In the Company of Good Books: Shakespeare to Morrison

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623, Princeton University Library will open its new exhibition “In the Company of Good Books: Shakespeare to Morrison” on September 6, 2023, in Firestone Library’s Milberg Gallery. The exhibition will spotlight a wide-ranging selection of writers’ working manuscripts; first appearances in print, including three original First Folios (the definitive source of many of Shakespeare’s dramatic works); books annotated by authors, inscribed for friends, or collected by admirers; samples from authorial archives; publishers’ correspondence; novels read affordably as serials; portraits of writers and readers; original cover art; and many other points of connection with people who brought life to English literature around the world. These rarely-seen materials—from a first edition of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” to Morrison’s handwritten manuscript drafts of “Desdemona”—offer glimpses into the relationship between author, book, and reader and invite the visitor to discover not just Shakespeare but all good books.

The exhibition is curated by Jennifer Garcon, Librarian for Modern and Contemporary Special Collections, Gabriel Swift, Librarian for American Collections, and Eric White, Scheide Librarian and Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections.

The exhibition will be open and free to the public Monday to Friday, 10:00AM-6:00PM, and Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00AM-6:00AM, September 6 through December 10, 2023.