The Archives of the Morgan Library & Museum hold correspondence between Greene and colleagues at NYPL that provide additional details about the planning of Original Manuscripts and Drawings of English Authors from the Pierpont Morgan Library. A letter to Greene from Director E.H. Anderson, dated July 10, 1924, responds to her query about mounting a “large, important, and really interesting Exhibition of English Literary and Historical Autograph Manuscripts” in NYPL’s exhibition space. Citing the requisite consent of NYPL’s Executive Committee, Anderson assures Greene “there will be no difficulty in securing their hearty approval.”

Greene proceeds to correspond with H.M. Lydenberg, Reference Librarian at NYPL, about various exhibition matters including the checklist, labels, opening and closing dates, and even a promotional poster. In reviewing a proof of the poster, which apparently sported “The Pierpont Morgan Library” in rather large lettering, Greene writes, “We really are not as conceited as we seem, so that I think it would be better to have the first 2 lines of ‘Original Manuscripts and Drawings of English Authors’ in somewhat larger type, so that the words ‘The Pierpont Morgan Library’ will not stand out so prominently.” From institutional negotiations and checklist development to label writing and promotional materials, Belle Greene was deeply involved in every aspect of the Morgan’s first exhibition of literary manuscripts.

Three years earlier, in February 1921, the world commemorated the 100th anniversary of Keats’s death. Though there was no display marking this occasion at the Library, Belle Greene entertained numerous requests for loans or photography of the Morgan’s Keats collection for various centenary exhibitions. The Librarian of the Morristown Library, Mary P. Parsons, wrote Greene to request photography of a few holdings from the Morgan for inclusion in a Keats exhibition scheduled for February 23rd. The largest centenary show took place at Harvard, which featured rarely or never-before-displayed manuscripts from the two important private Keats collections in America, owned by Amy Lowell and J.P. Morgan, Jr. Correspondence with Harvard in the Morgan Archives documents the list of objects on loan for this exhibition, including the two Keats letters acquired by Greene early in her career, “Ode to Psyche,” the sonnet on Fanny Brawne titled “The day is gone and all its sweets are gone!”, and Shelley’s letter presenting Adonais to Joseph Severn.

Through her acumen in collection development, her collaborative work with scholars, and her efforts at outreach and exhibition design, Belle Greene played an instrumental role in making the Morgan’s Keats collection one of the best known in the world.