The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress - and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein...."

Established with $5,000 appropriated by the legislation, the original library was housed in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillaging the contents of the small library.

Within a month, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books, "putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the finest in the United States. In offering his collection to Congress, Jefferson anticipated controversy over the nature of his collection, which included books in foreign languages and volumes of philosophy, science, literature, and other topics not normally viewed as part of a legislative library. He wrote, "I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer."

In January 1815, Congress accepted Jefferson's offer, appropriating $23,950 for his 6,487 books, and the foundation was laid for a great national library. The Jeffersonian concept of universality, the belief that all subjects are important to the library of the American legislature, is the philosophy and rationale behind the comprehensive collecting policies of today's Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of more than 130 million items includes more than 29 million cataloged books and other print materials in 460 languages; more than 58 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.

The Library of Congress opened the doors of the Thomas Jefferson Building to the public in 1897, after being housed in the Capitol Building since 1815. The 326,000 square feet of floor space in the new building represented an unparalleled national achievement. Its design linked the United States to classical traditions of learning and simultaneously flexed American cultural and technological muscle. It was considered the "largest, costliest and safest" library building in the world. It has an elaborately decorated interior, embellished by works of art from more than 40 American painters and sculptors.

Medium : 1 drawing : watercolor over graphite underdrawing

Created/Published : c1897

Creator : G.W. Peters, artist

Frame : 14 1/4 x 18 1/4 : double row, cherry wood

Housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Price: $110.00

Availability: Usually ships in one week

Product #: FR0112