Donor information

Picture from www.lsu.edu

Louisiana State University houses a rare book collection that includes The Fairie Queene by Edmund Spenser as discussed in this paper.  The history behind the gift of the manuscript is rather intriguing, however.  A donor, named John S. McIlhenny, presented the gift to the LSU library system for use in the rare books collection and for study by scholars and students alike.  Mr. McIlhenny donated many items to the Louisiana State system over a span of 20 or so years, including parts of his uncle’s ornithology collection including, but not limited to, original sketches by John James Audubon and James Gould.  His uncle, Edward Avery McIlhenny, in addition to be a conservationist, founded the Tabasco company which is still a family owned business today.