(Special Collections) This collection comprises books, manuscripts, prints, objets d’art, and historical realia relating to the history and representation of Joan of Arc and her legacy throughout the world, from the Middle Ages through the late twentieth-century. In particular, the collection documents Joan of Arc as an historical figure, religious icon, and warrior.
The collection contains approximately 7,000 monographs and 3,000 artifacts. These materials include early Latin and French texts, histories, biographies, plays, novels, poetry, scores, and children’s books. The collection is particularly rich in visual representations of Joan of Arc, and includes statuary, etchings, paintings, medals, ceramic tiles, jewelry, and porcelain.
The bulk of the materials were gathered and maintained by John Joseph Cardinal Wright (1909-1979), who donated his collection to the Boston Public Library in 1976. In 1985, John D. McKenna, of Plainfield, New Jersey, made a significant contribution to the collection, via a donation of monographs, rare books, and objects.
Prior to his elevation to the Cardinalate, Cardinal Wright had served as Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, and of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An important figure in the hierarchy of the Roman Curia, Wright was also an active bibliophile who maintained a life-long interest in Joan of Arc. He was a member of Boston’s Club of Odd Volumes and a charter member of the Pittsburgh Bibliophiles. Owing in part to his ecclesiastical appointments, Wright travelled extensively throughout the United States and Europe and at each place added to his growing collection of items relating to Joan of Arc.
Today, care and maintenance of the Joan of Arc Collection is supported in part through a trust fund established by Cardinal Wright.
Information and online access
- An abbreviated finding aid for the objects and realia can be accessed through the bibliographic record for the collection in the BPL online catalog
- A selection of monographs, rare books, and manuscripts from the collection can be retrieved in the online catalog via a title search for Joan of Arc Collection (Boston Public Library)
- A selection of BPL books related to Joan of Arc has been digitized and can be accessed online via Internet Archive
- A major exhibition, titled 10,000 Joans: treasures from the Joan of Arc Collection of the Boston Public Library, was held in 2006. An illustrated catalog was published to accompany the exhibition
