James Ford Bell Library

Welcome to the James Ford Bell Library

Are you curious? Have you ever seen, touched, or smelled a 600-year-old book? The Bell Library makes history come alive through its collection of rare books, maps and manuscripts that focus on trade and cross-cultural interaction before ca. 1800. Our premier collection illustrates the ways in which cultural influences expanded worldwide, with a special emphasis on European interactions. The James Ford Bell Library, its collection, and its innovative programs support scholarship and education at all levels, and enrich our community by advancing understanding of this global heritage, making the world we live in more meaningful.

The Impossible Black Tulip: Matteo Ricci's 1602 World Map

The rare 1602 world map created by Jesuit Matteo Ricci and Mandarin Zhong Wentao, the oldest surviving Chinese map to depict the Americas, is coming to the University of Minnesota this fall! Thanks to the James Ford Bell Trust, which purchased the map last fall, the Bell Library will have the opportunity to display this amazing example of woodblock printing and East-West collaboration beginning September 15, 2010. View the Map and Learn More

Visit our What's Happening section for events scheduled around the map. Want to schedule a special tour? Contact us at jfbell@umn.edu or 612-624-1528.

MacawMacaw

The letters, diaries, sketches, journals and book manuscripts of John Gabriel Stedman (1744-1797) are among the richest archival collections at the Bell Library. Stedman, a soldier of Scots and Dutch parents, left his home in the Netherlands to spend 5 years in Surinam (northern South America) quelling slave rebellions. He published a book relating his experiences, Narrative, of a Five Years' Expedition to Surinam, was published by famed British publisher Joseph Johnson. The Stedman archive at the Bell Library provides an in-depth look at the source material for this work, including some of Stedman's own water colors.

What's Happening

The 1602 Ricci Map will be on public display beginning September 15, 2010, when it becomes the featured item in...

Jonathan Spence, renowned China scholar and 2010 presenter of the prestigious Jefferson Lecture, will present this year's annual James...

The famous woodblock map of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci began its stay in Minnesota as part of an exhibit at the Minneapolis...

Address:
O. Meredith Wilson Library
309 19th Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
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Hours:
Monday - Friday
12:00pm - 5:00pm
Weekends: Closed
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Contact:
Phone: 612-624-1528
E-mail: jfbell@umn.edu
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