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1 of 253523 objects
The Mantelpiece 2023
Bound by Andreas Maroulis, Royal Bindery | 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.1 cm (book measurement (conservation)) | RCIN 1171604
Alan Bennett (b. 1934)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett 2023
Alan Bennett (b. 1934)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett 2023
The copyright of Alan Bennett/ Forelake Ltd. Photograph: Royal Collection Trust.
Alan Bennett (b. 1934)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett 2023
The copyright of Alan Bennett/ Forelake Ltd. Photograph: Royal Collection Enterprises Limited
Alan Bennett (b. 1934)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett 2023
Alan Bennett (b. 1934)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett 2023
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This book is part of the Modern-Day Miniature Library, a contemporary collection of miniature handwritten and hand-bound books that has been assembled to celebrate 100 years since Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House was completed in 1924.
Of the nearly 600 books placed on the shelves of the Dolls' House Library in the 1920s, over 170 are tiny manuscripts handwritten by the most notable authors of the time. Together, these create a time capsule of literary culture.
Echoing the process of a century ago, today's writers were again asked to write by hand in miniature format. Their little pages were bound by leading contemporary designer-binders. After being displayed in an exhibition at Windsor Castle during 2024, the new collection of doll-size books will be kept together in the Royal Library.
Alan Bennett's passage on ‘The Mantelpiece’ is taken from a published play, Enjoy, put on at the Vaudeville in 1980 and revived in 2009. The excerpt about the little items that we collect over time is followed by an autobiographical sketch of Bennett as a 10-year-old boy spending time at his grandmother’s house. The tiny manuscript has been bound by Andreas Maroulis of the Royal Bindery using hand-dyed red leather and tooling in carbon and gold. The thick golden line running across the covers and the spine represents the mantelpiece of Bennett's exceprt, with circular lines above representing time. The texture of the leather is symbolic of fragments of the past lying above the fireplace. The red colour of the leather was inspired by red-brick houses, while the endpapers, visible when the book is open, resemble the wallpaper surrounding the mantelpiece.
Provenance
Book handwritten by Alan Bennett and sent to the Royal Library in June 2023. Binding hand-bound by Andreas Maroulis of the Royal Bindery and received by the Royal Library in January 2024. The manuscript and binding were given in celebration of the centenary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House.
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Creator(s)
(binder)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Bound by Andreas Maroulis, Royal Bindery
Measurements
4.5 x 4.5 x 1.1 cm (book measurement (conservation))
7.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 cm (historic measurement)
Category
Object type(s)
Alternative title(s)
The Mantelpiece / Alan Bennett.