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Presentation copies hint at networks of authors, as is the case of the items from James Baldwin’s library. In several of the exhibited books, the annotators were well-known writers–in the case of Samuel Richardson’s “Clarissa”– it is the author of the book who gets the last word, commenting on Lady Bradshaigh’s earlier annotations. Handwritten annotations sometimes preserve conversations between authors and readers, capture moments of inspiration, and document a work’s reception. The circulation of “good books” can shed light on a vibrant network of readers and their interaction, all traceable in the inscriptions, signatures, and markings left behind in the volumes they owned.

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The following is part of a series of inside looks at the current exhibition in Princeton University Library’s Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery in Firestone Library - “ In the Company of Good Books: Shakespeare to Morrison.”Ĭurated by Jennifer Garcon, Librarian for Modern and Contemporary Special Collections, Gabriel Swift, Librarian for American Collections, and Eric White, Scheide Librarian & Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections, Rare Books & Manuscripts, the exhibition celebrates the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s “First Folio” and showcases Princeton’s diverse collection of English literature and many of the writers and readers who brought life to English literature around the world.

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