Marks of Genius: Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries - Hardcover

Hebron, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 185124266X ISBN 13: 9781851242665

Publisher: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2014

Synopsis

What sets Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein apart from so many other famous works of fiction? What special combination of creativity and vision made possible the drafting of Magna Carta―a document both so unprecedented and so fundamental to the concept of basic human rights that its name can now be used to define the many declarations that came after it. When describing exceptional accomplishments like these―and the men and women behind them―we use the word “genius.” And while genius is difficult to define, we all recognize that elusive, special quality when we encounter it.
           
Marks of Genius pays tribute to some of the most remarkable testaments to genius throughout human history, from ancient texts on papyrus and the extraordinary medieval manuscript The Douce Apocalypse to the renowned children’s work The Wind in the Willows. Bringing together some of the rarest and most impressive treasures in the collections of the Bodleian Libraries, it tells the story of each work’s creation and its journey through time, offering insight into the breadth and depth of its influence as well as and its power to fascinate.

Published to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, Marks of Genius celebrates with two hundred full-color illustrations works that constitute the pinnacle of human creativity and which we continue to restore and revisit―perhaps in the hopes that some of their remarkable brilliance will rub off.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Hebron is a curator and the author of numerous books, including Shelley’s Ghost, also published by the Bodleian Library.

Review:

“Where can you find locks of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s and Mary Shelley’s hair alongside the fragments of Sappho’s poetry? At the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, England. And also in the book Marks of Genius. . . The book includes writings and drawings and ephemera dating from ancient times to the twentieth century.” (Los Angeles Times 2014-09-03)

"What makes Marks of Genius such a gem is the opportunity to witness the handwritten output of geniuses through the ages. You can find a photograph of equations concerning the age and expansion of the universe that Albert Einstein wrote on a blackboard during a talk in 1931. . . . You can also take in images of the Magna Carta . . . and the manuscript of The Wind in the Willows." (Boston Globe 2014-10-11)

“Marks of Genius is a must. . . . The photographs are rich and detailed, and each entry features illustrative historical context. . . . Collecting this material in one place allows viewers to build a multifaceted understanding of genius.”  (Choice 2015-01-26)

“Fascinating. . . . Balancing erudition with clarity, the catalogue is an invaluable guide to some of civilisation’s textual cornerstones.” (Financial Times 2015-04-06)

About this edition

• Publisher: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 185124266X
• ISBN 13: 9781851242665
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300