"The Library of John Montgomerie reconstructs Montgomerie's library based on the surviving estate inventory at the New York Public Library.".

"While the inventory reveals much about Montgomerie's attitudes towards learning and literature, it is perhaps more important because most of the books are listed under purchasers' names. Those books paid for in cash are grouped together under the heading, "Cash," but those purchased on credit (most of the collection) are listed according to purchaser. This list of buyers reads like a veritable Who's Who of colonial New York and New Jersey.

The group included men who would influence the two colonies for the next several decades. Though Montgomerie spent only a short time in New York and had little impact on either New York or New Jersey history, his books exerted a lasting influence on the thought of colonial New York's political and intellectual elite."--BOOK JACKET.