Many of you may remember the Library’s exhibition The Book Beautiful: Margaret Armstrong & her bindings, which ran from January 16, 2020 - April 3, 2021. Co-curated by Special Collections Librarian Barbara Bieck, and Head of Exhibitions Harriet Shapiro, The Book Beautiful was the largest exhibition of Armstrong’s exquisite book cover designs in decades.

We are happy to announce that the NYSL has inspired another institution to create their own Armstrong exhibition! After much consultation with Stewart Plein, Curator of Rare Books & Printed Resources at West Virginia University Libraries, she has curated a collaborative exhibit of Armstrong’s works using books from their collections and the New York Society Library’s wonderful graphics, designed by Doreen Pastore, Communications Designer. WVU’s exhibit opened May 18th, and will remain on view through the summer in their Downtown Library Rockefeller Gallery.

Although no online component is available, Stewart Plein was kind enough to provide photographs of the exhibit. Explore this Flickr album to see photos from the opening!

For those interested in NYSL’s exhibit, you can view the full exhibit online here. Want to learn more about Margaret Armstrong? We have several informational blog posts and videos here!

This image showcases the wall panel from New York Society Library's The Book Beautiful exhibit, 2020-2021. The display in the foreground showcases Armstrong's cover design for Frances Theodora Parsons' How to Know the Ferns, 1909. 

The banner from the New York Society Library's The Book Beautiful exhibit, displayed over several Armstrong bindings. 

A beautiful example of Armstrong's lavender cover designs for the popular author Myrtle Reed.