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James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American
bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...
and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
. He inherited a fortune from his merchant father and spent much of his life amassing a collection of art and literature unparalleled in value. Lenox's collection included rare items such as the
Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. It marked the start of the "Printing Revolution, Gutenberg Revolution" an ...
. His library, valued at nearly a million dollars, stood on what is now the site of the Frick Collection. Lenox also generously donated to institutions like the Presbyterian Hospital and American Bible Society. He never married, and became increasingly reclusive after a broken romance.


Early life

Lenox was born in New York City on August 19, 1800. He was the only surviving son of six children born to Rachel (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Carmer) Lenox and Robert Lenox (1759–1839). His father was a wealthy merchant who was born in
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,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, emigrated to America during the Revolutionary War, and settled in New York in 1783. Of his five sisters, four married and one remained single, like Lenox, throughout her life. His maternal grandfather was Nicholas Carmer, a New York cabinet maker. Upon his father's death in 1839, Lenox inherited a fortune of over a million dollars and 30 acres of land between Fourth and
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
s. A graduate of Columbia College, he studied law and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced. He retired from business when his father died.


Career

Lenox went to Europe soon after his admission to the bar and, while abroad, began collecting rare books. This, along with collecting art, became the absorbing passion of his life. For half a century, he devoted much of his time and talent to forming a library and gallery of paintings, unsurpassed in value by any other private collection in the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. In 1870 these, together with many rare manuscripts, marble busts and statues, mosaics, engravings, and curios, became the Lenox Library in New York City. Lenox served as its first president. The library occupied the crest of the hill on
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, between 70th and 71st Streets, overlooking
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. On May 23, 1895, the Lenox Library was consolidated with the
Astor Library The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell and designed by Alex ...
and the Tilden Trust to form the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
. The collection of Bibles, including the
Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. It marked the start of the "Printing Revolution, Gutenberg Revolution" an ...
—both in number and rarity—was believed to be unequaled even to those of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
; while its Americana,
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, and Shakespeariana, surpassed those of any other American library, public or private. The collection was valued at nearly a million dollars; including the $900,000 for the land, building, and endowment, it totaled above $2,000,000. The
Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...
stands on the Lenox Library's former site. Lenox was a founder of the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. His gifts to it amounted to $600,000. He also made important gifts to Princeton College and Seminary, and gave liberally to numerous churches and charities connected with the Presbyterian Church. Lenox was also the president of the American Bible Society, to which he was a liberal donor. James Grant Wilson reports passing on several anonymous gifts from Lenox to needy scholars. He joined the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1854. That same year, he was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society, and served as the society's vice-president from 1868 to 1880. Lenox occasionally reprinted limited editions, restricted to ten or twenty copies, of rare books, which he placed in some of the great public libraries and notable private collections, for example, that of John Carter Brown. Portraits of Lenox were painted by Francis Grant in 1848, and by G. P. A. Healy three years later. He was also painted by Daniel Huntington in 1874.


Personal life

Lenox never married. An early love, the only woman to whom he was romantically attached, refused him, and he remained unmarried following her death. The broken romance spurred his increasing reclusiveness. He declined proffered visits from the most distinguished men of the day. An eminent scholar, who was occupied for many weeks in consulting rare books not to be found elsewhere, failed to obtain access to Lenox's library. He was assigned an apartment in Lenox's spacious mansion, and the works were sent in installments without him ever entering the library or meeting Lenox. In 1855, there were 19 millionaires in New York. He was the third richest man in New York, worth approximately three million dollars. Lenox died at his home, 53
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in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, on February 17, 1880. He was buried in the New York City Marble Cemetery. Two of his seven sisters outlived him. Henrietta Lenox, the last survivor, gave the Lenox Library 22 valuable adjoining lots and $100,000 to purchase books.
Lenox Avenue Lenox Avenue – also named Malcolm X Boulevard; both names are officially recognized – is the primary north–south route through Harlem in the Upper Manhattan, upper portion of the New York City boroughs of New York City, borough ...
in Harlem is named for James Lenox. In addition to several charities, his estate was left to his relations, including his sister, Henrietta A. Lenox, Mary Lenox Sheafe, another sister, and various nephews and nieces, including Elizabeth S. Maitland, James Lenox Belknap, Robert Lenox Banks, James Lenox Banks, Robert Lenox Kennedy (who succeeded him as president of trustees of the Lenox Library), Rachel Lenox Kennedy, and Mary Lenox Kennedy. A portion was also left to grand-nieces and grand-nephews including Alexander Maitland, Eliza Lenox Maitland, Robert Lenox Maitland, and Henry Van Rensselaer Kennedy.


References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenox, James 1800 births 1880 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni Burials at New York City Marble Cemetery American book and manuscript collectors 19th-century American philanthropists Presidents of the New York Public Library People from Greenwich Village Members of the American Philosophical Society