Andrew Bramlett

The History of Kennesaw’s Hidden Museum

BY ANDREW J. BRAMLETT

While I usually write about the past, this month I wanted to share the history of something still present in Kennesaw today: the Bentley Rare Book Museum. Located on the Kennesaw State University campus, the museum features an incredibly large amount of history, just 10 minutes from downtown Kennesaw.

Marietta lawyer Fred Bentley Sr.’s love of books began during his childhood, when Marietta librarian Tib Sibley showed him the wonders of reading. Years later, Bentley and his wife, Sara, began collecting unique and rare books. In the early 1980s, they donated rare volumes to what was then known as Kennesaw College. The Bentleys eventually gave more than 2,500 volumes to the school.

The Bentley Rare Book Museum was born in 1986, after a conversation between Fred Bentley Sr., library Director Robert Williams and KSU President Betty Siegel. During this pivotal discussion at Siegel’s home, the trio decided to give these books a unique dedicated place at the school, to be called the Bentley Rare Book Gallery.

A faculty lounge in the library’s basement was repurposed for the new gallery. It was based on the “gentleman’s libraries” found in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it was decorated using authentic materials and furnishings. The varnish recipe used for the wood paneling was from a 1772 cookbook, and it called for boiled ox hides. Unfortunately, when preparing the varnish inside the library, it smelled horrible, and three buildings had to be evacuated.

Once the room was constructed and furnished, the gallery opened to the public on April 17, 1988. Over the next three decades, the Bentley Rare Book Gallery’s collection grew in size. Today, there are more than 10,000 books and manuscripts in the collection. In 2017, the gallery was renamed the Bentley Rare Book Museum.

The Bentley is home to a wide variety of unique books, including first editions by Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck. One of the gems in the collection is the “Fourth Folio” of William Shakespeare’s work. After the Bard’s death, several actors who had worked with him produced a compilation of his plays, today known as the “First Folio.” It was published in 1623 and was followed by three later editions. Part of the “Second Folio” and a complete copy of the “Fourth Folio” are in the Bentley collection.

Another gem is an 1843 printing by William J. Stone of the Declaration of Independence. Since the original declaration, on display in Washington, D.C., has faded, Stone’s version commonly is used to create reproductions. Fundraising efforts are underway to conserve the “Fourth Folio,” the Declaration of Independence copy and an 1830 copy of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.

Of course, being a rare book museum, many of the items in the collection are hard to find, except in similar institutions. For example, a 1542 compilation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s works, including “The Canterbury Tales,” can only be found in four other museums across the globe.

An essential aspect of rare books is provenance, or who owned and used the text in the past. The best example in the Bentley is the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s copy of “Strength to Love.” The copy was owned by King’s mother, Alberta, and was signed by King. Likewise, a weighty tome of John Locke’s works, which now resides in the Bentley, was owned by Lord Cornwallis, whose surrender at Yorktown in 1781 ended the British war effort in the American Revolution.

The “Fourth Folio” of William Shakespeare, 1685.

The Bentley Rare Book Gallery.

The oldest item in the collection is a cuneiform tablet from the Sumerians of Mesopotamia. Books, however, don’t have to be old to have value: In the Bentley collection is a 1971 microfiche copy of the Bible. What makes it significant is that it went to the moon with Apollo 14.

Other books have personal value to people who have worked with the museum. One of the museum’s first editions, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” was purchased by Williams, now the library’s director emeritus, in 1961.

KSU students also play a significant role in the collection. Interns help research items in the museum, learn about preserving books for future generations and identify books that would enhance the collection.

The Bentley Rare Book Museum is one of the most unique places in our area and has some of the rarest items in metro Atlanta. I would like to thank the staff at KSU’s Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books for their help with this article.

For more information about this invaluable historical resource in our community, visit https://rarebooks. kennesaw.edu. To donate to the museum, visit https://rarebooks.kennesaw.edu/donate.php.

Andrew Bramlett is vice president of the Kennesaw Historical Society and an honorary member of the Kennesaw Cemetery Preservation Commission. The “Fourth Folio” of William Shakespeare, 1685.