Gilbert Stuart, "Portrait of James Bowdoin III" (detail). Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine. Bequest of Mrs. Sarah Bowdoin Dearborn.
“First I give to Bowdoin College…all my Library of Books consisting of about three thousand volumes,” wrote James Bowdoin III in his last will and testament.
October 11, 2011, is the bicentennial of the College founder’s death. The Bowdoin College Library is marking the notable anniversary with the exhibition “…Of Pleasure and Utility”: A Bicentennial Exhibition Celebrating the Bequest of James Bowdoin’s Library to the College.
On exhibit are works from the bequest that reveal both the donor’s need for practical information and his desire for cultural enrichment.
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â– Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton’s Advice to Shepherds and Owners of Flocks…. (1798-1811): James Bowdoin owned multiple copies of this work. Sheep raising was a principle activity at Bowdoin’s Naushon Island estate, and he was an ardent proponent of establishing a wool industry in America.
Change “principle” to “principal” lest the late Mr. Bowdoin toss fitfully in his sleep.