The Huntington Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (or The Huntington[1]) is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, California, USA. In addition to the library, the site houses a rarefied art collection and renowned botanical gardens.
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[edit] Library and art collection
The library contains an extensive collection of rare books and manuscripts, including a Gutenberg Bible, the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer, and thousands of historical documents about Abraham Lincoln including the papers of the president's bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon. The rare books and manuscripts in the library are among the most heavily-used in the United States. The library holds some 6.5 million manuscripts and more than a million rare books. It is the only library in the world with the first two quartos of Hamlet; it holds the manuscript of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, the first seven drafts of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, John James Audubon's Birds of America, and many other great treasures.
The library often places these and similar items on view for the general public; however, actual use of the collection is extremely restricted, generally requiring at least candidacy for a doctoral degree and letters of recommendation from known scholars. However, this is understandable given the nature of the materials.
The art collection consists of the works of 18th and 19th century British and French artists, and 18th, 19th, and early 20th century American artists, as well as changing exhibitions. The best known works in the collection are The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough and Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence.
[edit] Botanical gardens
The Huntington's superb botanical gardens cover 120 acres (485,624 m²) and the theme gardens contain rare plants from around the world. The gardens are divided into over a dozen themes including the Australian Garden, Camellia Collection, Children's Garden, Conservatory, Desert Garden, Herb Garden, Japanese Garden, Lily Pond, North Vista, Palm Garden, Rose Garden, Shakespeare garden, Subtropical and Jungle Garden and a Chinese Garden under construction in the northern end of the property. In addition, a large open field planted with Eucalyptus trees serves as a re-created "Australian Outback". The Huntington has a program to protect and propagate endangered plant species. In 1999 and 2002, a specimen of Amorphophallus titanum, or "corpse flower", bloomed at the facility.
The Huntington Desert Garden, one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti and other succulents, contains plants from extreme environments, many of which were acquired by Mr. Huntington and Mr. William Hertrich (the garden curator) in trips taken to several countries in North, Central and South America. One of the Huntington’s most botanically important gardens, the Desert Garden, idealized by Mr. Hertrich, brings together a plant group largely unknown and unappreciated in the beginning of the 1900’s. Containing a broad category of xerophytes (aridity-adapted plants), the Desert Garden grew to preeminence and remains today among the world’s finest, with over five thousand species, including cacti and succulent plants, or plants that store water in leaf, stem, or root.
The Gardens are frequently used as a filming location. Footage shot there has been included in:
- Mame (1974)
- Midway (1976)
- The "Ordinary World" music video by Duran Duran (1993)
- Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
- Mystery Men (1999)
- Charlie's Angels (2000)
- The Wedding Planner (2001)
- The Hot Chick (2002)
- S1m0ne (2002)
- Anger Management (2003)
- Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
- Starsky & Hutch (2004)
- Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
[edit] Images of Huntington Library
 The Japanese Garden in Spring |
 The bridge in the Japanese Garden |
 The gong in the Japanese Garden |
 Chinese Garden |
 Desert Garden |
 Jungle Garden |
 Lily Ponds |
 Fountain outside Library Exhibition Hall |
[edit] Flowers in Huntington Gardens
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[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ The common appelation of The Huntington may also refer to the Huntington Hospital or the Huntington Hotel
[edit] External links
