January 19, 2023

The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript Digital Exhibition

The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript Digital Exhibition

Today, a digital exhibition launched called "The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript: L.M. Montgomery and the Creation of Anne" that features a digitized version of L.M. Montgomery's original handwritten manuscript for Anne of Green Gables. Fans of Anne of Green Gables can explore the text to see L.M. Montgomery's writing process and analyze how she developed the story.

Check out the exhibit at: annemanuscript.ca




Here's the press release for the exhibit by the Confederation Centre of the Arts:

January 19, 2023 – For the first time ever, L.M. Montgomery’s original manuscript of Anne of Green Gables is available to readers everywhere through a new digital exhibition.

The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript: L.M. Montgomery and the Creation of Anne officially launched online today. The digital exhibition will allow people to explore Montgomery’s original text, see what was written on the back of pages, and find out how famous moments were developed or revised. The interactive website includes never-before-seen material, such as Montgomery’s publishing contract for the novel.

“Visitors can pore over every pen stroke – there are bits of short story drafts and heavily scratched out passages that just beg for one to zoom in. We have also added hundreds of photo and video annotations to learn from,” says Dr. Emily Woster, an L.M. Montgomery scholar who curated the exhibition. “This is a celebration of Montgomery’s creative process, and we invite scholars and fans alike to explore the site and trace the origins of Anne.”

The high-quality digitization of the manuscript gives visitors a unique opportunity to learn about the author and Prince Edward Island, and reflect on Anne’s legacy in print, on screen, and on stage – including the nearly 60-year history of Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™ at The Charlottetown Festival.

The digital exhibition is presented by Confederation Centre of the Arts, the University of Prince Edward Island’s Robertson Library and L.M. Montgomery Institute, and developed with funding from the Digital Museums Canada investment program. The Digital Museums Canada investment program helps build digital capacity in Canadian museums and heritage organizations and gives Canadians unique access to diverse stories and experiences. Digital Museums Canada is managed by the Canadian Museum of History, with the financial support of the Government of Canada.

The history of the novel dates back to the summer of 1905, when Montgomery began writing Anne’s story in the kitchen of her home in Cavendish. The classic novel is beloved the world over, inspiring millions of readers in over 40 languages. The original manuscript resides in the archives at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, and only a lucky few have been able to see it or study it in person.

“This important project will vastly increase access to the manuscript, generating new understanding and appreciation of the novel’s beginnings and of its author,” says L.M. Montgomery Institute chair Dr. Philip Smith. “The digitization by the expert staff at UPEI’s Robertson Library will allow enthusiasts around the world to discover Montgomery’s creativity in interactive ways not previously available.”

The digital exhibition is available in English and French and can be viewed online at annemanuscript.ca.


Created January 19, 2023.

November 22, 2022

Even in grey November...

A quote on grey November by L.M. Montgomery in A Tangled Web.

"Spring would come back even in grey November and her poor, cold, dead, little heart would beat again."

-L.M. Montgomery
A Tangled Web


Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.

Image credit:

Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Purchase and read A Tangled Web:

A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery


Created November 22, 2022.

November 15, 2022

Green Gables House, Prince Edward Island National Park Playing Cards

Anne of Green Gables House, Prince Edward Island National Park Playing Cards

Today, I found another fun gift idea for an Anne of Green Gables fan. It's a pack of 52 playing cards featuring the Anne of Green Gables House at Prince Edward Island National Park. Do you think Marilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde would play a game of gin rummy with these cards, or would Rachel disapprove?

Created November 15, 2022.

November 14, 2022

Anne of Green Gables Watercolor Print and Quote

Anne of Green Gables Watercolor Print by Lane Martin and Quote by L.M. Montgomery

Here's a lovely gift idea for an Anne of Green Gables fan. It's a pretty fall watercolor print by the artist Lane Martin with a quote by L.M. Montgomery from Anne of Green Gables. You can customize your order to be printed on different types of paper or canvas in a variety of sizes (8 x 10", 11 x 14" or 18 x 24"). Several framing choices are available for the print too.

Created November 14, 2022.

November 12, 2022

The Winter Wind by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, January 1904

In January 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Winter Wind" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

The Winter Wind by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

THE WINTER WIND
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

I am the gladdest of winds that blow
Though I come from the realms of ice and snow.

I waken the notes of the pine tree lyres
When the sunset kindles its crimson fires.

I dance over meadows and valleys white
In the sparkling frost of a winter night.

I croon a song that is low and sweet
When the dawn creeps out on her silver feet.

I nip and pinch with a right good will
The children’s cheeks on the coasting hill.

I sting to action the hearts of those
I meet on my way from the Northland snows.

Laughter rings when I whistle by,
For a right good, rollicking wind am I.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, January). The Winter Wind. The Farm Journal. 28(1): 1. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-01_28_1/mode/2up

Created November 12, 2022.

November 05, 2022

November had been a vexing month

Quote about November being a vexing month by L.M. Montgomery in Mistress Pat.

"But November had been a vexing month all through...one day glorious...the next day savage."

-L.M. Montgomery
Mistress Pat


Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Purchase and read the Pat of Silver Bush series:

Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery


Created November 5, 2022.

November 04, 2022

The Time of the Clover Blossom by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, June 1904

In June 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Time of the Clover Blossom" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

The Time of the Clover Blossom by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, June 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

THE TIME OF THE CLOVER BLOSSOM
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

The wind from the slopes of pineland
Drifts over the wide green fields
To mingle its breath with the incense
That rose-red clover yields;
The clouds on the far horizon
Are white in the peaceful blue,
And the brooks are tenderly crooning
The sun-warm valleys through.

All over the leagues of grasses
The shadows and ripples go,
And a bluebird is blithely singing
In the pasture down below;
For he knows that near him is cradled
His mate in her tiny nest,
And the time of the clover blossom
Is the sweetest and the best.

Song on the hills and uplands,
Song in the meadows fair,
Song in the beautiful valleys,
Song on the forest air!
And a gladness deep and lasting
That broods on the starry sod—
In the time of the clover blossom,
The world is near to God.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, June). The Time of the Clover Blossom. The Farm Journal. 28(6): 223. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-06_28_6/page/222/mode/2up

Created November 4, 2022.

November 03, 2022

Buttercups by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, May 1910

In May 1910, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Buttercups" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Buttercups by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

BUTTERCUPS
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Like showers of gold-dust on the marsh,
Or an inverted sky,
The buttercups are dancing now
Where silver brooks run by.
Bright, bright,
As fallen flakes of light,
They nod
In time to every breeze
That chases shadows swiftly lost
Amid those grassy seas.

See what a golden frenzy flies
Through the light-hearted flowers!
In mimic fear they flutter now,
Each fairy blossom cowers.
Then up, then up,
Each shakes its yellow cup
And nods
In careless grace once more—
A very flood of sunshine seems
Across the marsh to pour.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1910, May). Buttercups. The Farm Journal. 34(5): 311. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1910-05_34_5/page/310/mode/2up

Created November 3, 2022.