Wednesday 23rd December 2020
Venue: Online
In this free talk, available on our Youtube channel, Chawton House’s Curator Emma Yandle will give a behind-the-scenes look at our Christmas display, Literary Gifts: books given as presents. This explores the long history of giving books as a gift, through the handwritten inscriptions left behind in works by women writers now held in Chawton House’s collection. These traces offer a tantalising glimpse into the history of the book as a material object, with their records of past owners and relationships. What can they tell us about the reading habits in the 18th and 19th centuries? They often reveal as much about the giver as the recipient. Gifts in our collection vary widely: instructive works are presented by a father to a daughter; an aunt gives a gothic novel to her niece; Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra gives a book of plays to her niece and Caroline.
Join Emma to see up close the works included in this display, from gifts between siblings and between friends, to gifts given in thanks and of course books given as Christmas presents. Works that didn’t make it into the display will be examined on camera and considered for what they can tell us about the lives and interests of their first owners.
Broadcast on Youtube at 7pm GMT.
Find the link on this page soon or subscribe to our channel.
