Collecting Pandemonium: John Milton in the Alexander Turnbull Library
Of poems and castles
Title Page, 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
Of poems and castles
This is the title page from Alexander Turnbull's edition of Milton's Select Poems, used while studying at Dulwich College in London.
The charming drawing suggests that Turnbull may have been caught up in the romanticism and mystery of Ludlow Castle, the setting for Milton's poem 'Comus'. The poem was first performed in the castle in front of the Earle of Bridgewater in 1634. It was published three years later.
Turnbull would not always have to provide his own illustrations for Milton's texts. As a wealthy collector he would later purchase lavishly illustrated fine print versions of Milton's poems. This includes the Gregynog Press edition of 'Comus' that contains a luxurious woodcut engraving of the title character.
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
