History Comes Alive At This Underrated Literary Gem Filled With Rare Finds In Rhode Island

While Rhode Island is perhaps best known for its spectacular Gilded Age mansions in Newport, the state is also home to another grand marble edifice from the same era: the John Hay Library on the campus of Brown University in Providence. The Beaux Arts-style library, known on campus as "The Hay," was built in 1910 and was partially funded by Andrew Carnegie.  It was named for John Hay, an 1858 graduate of Brown, who served as President Lincoln's secretary and later became U.S. Secretary of State  under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. The library houses Brown's special collections, encompassing over 3 million items, including rare books, manuscripts, archives, artworks, memorabilia, and more. While there are many great libraries to visit in the U.S., The Hay is a lesser-known gem that houses a collection of extremely rare writings from authors including Abraham Lincoln, H.P. Lovecraft, Walt Whitman, George Orwell, Henry David Thoreau, and the library's namesake John Hay.

The John Hay Library is located on the campus of Brown University and is about a 30-minute drive from Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. The library offers free public access Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and on Wednesdays until 6 p.m.) after which it is only accessible to Brown ID holders.  After a visit to this fascinating library, head for lunch or dinner at one of Providence's Italian restaurants as the city has one of America's best Little Italy neighborhoods.

The Hay is anchored by the light-filled Willis Grand Reading Room, around which are glass display cases displaying some of the library's treasures. Unlike other libraries, Hay is a "closed stack" library, meaning that no books can be checked out or removed. Highlights of the library's collection includes over a thousand manuscripts written by President Lincoln, extensive writings by science fiction and horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, personal letters belonging to the library's namesake John Hay, a rare manuscript of 1984 by George Orwell, first editions of Henry David Thoreau's books and a complete collection of John James Audubon's "Birds of America."

The library's collection also includes older manuscripts such as leaves from a Neapolitan antiphonal dating to the 14th century.  An antiphonal is music for two groups performing in interaction. One of the most popular library features is the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection featuring displays of thousands of miniature toy soldiers that Mrs. Brown had started collecting in Europe after she married into the family that founded the university. "I've never been interested in toy soldiers before, but this collection was large and extraordinary," wrote a Tripadvisor reviewer. "The soldiers representing medieval Franks, Huns, and soldiers from many other countries and times were surprisingly interesting. There were some other miniatures of British royalty, as well." Most shockingly, the museum holds four anthropodermically-bound books, meaning they are bound in human skin. From the weird to the wonderful, this library has much to discover.