Lilly Library celebrates bicentennial of Dickens' birth

Charles Dickens might be known best for his intricate plots and relatable characters, but the main gallery at the Lilly Library shows the breadth and lasting legacy of his work.

“Conducted by Charles Dickens: An Exhibition to Commemorate the Bicentennial of His Birth” is on display from now until May 5.

“We started working on the exhibit this past summer,” said Rebecca Baumann, co-curator and a master’s student in the School of Library and Information Science.

“We tried to put together displays that would help people understand Dickens and the world he lived in.”

Becky Cape, curator and head of reference and public services at the library, said the primary donor for the Library, Josiah K. Lilly Jr., was very interested in collecting Dickens’ work.

Baumann and Cape narrowed the library’s large collection of Dickens material into an exhibit comprised of 13 themes, including Dickens’ childhood reading, his journalism and nonfiction work, and Christmas.

One theme in particular, the “afterlife” of Dickens, is highlighted in one display  case.
The exhibit  contains items such as a biography by John Forster and “A Zombies Christmas Carol in Sequential Art, Being an Undead Story of Christmas,” a comic book Baumann purchased for the exhibit.

It also contains the second part to the unfinished novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” which was still unfinished when Dickens died.

“Some people have attempted to finish it,” Cape said.

“Including this one, which was a spirit writing. Supposedly, someone channeled him and got the end to it.”

On the other side of the gallery, sheet music inspired or written by Dickens is displayed on large panels.

“There was a lot of music based on Dickens’ characters and works,” Cape said.

“There’s some music that Dickens wrote. He did a comic operetta called ‘The Village Coquettes’ with John Hullah.”

Cape said her favorite display is the publication case in the back right corner of the gallery, which was the last part of the exhibit they organized.

 It includes first editions of Dickens’ most famous works on a bookshelf, plagiarism of his work and a portrait.

Dickens typically released novels such as “David Copperfield” in 20 parts, with each part containing two or three chapters, two illustrations and advertisements.

“We have first editions, many of them (in the) original parts in which they were issued,”
Baumann said. “We wanted to highlight all the different and interesting material we have on Dickens here at the Lilly.”

Both Baumann and Cape said the phrase “conducted by” from the exhibition title was used by Dickens himself.

He edited two long-running journals, “Household Words” and “All the Year Round,” and “conducted by Charles Dickens” was written on the masthead of every page. Though Dickens is regarded as a literary great today, he was also widely popular during his lifetime.

Cape said he was one of the most photographed and illustrated authors of his time.

”He was one of the first celebrity authors,” Baumann said. “People loved him.”

The library is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Dickens’ 200th birthday is Tuesday, Feb. 7.