The Lenox Library was a library incorporated and endowed in 1870. It was both an architectural and intellectual landmark in Gilded Age-era New York City. It was founded by bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, and located on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71th Streets. Renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the building, which was considered one of the city's most notable buildings, until its destruction in 1912.The library’s collection was unsurpassed in its collection of Bibles, and included the first Gutenberg Bible to cross the Atlantic. It was also known for its collection of Shakespeare, Milton, and early American literature. The library became a part of the founding collection of the New York Public Library in 1895, and opened to the public in this capacity in 1911.Early historyThe Lenox Library began as the personal collection of James Lenox, and was housed in his home at 53 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. Lenox began collecting principally books, but also fine paintings and sculpture, around 1845. He worked briefly with the London literary agency Wiley & Putnam, and then with Henry Stevens of Vermont for the next thirty-five years, or the remainder of his life. Stevens worked mostly in Europe, locating fine and rare volumes for the growing Lenox collection. He bought them and sold them to Mr. Lenox with a ten percent commission.
