Midtown museum gem

One of the new discoveries for me was the Morgan Library. This is a museum that houses the collection of the banker J. Pierpont Morgan in his former home in midtown. He was a big collector of manuscripts and drawings. In fact, the Morgan Library has two of the three existing Guttenberg bibles printed on paper. He also has a beautiful collection of Ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals. These are small cylinders made of various stones on which are carved little stories using the typical hieroglyphs of the period. Although they don't look like Egyption hieroglyphs, it's the same idea. The cylinders are rolled onto clay where you can then view the story. The seals are displayed in cabinets along with a clay imprint and an enlargement. The carvings are beautifully detailed. The Library also has a wonderful collection of manuscripts written by famous authors (see the Bronte sisters' crabbed handwriting!) and composers. The music section includes listening stations so you can follow along with the composition.