The James Stratton Reading Room
To the left of the entry, artifacts and rare books donated by the library founders, Roger and Louise Amory, along with other donors, are displayed in the James Stratton Room. Historically, this room served as Roger Amory’s office, and now his framed portrait hangs on the wall.
The collection includes:
- A page from The Book of the Dead, written in the first century B.C. and copied onto papyrus during the first century A.D.
- A clay tablet with cuneiform script
- Several hornbook replicas, which were used as children’s study aids during the Middle Ages
- A collection of miniature books produced by MIT students in the 1930s
- One of the world’s smallest books, The Rose Garden of Omar Khayyam, one of only 350 copies
- Several first edition printings of books
- Framed photos of the Amorys
- The Papyrus I & II book boat schedule
- Two framed pages from the Ship of Fools, published in 1570.
- A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible printed in 1454, the first book printed with movable type, on a printing press financed by Johann Fust
- A page from the Fust & Schoeffer Bible, printed in 1462
Just outside the James Stratton Reading Room, overlooking the historic garden, a bronze plaque honors 378 individuals, 17 organizations, and families. In 2012-2013, those donors generously contributed over $1.5 million in just twenty months to help fund the extensive renovation of the 60-year-old private library by the Johann Fust Library Foundation. As a result, Boca Grande now has a modern library facility to serve residents and visitors.
