History of The Huntington

David Zeidberg, who retires in June after 21 years as director of the Library, looks back on some of the many highlights of his career in the annual Founder’s Day lecture.

Recorded Feb. 23, 2017.

Kevin Salatino, the Hannah and Russel Kully Director of the Art Collections, looks at the origins of art at The Huntington and predicts its future course, asking "Where do we come from, what are we, where are we going?" This talk was part of the Founder’s Day Lecture series at The Huntington.

Laura Skandera Trombley became the eighth president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in July 2015. However, her history with the institution began much earlier. A specialist on Mark Twain, Trombley began conducting research at The Huntington as a young scholar, using rare materials in the Library to help shape her doctoral thesis.

She is the author of five books. Her most recent, “Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden Story of His Final Years,” was published in 2010. As a graduate student, she discovered the largest known cache of Mark Twain’s letters, which ultimately became the primary source material for her dissertation and her 1994 book, “Mark Twain in the Company of Women.” Her other books include “Constructing Mark Twain: New Directions in Scholarship (2002)”, “Critical Essays on Maxine Hong Kingston (1998)”, and “Epistemology: Turning Points in the History of Poetic Knowledge (1986)."

Robert C. Ritchie, delivers this entertaining lecture. Among the eight million books and manuscripts in the Library’s collections there are many fascinating stories. Ritchie is senior research associate at The Huntington.

President Steven S. Koblik, who retires in June after 14 years at the helm of the institution, reflects on the momentous changes at The Huntington and challenges of the job in an imaginary conversation with a special guest.

Shelley M. Bennett talks about her new book, “The Art of Wealth: The Huntingtons in the Gilded Age,” which explores how Collis, Arabella, Archer, and Henry Huntington collected works of art in the decades around 1900 and created lasting legacies through their philanthropy. Bennett is the former curator of European art at The Huntington. She is introduced by Steve Koblik, president of The Huntington.

David Zeidberg, Avery Director of the Library, gives an overview of The Huntington’s research holdings and discusses current trends in public and academic libraries. In the general move to digital resources, The Huntington is now distinguished as a “library of last resort,” where researchers have access to rare original materials as well as to digital resources.

Shelley M. Bennett discusses the family history of collecting and philanthropy of Collis, Arabella, Archer, and Henry Huntington. Bennett is senior research associate at The Huntington; she was The Huntington's curator of British and European art for 27 years before retiring in 2007. She is introduced by Steven Koblik, President of The Huntington.

The director of research provides an inside look at a side of The Huntington that the general public never sees: the research activity that’s at the heart of the institution. He is introduced by Steven Koblik, the president of The Huntington.

The president of The Huntington takes a look ahead at the challenges and opportunities for the institution in the next decade.