Samuel Butler:
The Mid-Victorian Modern Revisited

The 19th-century English satirist Samuel Butler, author of Erewhon and The Way of All Flesh, is the subject of the main summer exhibition at the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College. This year, 2002, marks the 100th anniversary of Butler's death.

The Chapin Library contains one of the world's most important Samuel Butler collections, including books, manuscripts, critical works, and memorabilia. From this collection some five dozen items have been selected which trace Butler's life and diverse career as a writer, painter, composer, photographer, New Zealand pioneer and sheep farmer, authority on evolution, proponent of a female author of Homer's Odyssey, art historian, and notable eccentric.

Butler's major writings are shown in first and important later editions, many of them the author's personal copies or copies presented to friends, and some accompanied by autograph letters or with annotations by the author. Among the major manuscripts shown are Butler's satire The Fair Haven; the score for Narcissus, an amusing cantata in the style of Handel; and two volumes of the master copy of Butler's manuscript note-books, a record of his most pungent wit. Also on display are six original paintings by Butler, a selection of his photographic work, and one of his typewriters.

"Samuel Butler: The Mid-Victorian Modern Revisited" will be on view through September 13, 2002.

Also on view throughout the summer in the Chapin Library foyer is a selection of items from the Chapin Library's archive of John Sayles, the noted writer and independent filmmaker, member of the Williams College Class of 1972. Images Cinema in Williamstown will hold a John Sayles Retrospective from June 5 to June 9, 2002, including Sayles' latest production, Sunshine State.

The Chapin Library is located on the second floor of Stetson Hall, north of Main Street on the Williams College campus. Adjacent parking is available behind Thompson Memorial Chapel. The Library is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, phone 413-597-2462 during library hours, fax 413-597-2929, e-mail Wayne.G.Hammond@williams.edu, or go to the Library web site.

The following photographs may be used for press purposes:

Samuel Butler self-portrait, oil on cardboard, 1865

Painting by Samuel Butler, A Girl's Head, gouache, 1876

Photograph of Samuel Butler by his clerk, Alfred Emery Cathie, 1888

Photograph of Samuel Butler by J. Russell & Sons, 1901

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This page was last updated on 31 May 2002