The Extraordinary World of MARBL: Laureate's Choice

The Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library is a place of discovery. All are welcome to visit and explore our unique holdings, whether as a researcher or an observer. The breadth and depth of our collections are vast, and it is nearly impossible to investigate every nook and cranny. We invite you this year, through our blog, to tour some of those places you didn't know existed, and get acquainted with collections you might not have previously explored. Check back in with us weekly over the course of 2013 as we offer you a delightful look into some of the favorite, but perhaps lesser-known, corners of our collections. These pieces are visually interesting, come attached with fascinating stories, and are often 3D objects you might not have realized are part of what makes up The Extraordinary World of MARBL.

Bottle of Ted Hughes' British Poet Laureate's Sherry,
Laureate's Choice, #240

What do you get for serving as British Poet Laureate? Traditionally, one receives a butt of Spanish sherry, which is to say 110 gallons, or 720 bottles. In modern times, the tradition ceased, but was revived with Ted Hughes, British Poet Laureate from 1984 to 1998. Hughes named his sherry "Laureate's Choice" and decorated the label with a bird called a hoopoe, standing in the middle of a laurel wreath. Hughes also numbered his bottles and numbers 240 and 478 reside at MARBL as part of the Ted Hughes Collection.

by Samira Mehta, Woodruff Library Fellow, MARBL

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