A Librarian's Stroll Through Milton's Afterlife

Abstract

“A Librarian’s Stroll through Milton’s Afterlife” is a brief gallery tour of our favorite books in the exhibition, The Afterlife of John Milton. They are not necessarily curatorial favorites, assuming curators should want books that best illustrate the arguments underlying their show, nor a reader’s favorite—books with the most powerful or influential or recognizable texts. Although all of them do support the theme of the show and possess famous and astonishing texts, our favorites are first and foremost distinctive, one-of-a-kind objects, with their own unique histories and compelling stories. A few of these are modest in scope—amusing anecdotes, or bibliographic jokes—but one or two are truly remarkable.