2015, the restoration project won the Award of Distinction under the

Collection

The library has about 150,000 books and a strong collection on Zoroastrianism that includes old manuscripts. The collection comprises mostly English language-books, but there are some in other languages, including Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian. It has a rare copy of the 11th-century epic poem '' Shahname'' by

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

, which is illustrated with

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

Membership

There is a tiered system for membership, which is open to all residents of the city. The current member strength is about 2,000.

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.jnpetitinstitute.org/ Library buildings completed in 1898 Tourist attractions in Mumbai Libraries in Mumbai UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards winners Libraries established in 1898