What This Is (and Isn’t)

Welcome to the database of John Cage’s Personal Library, which comprises everything found on his bookshelves at the time of his death on August 12, 1992. This library is now housed at the John Cage Trust, and is distinct from the Trust’s own library, which contains mostly works that have been published since its formation in 1993. The John Cage Trust Library, which includes monographs, journals, artists’ books, magazines, derivative texts, and academic writings, contains almost precisely the same number of books: 1,136 to Cage’s 1,126. And while Cage’s Personal Library is static, the John Cage Trust’s continues to grow.

Annotations and Keywords

I’ve made the most obvious keyword choices for both topics and individuals; reading each volume for greater precision would have extended our work by many more years. Annotations, which are only scantily present, are not what one might expect: Cage rarely made textual notes in his books, but rather only the faintest of markings (x’s, check marks, numbers, and the like) indicating passages that might have found their way into his own works. 

A Bit on What’s Here

The range of subjects represented in this collection is extensive, reflecting Cage’s preoccupations over many decades. Books on music reflect mostly his interest in the experimental and the modern, and there are a few instrumental handbooks, which guided him when writing particular compositions. There are books by and about beloved artist friends (including 114 exhibition catalogs), intellectuals, writers, philosophers, theologians, and scientists. Obvious favorites include Ludwig Wittgenstein (22), Erik Satie (20), Henry David Thoreau (21), R. Buckminster Fuller (19), Marshall McLuhan (15), James Joyce (43), Jasper Johns (18), and Marcel Duchamp (37). And while there’s very little fiction here, per se, works of literature abound (213).

Not surprisingly, we see many books on subjects relating to eastern philosophy: most notably Buddhism (both Zen and Tibetan), Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and the I Ching. Cage also had many cookbooks (43), both macrobiotic and not, which were shelved in the kitchen, and while I never knew him to show much interest in the poetry of others later in life, poets clearly loved him (282). Note also the many first and limited editions throughout, which are often signed and/or numbered. And for sheer fun, check out Cage’s books on chess and games (49) as well as his calendars (5), the latter including The Bare Grays: A Calendar of Nude Men Over 50.

There are also a few unopened volumes, speaking to the penchant of friends to present him with books. Which leads me to a final note here to gift-givers: If a volume is missing from the database that you know Cage had in his collection, it’s safe to assume that he enjoyed it so much he passed it on to someone else.

The Long and Winding Road

Work began on this collection in 1993, with a rough catalog first compiled by David Patterson, then a very young musicologist. David’s work was synchronous with the ongoing cataloguing work by a small team of musicologists in the other room (me, Paul van Emmerik, Martin Erdman, James Prichett, and Andras Wilheim) on Cage’s Music Manuscript Collection, which would soon find a home at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Over the intervening years (two+ decades!), much work ensued, if intermittently, and by a great many hands: creation of a simple initial database, data entry of the volumes, the compiling and association of keywords, and what seemed like endless proofreading. Near the finish, readying the lot for public access, Emy Martin scanned the cover of each volume. Thus every entry in the database is accompanied by an elucidating illustration. 

None of this would have been remotely possible without Larry Larson of Larson Associates, our extraordinary developer of many years. In addition to guiding each step of the process and keeping all of us on track, Larry designed and built the beautiful online database that houses it all.

Using the Page

John Cage’s Personal Library can be accessed in a variety of ways. The default page offers you 10 random titles, while clicking on Reset provides you with 10 more. Or search by title, author, keyword, or any other given parameter. Or simply browse through or among all 1,126 titles. Clicking on a book at any time will bring up more complete information about that book. When in the book detail page, clicking Back to Library will return you to the opening page. If you had set any search fields, that search will still be applied. If no parameters were set, you'll see an additional 10 random titles and blank search fields.

Enjoy!

Laura Kuhn

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