The Garnett family -- pronounced Gar' nett, not Gar nett' -- is numerous in Albemarle County.

The iron grill doors at the entrance were built at the time the room was constructed, which was also at the time the Alderman Library building was constructed (1938). The paneling of the room most likely reproduces a room at Elmwood, the Garnett estate. The lighting fixtures were designed for the room and they may be an attempt to reproduce the kind of lighting in the original library.

The floor is covered by a long rectangular rug brought from Rare Books, or possibly the Bayly Museum -- its origin is unknown. The rug is flat-weave wool with a geometric design at its borders. The background is rust with turquoise and black coloring. Unfortunately, the rug has a badly faded section. The dimensions are 10'10" by 5'5".

There is a separate shelf-list of Garnett books in the Rare Book Department of Special Collections. In addition, the books are described in Harry Clemons's monograph, The Home Library of the Garnetts of "Elmwood."

Anne Freudenberg, Associate Curator of Manuscripts
July 21, 1995

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