Type: Exhibition catalog

Name: John Milton and the Cultures of Print: An Exhibition of Books, Manuscripts, and Other Artifacts

Detail: Published by Rutgers University Libraries in conjunction with the exhibition opening.

Type: Exhibition caption

Name: The Holy Bible: Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: newly translated out of the originall tongues (London: By Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Maiestie, anno 1611)

Detail: One of the seven extant books from Milton's library is the King James Bible of 1611, now in the British Library (part of the manuscript collection, MS Additional 32310). This was Milton's "family Bible," in which records of family history were recorded in the back. The "authorized" King James Version of the Bible was designed to replace the so-called Geneva Bible, the most popular Bible in England, whose notes nonetheless had a Puritan bias that the King thought "very partiall, untrue, seditious, and savouring too much, of dangerous, and traitorous conceits." Milton's copy contains many manuscript annotations and corrections.

Type: Exhibition section

Name: I. Milton's Library

Detail: MILTON'S LIBRARY: Milton's personal letters show that his access to books came in part from libraries and borrowed books, but also from his own substantial collection, which he had amassed from books acquired at shops in London and Europe. Regrettably, unlike contemporaries whose libraries are still intact or whose collections can be reconstructed with shelf lists or signed books, few of Milton's actual books can be identified with certainty: there are extant only seven books from Milton's own library. This is probably because he stopped signing books quite early in his career. Yet, like many early modern writers and readers, Milton kept a reading notebook or a Commonplace Book, which was a structured repository for reading notes. From this manuscript, in conjunction with references in his written work, we are able to piece together a detailed record of what Milton read and what he took away from his reading. This manuscript is presently housed in the British Library.