Hidden within Cologny, a canton of Geneva, the Martin-Bodmer Foundation has been an avid collector of manuscripts and special editions of a wide range of literary works. Starting from the year 1920, their collection has grown expansive and contains such worldly relics as a Gutenberg Bible and Shakespeare’s classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here are examples of the preciousness of their collection, and its diversity as a whole.
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The collection possesses an original print of the classical poem, Paradise Lost, published in 1667 and heralded in modern times as one of the greatest works of the 17th century.
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An early copy of the original comedy written by Shakespeare in 1595, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a drama that challenged the status quo of its time.
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The collection ranges far and wide as they even possess one of the earliest printed versions of the Qur’an, written here as Al-Coranus, dating back to 1694.
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Not only restricted to storybooks or plays, Martin-Bodmer has an extensive collection of original encyclopedias on various subjects, such as this book on botany.
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The collection contains assorted handwritten books on subjects from well before the use of the printing press, shown here in this Chinese gardening manual.
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