Collecting Pandemonium: John Milton in the Alexander Turnbull Library
Behind the maske
'Comus, A Maske', in Milton: Select Poems with notes by The Rev HR Huckin, London, Seeley's Cheap School Books, General Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: G 821.4M 1883 MIL
Behind the maske
This is the first page of 'Comus' in Alexander Turnbull's edition of Milton's Select Poems, which he used as a student while at Dulwich College in London in the early 1880s.
Turnbull's drawings throughout the book are almost entirely focused on this poem set in the mysterious Ludlow Castle. Turnbull was clearly drawn to the light and whimsical 'Comus' with its mysterious title character and celebration of chastity.
Greater artists than the young Alexander Turnbull have been attracted to this poem. William Blake, Arthur Rackham and the Dalziel brothers all preceded Turnbull in providing illustrations for 'Comus'.
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
