Exhibition Schedule

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Peabody Exhibition Gallery Floor Plan | Eisenhower Library Exhibition Display Cases

Current Exhibitions

Eureka!  Rare Books in the History of Scientific Discovery
The Dr. Elliott & Eileen Hinkes Collection
October 24, 2011 - February 29, 2012
The George Peabody Library Exhibition Gallery
Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

This collection of approximately 300 rare books reveals and illustrates most of the major milestones in the history of ancient and modern scientific discovery, from incunabula of the late 15th century up to the 20th.  The earliest and rarest materials range from a 1495 edition of the celestial works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, to early editions of many of the most important and influential works of the Scientific Revolution by Nicolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Christian Huygens, Sir Isaac Newton, and many others.  The collection also contains many of the seminal works of the European Enlightenment by Antoine Lavoisier, Roger Boscovich, Henry Cavendish, and William Herschel, as well as milestones of the period of the Industrial Revolution by James Clark Maxwell, Charles Darwin, J. R. Mayer, and Alexander Volta.  Nearly every monumental scientific publication of the early-to-mid 20th-century—perhaps the most well-represented portion of the collection—is represented in rare off-prints of groundbreaking essays (some signed as presentation copies to fellow scientists by the original authors) and fine first editions, including the works of Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, as well as Werner Heisenberg, Linus Pauling, and Edwin Hubble.

Previous Exhibitions

"A View of the Parade: H.L. Mencken and American Magazines" (August 27 - November 30, 2009)
H. L. Mencken is perhaps best known in Baltimore for his decades-long connection to the Sunpapers.  But throughout his career as a newspaper journalist--which started when he was just 19--he also worked for magazines as a writer and editor.  As he gained national prominence as a cultural critic, Mencken himself became the subject of magazine stories.  This exhibit documents his contributions to American magazines as both a commentator and a topic of commentary, and demonstrates the important role that magazines played in American life from the 1900s through the 1950s.  Drawing from the rich resources of the George H. Thompson Collection of Henry Louis Mencken, it allows us to understand Mencken's broader context and to glimpse the history of American magazines during a time of rapid cultural change.

Cathedral of Books (February 13, 2009 - August 4, 2009)

Grauer’s Blue Jay: A Hopkins Tradition (January 28 - May 25, 2009)

The Romance of the Rose (January 24 – April 19, 2009)

Bound to Please: Decorated Bindings in the Dorothy McIlvain Scott Collection (November 6, 2008 - February 3, 2009)

Friends of The Johns Hopkins Libraries: Recent Acquisitions (October 16, 2008 - January 13, 2009)

Selling the Candidates:
Presidential Campaign Music and Memorabilia (September 3 - December 8, 2008)

Baltimore: A Cartographer's Delight (March 26 - August 18, 2008)

Harmony to the Eyes: Charting Palladio's Architecture from Rome to Baltimore (March 14 - June 17, 2008)

2008 Betty and Edgar Sweren Student Book Collecting Contest (November 5, 2007 -
March 3, 2008)

Renaissance Men:  Classical Form in Art and Anatomy (November 5, 2007 - March 3, 2008)

Friends of the Library: Recent Acquisitions (December 2007 - January 2008)

Cathedral of Books (November 2007 - February 2008)

Eyre Apparent: An Exhibition Celebrating Charlotte Brontë’s Classic Novel  (June - October 2007)

The Magic Object: Prosperity and Protection in Antiquity (April - October 2007)

Medical  Ethics: Caring for the World (August 30 – October 15, 2007)

Stephen Dixon: Endings (April - August 2007)

150 Years of Music for the World (March - May 2007)

Yet Another One!  H.L. Mencken (September 2006 - February 2007)

Moving to Homewood (September 2006 - January 2007)

A Perfect Vision: The Rare Book Collection of William Holland Wilmer (April - June 2006)
Curator, Richard Semba

Works from a collection of more than 400 volumes tracing the medical and scientific discoveries that ultimately led to the understanding of vision and the modern era of the treatment and prevention of eye diseases. 

Pen in Hand:  Ciphering and Deciphering the Handwritten Word (January - June 2006)
Curators, Margaret Burri, Judith Proffitt

An exhibition on paleography (the investigation of historical handwriting), with close attention paid to 19th-century handwriting and the formation of letters.

Celebrating 400 Years of Don Quixote De La Mancha (September 2005 - February 2006)
Curator, Harry Sieber

A showcase of The George Peabody Library’s rich collection of Don Quixote editions.

New at the Library! (August - December 2005)
Curator, Sue Vazakas

A display showcasing an array of recently acquired titles by the Milton S. Eisenhower Library. 

Art, Science, Spirit, Soul:  Mastering Music in the Renaissance (May - July 2005)
Curators, John A. Buchtel, Susan Forscher Weiss

Evidence of teaching and learning during the Renaissance is revealed in books, manuscripts, images, and musical instruments.  The exhibition featured artifacts from the collections of The Johns Hopkins University's Friedheim and Sheridan Libraries, the Walters Art Museum, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Library of Congress.

Legacy: Understanding Black Power 40 Years Later  (February - June 2005)
Curators, Members of the JHU Black Faculty and Staff Association Exhibit Committee

Exhibition on the generation that grew up during the period of Black Power and now grows old in a world changed by its ideas.  To understand the impact of the movement today, look at the people Black Power shaped, how it affected them, and how, in turn, they now influence what we see each day.

Maryland Clay (February 2004- March 31, 2005)
Juror:  Jimmy Clark

A juried exhibition of ceramic works by more than 40 Maryland artists presented in conjunction with Tour de Clay, a six-week celebration of ceramic art featuring over 170 exhibitions throughout the state of Maryland. 

On the Road: The Beat Writers of New York and San Francisco (October 2004 - January 2005)
Curators, Cynthia Requardt, Robert Wilson (A&S '43)

An exhibition highlighting works by writers who defined the beat generation in the 1950s and featuring selected works from the collection of Richard S. Frary (A&S '69).

Collectors' Obsessions: A Treasury of Books (September 2004 - January 2005)
Curators,  John Buchtel, Cynthia Requardt, Linda Claremon, Tom Beck

An exhibition, sponsored by the Friends of the Johns Hopkins Libraries, exploring the art of book collecting and featuring selections from an array of private collectors in the Baltimore and Hopkins communities.

From Narrative to Image: Petrarch's Book of Fortune in the Imagination of a German Humanist  (October 22, 2004)
Curator, Leopoldine Prosperetti

An exhibition of three editions from the Sheridan Libraries collections of the illustrated German version of Petrarch's Remedies Against Fortune Fair and Foul.

Baltimore at Work at at Play through the Lens of Harry B. Leopold  (July - September 2004)
Curator, Jim Stimpert

An exhibition of photographs from the collection of Kristin Leopold featuring images of early-mid-20th-century Baltimore, taken by her grandfather, free-lance photographer Harry B. Leopold, who began his career with the Baltimore Sunpapers.

A Cathedral of Books: Rediscovering George Peabody's Gift to Baltimore (May - August 2004)
Contributing Curators, Prof. Sanjay Arwade, Madeline Copp, Thomas Izbicki, Amy Kimball, Kimberly Kraus, Liz Mengel, Susan Payne, Jeannette Pierce, Cynthia Requardt, Prof. Benjamin Schafer, Stephen Stich, Sue Waterman, Elizabeth Schaaf

An exhibition celebrating the grand reopening of the historic George Peabody Library following renovations and showcasing works from a magnificent collection that has contributed to Baltimore City’s vibrant literary and artistic culture for more than 125 years.

Celestial Harmony: Four Visions of the Universe (April - May 2004)
Curator, Elliott Hinkes (A&S '64, SOM '67)

An exhibition of rare books in astronomy and physics, from the collection of Elliott Hinkes (Hopkins A&S '64, SOM '67), tells a story about our views of the universe from the 15th to the 20th century. 

Leaving a Mark: Collecting Inscribed Objects at JHU (May-August 2002)
Curated by students in Art History class; Margaret Burri, staff liaison

A class project by the students in the History of Art Department, this exhibition features objects from the Hopkins Archeological Collection and the Eisenhower Library. The exhibition focused on objects with inscriptions and included fragments of pottery, architectural details, and squeezes (paper impressions of inscriptions on monuments).

A Modest Collection: Miniature Books from Special Collections of the Sheridan Libraries (March-August 2002)
Curator, Amy Kimball

This exhibition brings together miniature books from the special collections of all three libraries of the Sheridan Libraries. From a 15th century manuscript Breviary to a 20th century children's publications, from the smallest books printed by photo reproduction, to miniature microfilm of the Bible (Garrett), and a piece of miniature type produced by the Lanston Monotype Machine Company.

The Northwest Passage and the Franklin Expedition (February-May 2002)
Curator, Carolyn Smith

Using books from the George Peabody Library, the exhibition illustrated John Franklin's 1845 expedition to locate the Northwest Passage. The ship disappeared with all hands. Several search missions embarked on voyages to find the lost Captain and his expedition. The story of the missing explorers captured the public imagination, spurring newspaper accounts, magazine articles, books and maps many of which were exhibited from The George Peabody Library's exceptional collection of these materials. Rounding out the story were books on explorers before Franklin and Franklin's earlier explorations in northern Canada.

The RMS Titanic: A Shipbuilding Legend (September 2001-January 2002)
Guest Curator, Jennifer Hooper; Amy Kimball, staff liaison

This exhibition by Jennifer Hooper, a graduate student in the Department of Material Science and Engineering, grew out of her research on the metallurgy of the rivets. It focuses on the effect that the HMS Titanic's construction might have had on its sinking. The exhibit illustrated shipbuilding practices of the time with pictures and displayed rivets of the type used in building the Titanic.

For Amusement and Instruction: Children's Books from Bygone Baltimore (December 2000-January 2001)
Guest Curator, Linda Lapides with Carolyn Smith, Staff Liaison.

Views from a Villa: The Spelman Legacy (October 2000-January 2001)
Guest Curator, Elena Calvillo
Curator, Amy Kimball

Manuscripts, music, and photographs from the Spelman Papers to explain the relationship of the Villa Spelman and its programs to the University.

John Dos Passos, Architect of History (July-November 2000)
Curator, Cynthia Requardt.

An exhibition focusing on the first half of Dos Passos' career from the collection donated to Sheridan Libraries, Special Collections, by Richard and Irene Frary.

Facsimiles and Fakes: Friends or Foes? (June-September 2000)
Curator, Sue Waterman with Bett Miller, Staff Liaison

Exhibition of facsimiles from the Eisenhower rare book collection to explain the uses of and differences between facsimiles and fakes.