Running head: THE TENDENCIES OF LIBRARIAN BELLE DA COSTA GREENE 1

The Collections Development, Professional Development,

and Purchasing Acumen of Belle da Costa Greene

William R. Walker

Wayne State University

THE TENDENCIES OF LIBRARIAN BELLE DA COSTA GREENE 2

Belle da Costa Greene, who was born on December 13, 1883 and died on May 10, 1950, was an

enigmatic person who was regarded well by fellow librarians, art critics and dealers, museum heads,

European nobles, and I, and she contributed much to librarianship in her post as librarian for financier J.

Pierpont Morgan and his Pierpont Morgan Library. Greene’s collection development and management of

the Pierpont Morgan Library was well-developed and deliberate. Next, Greene’s attentiveness to her

professional development saw her engaged in intuitive learning, reading, and listening throughout her

entire career. Finally, Greene’s purchasing acumen was often times symbiotic of both her love of rare

books, manuscripts, and art and J. Pierpont Morgan’s love of rare books, manuscripts, and art. As

librarian of the Pierpont Morgan Library, Greene’s collection development and management skills,

devotion to her professional development, and her purchasing acumen established Greene as a major

contributor to librarianship.

Before she started her career with the Pierpont Morgan Library, Belle da Costa Greene developed

her collection development and management skills from her time as a librarian at the Princeton University

Library. As a white woman, Greene was able to work at the institutionally racist Princeton University;

however, unbeknownst to the Princeton University Library, her future employer J. Pierpont Morgan, and

most of the world, Belle da Costa Greene, the seemingly Caucasian American woman of Portuguese

decent was actually Belle Marion Greener, a fair-skinned African American woman from Washington

D.C. As a desperate means to support themselves after the marital separation of Greene’s mother and

father, Greene and her fair-skinned brothers and sisters and mother shed their “Greener” surname and

identities as African Americans for the “Greene” surname and identities as Caucasian Americans. As a

Caucasian American, Greene was able to work at the Princeton University Library under the tutelage of

Charlotte Martins, a librarian, Ernest Cushing Richardson, a lecturer and expert bibliographer and

paleographer, and Junius S. Morgan, Jr., associate librarian and Princeton graduate. Richardson greatly

inspired Greene’s development in rare book and manuscript collections as he often trained librarians, plus

his European rare book and manuscript collecting trips abroad were broadcast campus-wide. Morgan was
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influential to Greene’s collection development and management as well. Morgan took an interest in rare

books and manuscripts, an interest that Morgan utilized to aid the burgeoning rare book and manuscript

collection of his uncle J. Pierpont Morgan. Junius S. Morgan, Jr.’s relationship with Greene inspired him

to recommend Greene to J. Pierpont Morgan as a possible librarian at J. Pierpont Morgan’s newly built

private library, the Pierpont Morgan Library, which began construction in 1902 and was completed in

1906. This introduction would join Greene with the financier J. Pierpont Morgan in a career-defining

position that granted Greene access to rare books and manuscripts to keep her bibliophilic heart content.

As librarian at the Pierpont Morgan Library, Greene furthered the collection development and

management training provided to her at at the Princeton University Library. Initially, Greene was tasked

with merely categorizing and organizing Morgan’s rare books, manuscripts, and art, yet “Belle’s

responsibilities increased, and she was under mounting pressure to develop a familiarity and even

expertise with the wide range of treasures her boss had assembled” (Ardizzone, 2007, p. 86). Over time,

Greene’s familiarity with Morgan and her comfort level with Morgan’s collection would provide Greene

with the opportunity to recommend to Morgan, rare art, books, and manuscripts to add to his collection.

Often Greene’s knowledge of the library became so intricate that Morgan would question Greene

regarding acquisitions that were noted in ledgers, but unseen by Morgan. One particular acquisition was

a bust by Michelangelo about which Morgan questioned Greene, to which Greene responded, “This

bronze Bust is in your library…and faces you when sitting in your chair. It has been there for about a

year” (Strouse, 2001). Greene’s collection development and management abilities were greatly

heightened at the Pierpont Morgan Library.

Greene’s collection development and management abilities were also enhanced by the friendships

that she maintained with various art critics and brokers. In her role as librarian at the Pierpont Morgan

Library, Greene attended social functions at the behest of J. Pierpont Morgan. Some of these functions

were attended by luminaries such as the banker Charles Lanier, the wife of railroad heir Mrs. Reginald

Claypoole Vanderbuilt, and magazine editor Frank Crowninshield. Although Greene was friendly with
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many elites, such as the Laniers and Mrs. Vanderbuilt, Greene took an interest to individuals who worked

in the arts, such as Crowninshield, as these individuals often influenced Greene’s collection management

tendencies. One particular person of interest to Greene was art critic and dealer Bernard Berenson, who

not only guided some of Greene’s collection development decisions, but also had an illicit affair with

Greene. Berenson, originally from Boston, found success in Europe where Berenson’s knowledge of

Italian art “…helped transform Western understanding of art, especially of the Italian Renaissance

period” (Ardizzone, 106). During their relationship, Greene and Berenson corresponded their literary and

artistic tastes via correspondence and public and private meetings at home and abroad. Some of

Berenson’s literary and artistic opinions affected Greene’s collection management abilities at the Pierpont

Morgan Library. In one particular instance, Greene kept a Bernardino di Betto painting hidden from the

public, as Greene believed the painting to be fraudulent while Berenson thought the painting to be

authentic. Greene hid the painting to keep public debate off the painting, and more importantly, to keep J.

Pierpont Morgan unaware that he may have bought a fraudulent painting (149). Greene’s collection

management tendencies were greatly affected by her work at both the Princeton University Library and

the Pierpont Morgan Library and her friendships with various art critics and brokers.

Prior to her time at the Pierpont Morgan Library, Greene’s dedication to her professional

development as a librarian began at academic schools and libraries. Upon graduation from high school,

Greene enrolled in a five-week librarianship program at the Amherst College Fletcher Summer Library

School. At Amherst College, Greene received training on “…the basics of library work and cataloguing –

using several systems – and afternoon work suited to students’ needs” (62). At Amherst College, Greene

received the training that made her an attractive, yet novice hire for the Princeton University Library. At

Princeton, Greene began to learn about rare books and manuscripts from Junius S. Morgan, Jr. and Ernest

Cushing Richardson. It is likely that Morgan enlightened Greene on rare books and manuscripts during

their librarian duties, while Richardson instructed Greene in the sciences of bibliography and paleography

in classroom lectures. Greene took a liking to Richardson’s knowledgebase during a later interview in
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which she declared that “…she had apprenticed with ‘the best bibliographer in America,’ going to

Princeton for the express purpose of working with Ernest Cushing Richardson” (71). As a burgeoning

librarian, Greene took professional development seriously as evidenced during her times at Amherst

College and the Princeton University Library.

Greene’s attention to her professional development as a librarian increased greatly during her

time as librarian for the Pierpont Morgan Library. Alongside learning the intricacies of J. Pierpont

Morgan’s collections and tastes, Greene learned many skills that increased her knowledge and worth to

Morgan. The study of the Italian, French, and German languages eventually aided Greene’s ability to

discern authentic from unauthentic resources contemplated for acquisitions to the library. Also, Greene’s

knowledge of fifteenth century rare manuscripts, which began to service at Princeton, became fortified at

the Pierpont Morgan Library, and Greene became a self-taught expert of “…rare pre-fifteenth century

illuminated manuscripts, which were to become the basis of her work for Morgan and her lifelong

passion…” (71). Greene became entrenched in her professional development as she “…spent long hours

reading, losing herself in her thoughts, staring into a favorite piece of art, or leafing through a beloved

manuscript. It was in the art and the manuscripts that she purchased and cared for that she left her mark

on the world” (8). The novice librarian from Princeton became a dotting director of the Pierpont Morgan

Library in not time, due to her dedication to her professional development at the library.

Greene also grew professionally due to the various social contacts that she maintained through

her position as the Pierpont Morgan Library. Greene counted museum directors, clergymen, and

European nobles as her colleagues, alongside her bevy of art critic and art broker friends, and these

individuals often aided Greene’s collection management and development. Sir Frederick G. Kenyon of

the British Museum counted Greene as a friend, and both he and Greene advised each other of matters

concerning valuation of art on numerous occasions. Lawrence C. Wroth, director of the John Carter

Brown Library at Brown University and consultant to the Pierpont Morgan Library was a valued

colleague of Greene, and he advised Greene regarding all matters of librarianship, including valuation and
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art history. Greene also counted on Bernard Berenson among her educators, as Berenson’s expertise in

many fields of art, including Italian art, was beneficial to Greene. Greene’s professional development

began earnestly at a summer librarianship program at Amherst College, yet she continually fine-tuned her

librarianship through her work experiences at the Princeton University Library and the Pierpont Morgan

Library and through her many professional friends.

Greene acquired some traits of her well-regarding purchasing acumen from J. Pierpont Morgan

to whom Greene was subordinate initially with respect to purchasing matters. Morgan initially acquired

autographs of famous individuals. “Long before he began purchasing in earnest, Morgan had inherited

and amassed a significant collection of autographs and letters by famous men: signers of the Declaration

of Independence, Robert, Burns, George Washington” (82). In the late 1890s however, Morgan began to

purchase rare books, art, and manuscripts based off the advice of his nephew Junius S. Morgan, Jr., such

as one of the first printed Bibles, and rare manuscripts, such as a copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas

Carol. Eventually, Junius S. Morgan, Jr.’s advice was replaced by the advice of Greene whose dedication

to professional development, and capacity to learn J. Pierpont Morgan’s manners concerning business,

inspired J. Pierpont Morgan to allow Greene to assume purchasing duties for the library. J. Pierpont

Morgan provided Greene with the support necessary for Greene to become knowledgeable of purchasing

tendencies concerning rare books, art, and manuscripts.

Greene’s purchasing acumen began as Morgan entrusted her to purchase information resources

for the Pierpont Morgan Library on Morgan’s behalf. Shortly after Greene’s career began as librarian at

the Pierpont Morgan Library, Greene was entrusted with her first major acquisition – the purchase of

some well sought after rare books to be auctioned that were made from one of the first English printing

presses. On her first trip overseas to Britain, Greene convinced Lord Amherst of Britain to forgo the sale

of his rare books at the auction, and to instead, sell the books to Greene off-auction and away from the

other competitive book dealers and sellers. Days had passed while Greene nervously waited in London

for Lord Amherst’s response, yet when Lord Amherst’s response was received, the response was positive.
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Greene’s first major acquisition was a coup for Greene and Morgan, and in Greene, Morgan “…knew that

he had an agent capable of dealing with private owners, who were often wealthy and titled, as well as she

dealt with professional dealers” (100). Greene purchased many well-regarded items on the behalf of

Morgan, including a King Charles I copy of the Cambridge Bible. Greene would continue to make

purchases for the library well beyond Morgan’s death in 1913 and the incorporation of the Pierpont

Morgan Library for public use in 1924, an incorporation, which both saw Greene’s appointment as the

library’s first director and the election of a board of trustees. Greene’s purchases were well-regarded and

unchecked until the board of trustees began to limit her purchases due to financial concerns surrounding

the period known as the Great Depression in America and the events surrounding the United States

involvement in World War II. Greene’s purchasing judgment concerning rare books, manuscripts, and art

was well-regarded due to her having taken on J. Pierpont Morgan’s ideologies concerning art, along with

her own well-educated ideologies.

In conclusion, Belle da Costa Greene is beneficial to librarianship even today. Greene’s well-

developed and refined collection development and management skills were eponymous of the institutions

at which she trained and the people with whom she associated, and her work is still showcased today at

the Pierpont Morgan Library. Greene’s dedication to her professional development was far-reaching and

included the learning of foreign languages and interacting with art scholars and critics. Finally, Greene’s

purchasing acumen was impressive and yielded substantial returns. I personally find that Belle da Costa

Greene’s feats are impossible to duplicate, especially since she completed such feats while passing for a

Caucasian American; however, as a library and information science student, if my dedication to my

professional development mirrored half of Greene’s dedication, I would be very successful as a librarian.
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References

Ardizzone, H. (2007). An illuminated life : Belle da Costa Greene's journey from prejudice to privilege.
New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

Miner, D. (1954). Studies in art and literature for Belle da Costa Greene. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.

Strouse, J. (2001). The collector J. Pierpont Morgan. Collectors, Collections, and Scholarly Culture
[HTML]. Retrieved from http://archives.acls.org/op/48_Collectors_Collections.htm