Lilly Library commemorates 50 years

"There was an old, old house renewed with paint, and in it a piano loudly playing.”

These are the lines in the first stanza of a Robert Frost poem, “The Investment,” from his 1928 anthology, “West-Running Brook.”

If only Frost could’ve known he’d be immortalized in a serene A. Allyn Bishop portrait across from the original printing of the Declaration of Independence 32 years later as the Lilly Library opened its doors.

The library’s expansive collection of rare literature and art came from philanthropist Josiah Kirby Lilly, Jr. of the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune, who donated the pieces from 1954 to 1957.

On Friday, the Lilly Library is commemorating 50 years of exclusive historical treasures from across the Atlantic Ocean to Latin America in the exhibit “Treasures of the Lilly Library.”

From 5 to 9 p.m., the open house exhibit will feature pencils from the desk of Henry David Thoreau and even a waxed seal image of Queen Elizabeth I from one of her first documents.

These artifacts will act as time capsules with some of the library’s other displays, such as the original 1941 Best Director Oscar statuette for “How Green Was My Valley” and the Slocum Puzzle Room.

As Becky Cape, the library’s head of public services, said, the library will be “showing off the best of the best and the unusual.”

Cape has been employed at the library for 38 years. She got a job as a manuscript cataloger after expressing interest in Latin American history.

When her boss left his job at the library, she left him a card reading, “The work is fun here and it’s never, ever boring.”

In addition to being a valuable learning experience, the library calls for an exercise in curiosity and humility for its workers and visitors.

“There’s so much depth in the items we offer,” Public Services Librarian Erika Dowell said. “It’s just impossible for any one person to learn everything.”

Dowell said sometimes she finds herself being fascinated with pieces as they come in via donation or are purchased through the library’s Lilly Endowment.

For her, interpreting the breadth of what the library offers is beneficial to educating others.

“I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to work in world-class collections,” Dowell said as she pointed to a glass-encased King James Bible with golden pages that seemed life-size. “Like that Bible: There are so many ways people can connect with it, whether it’s spiritual or just interesting.”

Gabriel Swift, who also works in the public services department, was fascinated by the library’s accessibility when he began his job three years ago. It’s not a place where someone has to flash a photo ID and state their scholarly purpose to gain entry.  

The library even conducts around 200 free tours annually.

The artwork is at Swift’s fingertips, which he equated with something as humbling as visiting the Sistine Chapel, or like being backstage at a rock show.

His favorite curiosity of the library is “Apocalipsis,” an elaborate 15-page woodcut illustration by Albrecht Durer.

“You can definitely be humbled by genius,” Swift said.