The First Smithsonian Collection
The European Engravings of George Perkins Marsh and the Role of Prints in the U.S. National Museum
Outstanding Academic Title, Choice, 2015
Winner, Ewell Newman Award of the American Historical Print Collectors Society, 2016
In 1849 the Smithsonian purchased the Marsh Collection of European engravings. Not only the first collection of any kind to be acquired by the new Institution, it was also the first public print collection in the nation, and it presented an important symbol of cultural authority.
The prints formed part of the library of Vermont Congressman George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882), a member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents. The uncertainty of the Smithsonian's mission in the early years complicated its motivation for purchasing the collection, especially given Marsh’s position as a Regent in financial difficulty. After a serious fire in 1865, portions…