Collecting Pandemonium: John Milton in the Alexander Turnbull Library
Dreaming of the weekend
Back page, Milton: Select Poems with notes by The Rev HR Huckin, London, Seeley's Cheap School Books, General Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library
Dreaming of the weekend
Alexander Turnbull used this copy of Milton's Select Poems while studying at Dulwich College in London during the early 1880s. Its annotations and drawings suggest a serious engagement with the poet's work.
The annotated back page of this book reveals that Turnbull's young mind was not always filled with Milton. The page notes fielding positions for a game of cricket, specifically a proposed setting for slow bowling.
Perhaps Turnbull was interested in Britain's sports as much as its literary traditions. Despite the proud cricketing heritage of Dulwich College, Turnbull doesn't quite get all the fielding positions correct.
While at Dulwich, Turnbull excelled at shooting and rugby. He was described in a printed assessment of the first fifteen as 'a heavy and reliable forward, but does not quite play up to his weight'.
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
