Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, Museum and archive network throughout United States

The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums form a network of ten locations across the United States, together holding the largest private collection of original historical documents in the world. The manuscripts on display cover a wide range of fields, from science and literature to politics and exploration.

David and Marsha Karpeles founded the institution in 1983, starting from a private collection they had built over many years. Rather than keeping the documents locked away, they chose to open them to the public by establishing dedicated museum spaces.

The name honours founders David and Marsha Karpeles, who opened the first museum in Santa Barbara in 1986 at 21 West Anapamu Street. Admission is free at every site, and documents rotate between museums quarterly, so the same case can hold different manuscripts from one season to the next.

Because the collection rotates among the ten sites three times a year, it is worth checking which documents are currently on display at the nearest location before making the trip. Admission is free at all sites, so there is no need to plan around a budget.

The collection holds a first printing of the Ten Commandments from the 1455 Gutenberg Bible and Amelia Earhart's Certificate of Landing from her transatlantic flight. These are not reproductions but originals, available to anyone at no cost.