British Romantic Writers Exhibit, Wilson Library, through Dec. 31
Illustration by Gustave Doré for an 1877 edition
of Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Rare editions of some of the best-known works of British literature will be on exhibit beginning Oct. 9 in Wilson Library.
"A Being More Intense: British Romantic Writers in the Rare Book Collection" will highlight works by William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats.
Wilson Library's Rare Book Collection has steadily built strength in the British Romantic era--defined roughly as the period from the mid-1780s until about 1837--said Charles McNamara, curator of rare books.
"In the last ten or twelve years, we have gone from having a few first editions to having very strong holdings," said McNamara. The Library's Wordsworth collection, in particular, is poised to gain "major national and international significance."
Among the items on exhibit will be Wordsworth's first two books, "An Evening Walk" and "Descriptive Sketches," both published in 1793.
Other rarities to be shown include multiple interpretations of Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which McNamara termed "one of the most illustrated works in English," and a first edition of Shelley's "Queen Mab," published in 1813 and mutilated by Shelley's own hand. Shelley was not satisfied with the work and cut away the title page and other identifying marks before allowing most of the 270 copies printed to be circulated.
"A Being More Intense" will be on view in the Melba Remig Saltarelli Exhibit Room on the third floor of Wilson Library through December 31. The exhibit is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. For exhibit information, call 962-1143.
