The Study of Architecture

A lover of architecture, Andrew Dickson White collected thousands of architectural books and images in the late 1860’s, forming the largest library on the subject at the time. In 1871, he donated his massive collection to Cornell on the condition that the university form a department of architecture. Even after he donated the bulk of his collection, A.D. White continued to acquire and donate materials to the department and library. Among his great gifts to the university were over 13,000 architectural photographs portraying buildings from around the world, including churches, mosques, and archaeological ruins. Many of the religious works in other library collections can also be used for architectural studies, as they often depict or describe places of worship.

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