Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

The Huntington is a private, nonprofit research, educational and cultural center, created in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, California. It is near Pasadena, California, about twelve miles from downtown Los Angeles.

It makes scholarly research grants and conducts educational programs.

Library

For the use of qualified visiting and staff scholars, and viewing by the public, the research library specializes in British and American history and literature, as well American western settlement, including the overland pioneer experience, the Gold Rush, and the development of Southern California. The collections hold approximately 6 million items.

Major holdings include the Ellesmere manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a Gutenberg Bible on vellum, the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon’s Birds of Americ, and a collection of the early editions of Shakespeare’s works.

It is a member of the Research Libraries Group

Art collection

There are four galleries, the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery with a rotating exhibit and three with permanent collections. space, the , hosts changing exhibitions. The Huntington Art Gallery, originally the Huntington residence, contains one of the most comprehensive collections in this country of 18th- and 19th-century British and French art. In the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art, The Huntington’s American art collection includes works from the 1690s to the 1950s.

Botanical gardens

On 120 acres are specialized gardens including Desert Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, the Chinese garden, the camellia collection and include the Subtropical, Herb, Jungle, and Palm gardens. There are conservation, research, and education facilties.