Founded on John Carter Brown's private collection, your John Carter Brown Library serves as an independently funded research library at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Its rare book, manuscript, and map collections encompass topics related to the history of European exploration and colonization of the New World until circa 1825. The library was the first independent private library placed within the context of a university campus in the United States.
It began as the private collection of John Carter Brown. Beginning in 1845, Brown traveled throughout Europe in search of books and materials related to European exploration and colonization of the New World. He acquired rare books from prominent libraries, including those of Henri Ternaux-Compans and Maximilian I of Mexico. After John Carter Brown’s death, his wife, Sophia Augusta Brown, continued collecting with the advisement of John Russell Bartlett and Rush Hawkins. During his lifetime, John Nicholas Brown, son of John Nicholas, continued to expand the collection. Prior to his 1900 death, the collection was kept in a special fireproof library.
Notice the campus of Brown University framing this library.