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I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum earlier this week to catch the exhibit Beyond Words: Italian Renaissance Books on its very last day! I loved the exhibit and if you ever have a chance to look at books from this period of time I’d highly recommend it. They are absolutely fascinating. I also took the chance to explore the museum, which is probably up there on my favorite museums/galleries list. The museum is strange and stunning and the variety of collections is perfect for anyone with wide-ranging interests in the arts.

More on the exhibit:

In the 1400s book production witnessed groundbreaking advances in design and technology that transformed pages from parchment (animal skin) to paper, script to font, and vividly colored illuminations to black and white prints. A surge in literacy and demand for books drove innovation. These radical changes did not occur instantly but through a gradual process of experimentation marked by notable leaps in achievement. Much like analogue and digital culture today, manuscripts and printed books co-existed for a long period serving different purposes and readers.”

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death the Boston Public Library is holding a “season of Shakespeare” with various exhibits, classes, book discussions, lectures, film series, and more! I ran across one of the main exhibitions this past weekend. The exhibit, Shakespeare Unauthorized, “pulls back the curtain on four hundred years of adaptation, collaboration, and deception and exposes the many layers of mystery surrounding the life and work of William Shakespeare.” The exhibit was incredible, featuring most importantly rare editions of Shakespeare’s work (including a first folio!)  The exhibit is on display until March 31st, 2017.  Want to see a full listing of the exhibits and events? It’s available here. Enjoy!