The Providence Athenaeum is an independent, member-supported

subscription library A subscription library (also membership library or independent library) is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a public library, access is often restricted to members, but access rights c ...

in the College Hill neighborhood of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. The building is open to the public, but only members can check out items from the collection. The library was established in 1836 as a merger between two earlier subscription libraries: The Providence Library Company, founded in 1753, and the Providence Athenaeum, founded in 1831. It became "The Providence Athenaeum" by amendment to its charter in 1850.

History

In 1753, a group of private citizens started The Providence Library Company to gain access to a collection of books that they could not afford individually. Members paid a small subscription fee to the library to purchase books which all members could share. Stephen Hopkins, signatory of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, was a leading member of the early organization. Many of the early books had to be purchased from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1758, a fire destroyed the majority of the first collection of books, which were then housed at the Providence court house. 71 of the 345 titles held by the Providence Library Company were in circulation at the time of the fire and survived. The surviving volumes now make up the Founders' Collection.

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

moved to Providence in 1770, and the library offered students the use of its books. In 1836, the Providence Library Company merged with the Providence Atheneum (founded in 1831), and the merged organization became known as the Providence Athenaeum. On December 23, 1848,

Sarah Helen Whitman Sarah Helen Power Whitman (January 19, 1803 – June 27, 1878) was an American poet, essayist, transcendentalist, spiritualist and a romantic interest of Edgar Allan Poe. Early life Whitman was born in Providence, Rhode Island on January 19, ...

broke off her relationship with

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

in the building. Author H. P. Lovecraft was not a member of the library, but he lived nearby on College Street; he frequented the library and wrote about it in his letters and stories.

The Building

In 1838, the current

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

building was completed on Benefit Street by Philadelphia architect William Strickland. A three-story addition was completed in 1914, designed by architect

Norman Isham Norman Morrison Isham (1864–1943) was a prominent architectural historian, author, and professor at Brown University and RISD. He was an ardent preservationist and a pioneer in the study of early American architecture. Biography Norman M ...

. This addition housed the Children's Library until 1979, and now holds the Reference Room. In 1979, a second addition was added by architect

Warren Platner Warren Platner (June 18, 1919 – April 17, 2006) was an American architect and interior designer. Platner produced a furniture collection that has proved to be a continuing icon of 1960s modernism. He is also famed with designing several promi ...

to house the Sayles Gorham Children's Library.

Artwork

The building is decorated with artwork including: * A large 18th-century copy of

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

's famous

Lansdowne portrait The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic life-size portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. It depicts the 64-year-old President of the United States during his final year in office. The portrait was a gift to former British Pri ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, painted by an unknown artist * A small painting titled ''The Hours'' by

Edward Malbone Edward Greene Malbone (1777 – May 7, 1807) was an American painter, and the most sought-after miniaturist of his day. He was an influence on other artists including Charles Fraser, William Dunlap and John Wesley Jarvis. Edward Greene Malbone ...

* A bronze bust of H. P. Lovecraft * Marble busts of Athenaeum dignitaries In front of the library is the Richmond Fountain, a Gothic Revival water fountain dating to 1873, designed by

Ware & Van Brunt Henry Van Brunt FAIA (September 5, 1832 – April 8, 1903) was a 19th-century American architect and architectural writer. Life and work Van Brunt was born in Boston in 1832 to Gershom Jacques Van Brunt and Elizabeth Price Bradlee. Van Brun ...

. The inscription on the fountain reads "Come hither every one that thirsteth". After falling into disrepair, the fountain was restored to working order in 2018.

Athenaeum today

Today, it continues to operate as an independent, member-supported library. It hosts many cultural events for both adults and children, one of the most famous being its salon speaker series which was launched in 2006.

Special Collections

In addition to the books available for circulation, the Special Collections of the Philbrick rare book room holds texts dating back to the library's Colonial Era origins: #Founder's Collection: 70 of 345 volumes from the Providence Library Company's (1753-1836) original collection survived the fire of Christmas Eve, 1758. The majority of these remain in the collection. #Archives: The institutional records of the library, starting with the foundation of the Providence Library Company in 1753. #Holder Borden Bowen Collection: Holder Borden Bowen donation of about 2,000 volumes on "folklore, memoirs, 17th and 18th century travel and exploration, and many examples of fine printing and binding" #Pamphlet Collection: Focused mainly on the 19th century, it includes "anti-slavery and temperance tracts, Civil War items, materials related to the Indian Rights Association of Philadelphia, and many others topics such as early shipwrecks, funeral orations, feminism, local and state organizations, etc. The collection has yet to be fully catalogued." #Smithsonian Institution Publications: Materials from the library's time as a depository for the United States Government Printing Office #Old Juveniles: A collection of nearly 3,000 volumes by late 19th and early 20th-century British and American artists. #Old Fiction: "This collection includes rare editions of books by famous authors including Walt Whitman, Herman Melville and Louisa May Alcott. There are also many works printed in Providence and Boston in the 19th century and a large collection of women writers from the same period. There are many thousand titles in the collection and most are accessible via the on-line catalogue." #Costume Collection: "Comprising about 200 volumes, the costume collection contains primarily 19th and 20th century works on European costume design." #Roycroft Collection: "There are approximately 300 items from the press of the Roycrofters that flourished in East Aurora, NY from roughly 1895 to 1915. The Roycroft design was inspired by a mix of commercial interest and the arts-and crafts movement." #Travel and Exploration:" The travel and exploration collection contains c.2500 titles ranging from Ptolemy's Cosmographia (1482), to the Description de l'Egypte (1809-1822) commissioned by Napoleon, to early 20th century tour guides. The collection is particularly strong in 18th and 19th century works." #Natural History Collection: "There are many important scientific works in the collection ranging from ornithology to horticulture to the physical sciences. A printed catalogue specifically on the natural history collections is available for sale." #

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

: "Presented to the Athenaeum in 1920, the Burns collection numbers some 450 volumes. Among the early editions in the collection are the first Edinburgh, the first London and the second American, as well as several early imprints of individual poems and songs. There are also bibliographies and miscellaneous literature relating to Burns." #Book Arts: "The library has many books that are notable for their excellence of design. There are examples of the development of books from the middle ages to the modern day. The library owns two medieval manuscripts and eight incunabula (books printed before 1501) that are part of the book arts collection.""Special Collections."
Collections. Providence Athenaeum. Accessed 22 May 2014 File:HP Lovecraft bust.jpg, Bust of H. P. Lovecraft, installed 2013 File:Providence Athenaeum (6270600912).jpg, A marble bust of

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

File:Providence Athenaeum (6270614676).jpg, A reproduction

Lansdowne portrait of George Washington The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic life-size portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. It depicts the 64-year-old President of the United States during his final year in office. The portrait was a gift to former British Pr ...

References

Bibliography

*Lancaster, Jane.
Inquire Within: A Social History of the Providence Athenaeum Since 1753.
' Providence: Providence Athenaeum, 2003.
Available OnlineEdward Field, ''State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History'' (Mason Pub. Co, 1902) p.640, (accessed on google book search)NPR
-Athena's Library, the Quirky Pillar of Providence

External links

* * {{Authority control 1753 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Historic preservation organizations in the United States Libraries in Rhode Island Pre-statehood history of Rhode Island Rhode Island culture Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island Education in Providence County, Rhode Island Libraries in British North America Library buildings completed in 1838