NY receives major Joyce collections

One of the foremost private collections of works by the influential Irish writer James Joyce has been donated to New York's Morgan Library and Museum.

The 350-piece collection includes numerous signed and inscribed first editions, photographs, posters and manuscripts, including a fragment of his magnum opus "Ulysses" and rare pressings of 78 RPM recordings of the author.

The collection was assembled by New York gallery owner Sean Kelly and his wife Mary.

"It is difficult to summarize in a few words the importance of this extraordinary gift to the Morgan Library & Museum," said museum director Colin Bailey.

"It adds enormously to our small but distinguished Joyce collection, and instantly establishes the Morgan as a major centre for scholarly research related to the author's life and work."

The museum is planning a public exhibition in 2022, the centennial of the publication of "Ulysses."

Joyce's life and works are also commemorated at the James Joyce Center in Dublin and in a collection at the University of Buffalo.

The Morgan Library is the former private library of John Pierpont "JP" Morgan, a central figure in the world of finance at the turn of the 20th century.

It was opened to the public by his son following his death and has since become a museum focused on literature.