Charles Dickens: An Exhibition in the NYC Public Library

From the New York City Public Library web:

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was the best-loved English novelist at a time when recreational reading was at a zenith. His fictional creations represent a cross-section of society—from law-clerk to crossing-sweeper, miser to midwife—and are united by the vividness with which they are described. By emphasizing how these characters talk, dress, and move, Dickens was able to impress upon readers clear, easily imagined pictures that have inspired illustrators for nearly two centuries and proven themselves adaptable to dramatists, cinematographers, composers, and even fashion designers. Charles Dickens: The Key to Character celebrates the power of Dickens’s characters to be imagined ever anew, examining important precedents for his art of characterization as well as intersections between his personal life and his literary creations.

The exhibition features artworks by nearly thirty illustrators—including unpublished watercolors by the well-known Phiz—along with rare translations, original sheet music, and the memoranda book the author used to jot down possible names for characters. Also on display are the 1867 pocket diary containing the code with which Dickens communicated with his mistress Ellen Ternan, a dress by Prabal Gurung, a contemporary fashion designer inspired by the decayed elegance of Miss Havisham, and audio-visual stations featuring unusual recordings from the special collections of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Charles Dickens: The Key to Character is accompanied by a free lecture series.

Support for The New York Public Library’s Exhibitions Program has been provided by Celeste Bartos, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos Exhibitions Fund, and Jonathan Altman.

The exhibition rans from now to January 27, 2013

For further and complete information about Charles Dickens and his life and work go to the NYTimes link:  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/charles_dickens/index.html

I bring to you some pictures which could give you an idea of what this is all about: Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.

"My great ambition is to live in the hearts and homes of home-loving people" (1841)

"I have been as far South as Richmon in Virginia. I needn't say how odious the sight of slavery is....."

"The Americans have darkness not of skin but of the mind"...

Ebenezer Scrooge

My son, Eduardo

Beautiful corridor in the NYC Public Library

LUNCH HOUR

AN EXHIBITION IN THE NYC PUBLIC LIBRARY
Up to February 16, 2013

New York has always something educational and cultural to offer. Right around Christmas, the  city's Public Library always offers special exhibitions.  They manage to always bring some interesting pictures, information and objects related to an author, a book or some historical facts and objects which illustrate a certain time frame. This time, two special exhibitions captured my interest.  They were: Lunch Hour, NYC and Dickens.

Lunch Hour is an exhibit about how did this important time of the day originated among Americans and about how the types of food offered in automats, restaurants, coffee shops, delis and homes, were influenced by immigration and ethnicity. It also tells us about the availability of food during the difficult times like the Depression and Prohibition eras, about charity food and about school menus variation through the years.  But let us see the exhibition through the pictures I took and through the description given in their special pamphlet which they hand to visitors at the entrance.  I think that through these I have captured the essence of the exhibition.   Please click over the pictures to enlarge them.

origins of the menu collection

                                                         

Letter to Mrs. Horns From Customer

Interviews to immigrants about food they eat.