Services > Central Library > John Wilson collections > Current exhibit
Book Evidence: Alexander Pope's Collected Works of 1751
Location, time
- John Wilson Special Collections
- Central Library
- 801 S.W. 10th Avenue
- Portland, OR
- July 10–August 29, 2009
- Tuesday: 2:30–5:30 p.m.
- Wednesday: 3:30–7 p.m.
- Friday: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- Saturday: 2:30–6 p.m.
About the exhibit
Each book in a collection of rare books contains much evidence of its past. Sometimes it may be a physical characteristic related to its typography or binding, perhaps specific to a particular edition or volume within an edition; sometimes it may relate to marginalia — handwriting — within the book; and sometimes it may be the author's intention in the production of the book. Book Evidence is a series of exhibitions that closely examine individual titles from the John Wilson Special Collections, revealing rich contents, both obvious and hidden.
The first exhibition in this series examines The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq. in Nine Volumes Complete, with his Last Corrections, Additions, and Improvements, compiled and published in London in 1751 by the poet's literary executor, William Warburton, the Bishop of Gloucester. Alexander Pope (1688–1744) is widely thought to be the finest English poet of the 18th century, and is particularly known for his satiric verse, his heroic couplets, and his translations of Homer. This copy — in its original calf binding — was a gift to the library from Dorothy Hirsch in the late 1990s, and is the first complete published collection of the great poet's works, published just seven years after his death in 1744.
For more information contact John Wilson Special Collections Librarian Jim Carmin at 503.988.6287.