Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-04-04
GREATEST COLLECTOR OF ART
EVER KNOWN.


Pierpont Morgan. His taste for art and
love of books helped to make him the
worlds greatest collector of artistic
and literary treasures. His willingness
to pay any price for known value
brought everything of value within his
reach and enabled him to keep all com
petitors at arms length. For over 80
years his march through Europe as a
sion. Hardly week passed without
the newspapers announcing his capture
of something new. 1t was he who-,pu
chased the celebrated collection of art
curiosities, gathered during % years by
M. Mannheim of Paris. In 1902 he paid
$50, 900 for the famous stolen cope, 700
years old, presented to the Ascoll Cathe-
dral by Pope Nicholas ", in 1923, only
to return it to the Italian government
as a voluntary gift. In 1905 he bought
for $50, 600 from the municipality of
Colarolo, Italy, magnificent alabaster
statue of the Virgin and Child, a 18th
century work by Desiderio. In 1905 he
paid $780, 600 for a portrait by Sir
Thomas Lawrence.
In the same year Mr.. Morgan was
announced to be the purchaser, at a
cost of $780, 600 of the most complete
set eXtant of original manuscripts of
Robert Burns. The art treasures then
~ oo,,ro,,Io+od IN, h; in, ond c+Orad in Uari
Gus countries of Europe were estimated
as of the value of Sl5 000, 900. In 1907
he acquired for 81, 100000 the unique
collection of Jules Van Den Poneboom
at Brussels, comprising furniture, pict-
ures, arms, brasses, ancient engravings
and chimney pieces; the great Hoent-
shell collection of carvings, statuary
and furniture, at a cost of 1000, 900;
the Randolph Kann art collection at
Paris for between SO, 600, 900 and $4,000,
900; the collection of bronzes and
marbles belonging to Prince Strozzi of
Florence, Italy, at the price of 5000, 900;
valuable 10th century manuscript
comprising stories of Queen Margaret
of Navarro, and the Biron monuments,
one of the most famous art treasures
of France.
Mr.. Morgan, in 1908, captured the
Houdon mask of George Washington
against the competition of the United
States government paid $l25, 600 to M.
j. Perry of Providence for his collection
of Shakespeariana, and gave about Sl0,-
900 for rare old Chinese rug once in
possession of Gov. Ames of Massa-
chusetts.
In 1909 it took Mr.. Morgan just three
months to spend over $4,000, 600 for
paintings and antiques; in 1910 he pur-
chased for 1915, 900 80 watches of the
10th and 18th century owned by Karl
Marzels of Berlin. By one of the most
notable of his acquisitions in 1909 Mr..
Morgan set a new record price for an
American book on the occasion of his
paying $4,000 for a 32-page paper
covered edition of 1.-THE Prose Romances
of Edgar Allen Poe, originally pub
lished by W. II. Graham of Philadelphia
at l2g cents.
In order to worthily house his treas
ures, entimated to be of the value of
$50, 600, 600, Mr.. Morgan built an art
temple and library at enormous expense
in the rear of his mansion in Thirty
sixth street, New York. The carpets
needed for the building, which was com
pleted in 1906, alone cost $500, 600. 1t
was in describing this structure in 1908
that Lord Northcliffe of the London
Times referred to Mr.. Morgan as "prob-
ably the greatest collector of things
splendid and beautiful and rare who has
ever lived" adding, "There is no one
with whom we can compare him except,
perhaps, Lorenzo de Medici, and he sur
passes even that prince in the catholicity
of his taste" Of the library, which con-
tains among other priceless material the