Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect

A collage of faces, books, the wright flyer, a squid and a background of leaves and plants.

The Smithsonian Libraries has long benefited from the generosity of book collectors who have helped build our world-class museum library system. Our exhibition, Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect, tells the captivating stories of the book collectors whose diverse interests and passions helped shape—and continue to contribute to—the Smithsonian Libraries. Through rare books, manuscripts and other intriguing items from across the varied libraries of the Smithsonian, the exhibition highlights the personal motivations and enduring impact of book collectors who were compelled to collect, preserve, and share their “magnificent obsessions” with the nation.

With this accompanying collection of fully digitized books, we invite you to explore in depth some of the very treasures these collectors were inspired to make their own, then share with the world.

Pages

Cover of Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Baird, Spencer Fullerton; Newberry, J. S.; United States. War Department; Smithsonian Institution
[1856?]
Cover of Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Baird, Spencer Fullerton; Newberry, J. S.; United States. War Department; Smithsonian Institution
[1856?]
Cover of Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Baird, Spencer Fullerton; Newberry, J. S.; United States. War Department; Smithsonian Institution
[1856?]
Cover of Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Catalogue North American mammals with drawings and proof of plates

Baird, Spencer Fullerton; Newberry, J. S.; United States. War Department; Smithsonian Institution
[1856?]
Cover of Come Josephine in my flying machine

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Fisher, Fred; Bryan, Alfred; Starmer; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Shapiro
c1910
Cover of Come Josephine in my flying machine

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Fisher, Fred; Bryan, Alfred; Starmer; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Shapiro
c1910
Cover of Come Josephine in my flying machine

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Fisher, Fred; Bryan, Alfred; Starmer; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Shapiro
c1910
Cover of Come Josephine in my flying machine

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Fisher, Fred; Bryan, Alfred; Starmer; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Shapiro
c1910
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of Come, take a trip in my air ship

Come, take a trip in my air ship

Evans, George; Shields, Ren; Robinson, Ethel; Starmer; Chas. K. Harris (Firm); Robert Teller Sons & Dorner; Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music (Smithsonian Institution. Libraries)
Chas. K. Harris
c1904
Cover of D. Johann Christian Daniel Schrebers ... Beschreibung der Gräser T.1 (1769)

D. Johann Christian Daniel Schrebers ... Beschreibung der Gräser T.1 (1769)

Schreber, Johann Christian Daniel; Crusius, Carl Lebrecht; Geyser, Christian Gottlieb; Sturm, Jakob
Bey Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius
1769-1810

Pages