History of the Collections of the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum

The museum’s original collection as listed in the 1928 inventory was comprised of 489 entries, the greater part of which (470 objects) were donated by Andrew Carnegie’s widow Louise and came directly from the Carnegie family homes in the USA and Scotland. Included within these were: 

  • Works of Art (paintings, cartoons, watercolours and prints); 

  • Photographs (of Andrew Carnegie and his associates, and events in Mr. Carnegie’s life);

  • Costume (academic gowns, hoods, hats and walking sticks); 

  • Decorative Art (Freedom caskets, keys, trowels, mallets); 

  • Numismatics (medals, decorations, badges); 

  • Archival Material (Freedom certificates, resolutions, addresses, books, letters).

The remaining entries were donated by the many Carnegie Trusts and Foundations worldwide.  

In 1947, the year after Mrs. Carnegie’s death, the family bequeathed to the museum some additional artefacts which Louise had considered too precious for her to give when the museum originally opened (e.g. gifts to Andrew Carnegie’s mother, typescripts of Mr. Carnegie’s books, and a selection of autographed portrait and family photographs). Andrew and Louise’s daughter Margaret Carnegie Miller also donated a considerable amount of material from the early 1960s until the family’s home in Scotland, Skibo Castle was sold in 1983. These additional donations are spread across the same categories mentioned in the paragraph above.   

The museum continues to receive donations from Carnegie family members, relatives of past acquaintances and institutions. In the 1980s the museum started to collect material related to Andrew Carnegie’s business career, comprising mainly of Archival Material (cartoons, newspaper articles and photographs). The vast majority of the Carnegie Steel Company’s original records are kept at the University of Pittsburgh Library.  

The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum’s collection currently consists of around 5,000 items. If you have any questions about our collections, please contact our Curator.