Charleston’s Athenaeum PR ESERV ING a Legacy.
A Survey. First Edition.
C
harleston is filled with historic treasures—both on display and hidden from public view—but one trove stands alone for the sheer volume and scale of its wonders: the Charleston Library Society. A font of inspiration and information, the Society houses carefully preserved and protected literary gems and papers, such as original collections of Elizabethan Shakespeare (the Bard’s second folio!), and a letter from then Chief Justice John Marshall hurling snark and insults at Thomas Jefferson circa-1808. Alongside these rarities are countless other materials that are still being combed through and cataloged as part of the institution’s active and ongoing curatorial mission. And nearly three centuries after the Library Society first began gathering inventory, it’s still the kind of place anyone would relish getting lost in.
Charleston Library Society.
F
ounded on December 28, 1748, by a group of 19 young dreamers spanning a broad spectrum of vocations, the nascent Charleston Library Society formed what would become one of America’s earliest subscription libraries. From the beginning, those founding members—merchants, planters, lawyers, a schoolmaster, a doctor and a wigmaker, the oldest of whom was around 40 years old—had aspirations that expanded far beyond their areas of expertise, or financial capabilities. “These were up and coming thinkers who were not wealthy enough to have their own private library but wanted to stay in Charleston and decided that bringing all of the latest materials in math, history, natural history, geography, literature—you name it—coming out of Europe at the time was crucial to building a truly enlightened city,” says Anne Cleveland, the Society’s Executive Director. “Out of necessity, and a bit of ingenuity, they got together and pooled their resources.” That ethos continues to define the institution. In 2020, the Library Society unveiled its Igoe Shakespeare Library, a collection of more than one hundred pieces of Elizabethan-era history, including a series of portraits on display in a stunning dark red gallery room encased in glass. The paintings had been previously exhibited at the Folger Library in Washington, DC, and are a major addition to the permanent collection. This trove also includes rare and prized works from Shakespeare, including a valuable 1632
edition of the Bard’s complete works. A gift from the passionate bibliophile and Elizabethan enthusiast Skipper Igoe, it extends the Society’s already substantial Shakespearean archive, and harkens back to the days when the institution was a prominent player in historical acquisitions on an international scale. Under Cleveland’s leadership, the Society’s mission has remained very much a live one. In addition to bringing renowned works of literary and local history to dynamic life and reclaiming its position as one of Charleston’s premier educational resources, the library also seeks out contemporary materials that document modern times and will likely become tomorrow’s relics. Beyond its membership circle, the Charleston Library Society liaises with acclaimed authors, artists, visionaries and innovators from a range of disciplines and schools of thought, in order to bring new perspectives to Charleston. And the building’s interior is suited to fostering a sense of community with these visiting leaders against a backdrop of culture. “The Library Society has hosted as many as 350 people for speakers, such as Walter Isaacson and Jon Meacham,” Anne says. “We’ve also had up to 200 people in attendance for our musical experiences—an approach to programming that allows people to actually make contact and feel part of the same experience. It’s been a great way to bring people in, and an even better way to get them to stay.”
P O R T R A I T O F L A DY C AT H E R I N E STA N H O P E
By William Larkin c. 1651
William Larkin’s 1651 portrait of the English noblewoman Lady Catherine Stanhope is a focal point of the new Igoe Shakespeare Library, a dedicated viewing room designed to house more than one hundred rare Elizabethan works.
M R . W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E S CO M E D I E S , H I STO R I E S , A N D T R AG E D I E S . P U B L I S H E D ACCO R D I N G TO T H E T R U E O R I G I N A L L CO P I E S .
C A L L N U M B E R : H .C . Y B E S S H 1 OV E R S I Z E D
By William Shakespeare (Pub. 1632)
One of the anchors of the Shakespeare collection, this circa-1632 Second Folio of complete works is as rare as it gets—and features the first published appearance of the poet John Milton.
WAS H I N GTO N L E T T E R S E R I E S 1 N O. 1
C A L L N U M B E R : M S . 1 7 8 S E R I E S 1 , N O. 1 - 2
By President George Washington (c. 1796)
In this letter dated September 9, 1796, President George Washington, a onetime member of the Library Society, introduces the South Carolina statesman Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as the ambassador to France.
H I STO I R E N AT U R E L L E D E L A C A R O L I N E , D E L A F LO R I D E , & DES ILES DE BAHAMA
C A L L N U M B E R : H .C . M C 2 8 F O L I O
By Mark Catesby (Pub. 1754) 2 Volumes
The English naturalist and explorer Mark Catesby was the first to conduct an ecological survey of the habitats of southeastern North America in the early 18th century, mostly through his focus on the Lowcountry of South Carolina and neighboring colonies.
T R A N SAC T I O N S O F T H E A M E R I C A N P H I LO S O P H I C A L S O C I E T Y, H E L D AT P H I L A D E L P H I A , F O R P R O M OT I N G U S E F U L K N OW L E D G E D E S C R I P T I O N O F N E W F R E S H WAT E R A N D L A N D S H E L L S
C A L L N U M B E R : A P A M 3 .1 6
By Isaac Lea (Pub. 1834)
This early taxonomy of freshwater and land shells was written in 1834 by Isaac Lea, a prominent conchologist, geologist, naturalist and publisher.
The Atlantic Neptune - One of the earliest detailed renderings of the Charleston coastline, then referred to as Charlestown.
B O O K B I N D E RY A N D CO N S E RVAT I O N L A B
The Library Society is constantly surveying its collection for signs of age and wear (coastal humidity is the enemy of paper-based relics). The in-house Conservation Lab and Bookbinding Studio, directed by James Davis, works to preserve, protect and, when needed, reconstruct volumes in the collection.
C H A R L E STO N L I B R A RY S O C I E T Y
Est. 1748
The building’s edifice has been updated and modernized to welcome members and visitors, as well as to reflect its historical and national importance as a forwardlooking institution that draws international authors, musicians, intellectuals, scientists and artists to its salon-style interior to hold forth on the latest in contemporary culture.
Charleston Library Society.
LIBR A RY LEGENDS NOTES & A NECDOTES
Behind every great building or institution is a great story. When it comes to the Charleston Library Society, that truism is magnified exponentially. There are centuries-old ephemera, wild geographical accounts, tales of political intrigue, major milestone markers, accounts of pivotal interactions and monumental occurrences that altered the course of history. Even a shallow dive into the stacks reveals a timeline of epic discoveries, both on and off the page. Here are a few.
EST. 1748
OVERFLOW
DOODLES
The second oldest circulating library in the country (after the Library Company of Philadelphia), the Library Society has survived alcohol-induced fires, shifting fortunes and the wrath of scorned lovers.
The Library Society’s excess inventory led to the creation of America’s first museum, The Charleston Museum, in 1773.
During the ongoing process of cataloging and reviewing materials, library staff often find doodles and other hand-drawn notations dating back as early as the 14th century.
Charleston Library Society.
LIBR A RY LEGENDS IN NOTES & A NECDOTES
CULTURAL CURRENCY
IT’S CONSTITUTIONAL
During the American Revolution, the Society served as a bank, funding most of the war against colonial rule.
The Library has one of only four copies in the world of a handwritten Fundamental Constitution for Carolina written by John Locke.
SKINS & SCALES Amongst other exotic materials in the vault, the librarians swoon over a FrenchEnglish dictionary bound in fishskin. The in-house bookbinder even created a backstory for its hypothetical former owner, who he imagined to be a resourceful waterman with a deteriorating book and only one available material with which to recover it. The date of the book’s reupholstered origin? 1794.
HIGH STAKES A former Society member bequeathed to the organization the Steeplechase racetrack that once occupied the present-day location of Hampton Park. When the track closed at the turn of the 20th century, the proceeds of the sale went to the library’s endowment, though the institution donated the enormous wrought iron gates to the track where the Belmont Stakes are run, where they remain today.