Welcome to the
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum

Founded in 1983 by David and Marsha Karpeles with the purpose to inspire curiosity and encourage learning, the Karpeles Manuscript Library archives contain more than a million historical documents in the categories of literature, science, religion, political history, exploration, music and art.

To make the collection more accessible to the general public, all Karpeles museums are free to visit, and the collection rotates between its museums three times per year.

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Featured
Exhibits

Apollo 11
Documents from the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the moon.
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Visit Karpeles Santa Barbara
WW II
The Surrender Agreement of Germany ending World War II in Europe.
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Visit Karpeles Tacoma
Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle’s handwritten excerpts.
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Visit Karpeles Rock Island

Plan Your Visit

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Collection Highlights

Karpeles Manuscript Library archives include gems such as:
The “Taxation Without Representation” complaint by Benjamin Franklin
Political History
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The original manuscript of the sheet music for The Wedding March
Music
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Einstein's famous E=MC2 formula
Science
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The original manuscript of Roget's Thesaurus
Literature
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The first printing of the Ten Commandments from The Gutenberg Bible (ca. 1455)
Religion
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Amelia Earhart's Certificate of Landing for her solo flight across the Atlantic
Exploration
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Donald Duck Drawing Guide by Disney
Art
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