Princeton University Library (PUL) opens a new exhibition in the Milberg Gallery at Firestone Library on February 19.

“The Most Formidable Weapon Against Errors: The Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection & the Age of Reason” celebrates the collecting achievements of Sid Lapidus, Class of 1959. Lapidus has dedicated many years to the acquisition of rare books that trace the emergence of Enlightenment ideas and their influence on politics, medicine, and society, creating a powerful tool for understanding the concepts that have shaped modern American society.

The exhibition is curated by Steven A. Knowlton, librarian for history and African American studies at Princeton University Library. According to Knowlton, “This exhibition showcases Sid’s careful curation of a collection that meaningfully addresses the questions of human liberty in the Age of Reason, and by extension, includes interesting works on medicine and science. Sid was also very considerate in how he donated his collection, placing books with libraries where they would best complement and extend collections to promote research. The exhibition also includes a number of items on loan from these institutions.”

In addition to showcasing printed texts from the Lapidus collection, the exhibition features examples of graphic arts and objects from the 18th and 19th centuries that illustrate the topics addressed by the books. Artworks from Thomas Rowlandson, James Gillray, Charles Willson Peale, Isaac Cruikshank, and Paul Revere, among others, are included.

As Lapidus recalled, “My first antiquarian book was purchased in 1959. In a bookseller’s dusty window, I noticed a small book, a 1792 edition of Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man. The principal theme of my collection was even embedded in the title of [this first purchase].” His collection also encompasses works that trace the progress of scientific thought.

In 2021, the Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection on Liberty and the American Revolution was given to Princeton University Library. The full collection has been digitized and is available for public viewing at dpul.princeton.edu/lapidus. The collection documents the conceptions of human liberty, political order, and scientific reasoning that emerged in the Anglo-American intellectual world between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The exhibition will feature sections on Paine’s The Age of Reason and The Rights of Man, the Stamp Act, slavery and emancipation, Jewish oppression and liberation, medicine, and astronomy and atomic science – all topics covered in Lapidus’ collecting career.

A large majority of items on exhibition are from the Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection on Liberty and the American Revolution. All loaned items are the gifts of Lapidus to other libraries and institutions, including the American Antiquarian Society, the Wolf Law Library at William & Mary Law School, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Center for Jewish History, the New York Historical, and the New York University Health Sciences Library.

Members of the public are welcome to visit the exhibition between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, and between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information about the exhibition and public tours, visit  library.princeton.edu/lapidus2025.