Huntington Exhibit Examines Jamestown

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens celebrates the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the English colony at Jamestown by presenting an exhibition of rare materials that examines the role the colony played — against substantial odds — in the early development of the nation. The show, in the West Hall of the Library, runs from July 24, to Jan. 14, and draws on The Huntington’s unsurpassed collection of materials relating to early Virginia, including first editions of illustrated 16th-century books.

The show is a companion exhibition to “Legacy and Legend” in The Huntington’s MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, which also marks the 400th anniversary of Jamestown by examining European depictions of Native Americans across four centuries.

A number of the documents that will be on view reveal what the English and other Europeans thought about the Americas before 1607. Vivid illustrations testify to the European belief that many Native Americans were cannibals. The Huntington’s collections include stock certificates from members of the Virginia Company, the enterprise that organized and sought investors for the colonization of the Chesapeake region, along with documents listing some of the hundreds of English men and women who left for the new world for that purpose.

The exhibition concludes with documents from the period after the dissolution of the Virginia Company in 1624. Among these later books and other materials are very rare 19th and 20th century commemorations of earlier Jamestown anniversaries, including an 1857 celebratory poem.More information at: https://www.huntington.org/Information/JamestownPressKit.htm

The exhibition is made possible by the Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment Fund.

Summer Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (After Labor Day: Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4:30 p.m.; no change for Saturday and Sunday.) Admission is $15 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students (ages 12-18), $6 youth (ages 5-11), free for children under 5. For information call (626) 405-2100, or visit online at www.huntington.org.