Literary Treasures
This weekend was the grand opening of the new Polonsky Exhibition at the New York Public Library, and I simply had to check it out as soon as possible. As I’ve written before, the NYPL branch on Fifth Avenue was my go-to writing spot pre-pandemic, and the place has a really special place in my heart. So of course I had to go see this entirely new gallery containing the most remarkable items from the NYPL’s collections.
Let’s start with the most heartwarming part of the exhibit—Winnie the Pooh and friends. A.A. Milne bought this exact teddy bear for his son Christopher Robin, and soon after bought him the rest of Winnie’s furry friends. See how tiny Piglet is!
The exhibit has artifacts like cute stuffed animals and such, but a lot of the most awe inspiring stuff for me were the rare books. They had all the greatest hits, like a Gutenberg Bible, and this First Folio (above). This copy in particular is one of the first to bear Shakespeare’s photo. They also had a lot of amazing illuminated manuscripts dating back to 1300s, and other gorgeous works such as the Astronomicum Caesareum (below). This book has 20 rotating disks that helped astronomers calculate the positions of celestial objects. Yes, those things move!
The exhibit also has a sizeable collection of manuscripts of great works. I’m always awestruck to see old manuscripts: I can’t imagine drafting in longhand, let alone revising. I’m also very fascinated to see the edits and notations that these great authors make. It’s a very tiny peek into their writing process, if you can decipher their handwriting. Below is an early draft of The Importance of Being Earnest, and man, Oscar Wilde was moving around large chunks of text on paper. Couldn’t be me. The Secret Garden, next below, shows Burnett as a fairly neat drafter, but not as neat as Maya Angelou’s, last below. It’s also cool to see her doodles on this draft of Caged Bird.
As someone who works on an old-timey secretary desk (and it actually closes!), I couldn’t help but covet the old-timey implements that great authors used back in the day. Below is a manuscript of Twain’s Connecticut Yankee, and look, he’s kept in a gorgeous wooden box! All 900+ leaves of it. Again, I could never write longhand and never had to draft or revise on paper, but I gotta admit, this is cooler than digital folders filled with files like FINAL.docx and FINAL_FINAL.docx.
Also super neat: Charlotte Bronte’s writing desk. It’s this tabletop box that had compartments for sheafs of paper and pens and ink and pen nibs, and then she wrote on that rich velvet surface. So luxe.
I saw many other intriguing and inspiring items in the exhibit, including a copy of the original Bill of Rights, Beethoven’s early drafts, and Charles Dickens’ writing desk. They had rare art pieces, antique maps, and protest materials from the Civil Rights Era, cuneiform tablets from 3000 BCE. Walking through this exhibit was really an inspiring experience, and I’m so glad it’s now a permanent part of one of my favorite places in the world.
All photos mine. Support the New York Public Library here, and if you can, please support public libraries wherever you are.