'The music of the spheres': books at the centre of a cultural universe

This poster tells the story of how asking one question (how did these books come to be in our library?) led to an adventure in discovery of their cultural value. Using the example of music scores that belonged to Anna Charlier (fiancée of Nils Strindberg, a member of S. S. Andrée’s ill-fated balloon expedition to the North Pole), this poster illustrates how books can be objects of cultural value in and of themselves, rather than solely as containers for information or literature. It shows how these particular books provide cultural value through both their function as music scores and as generators of research. They are the link between present and past; between people separated by geography and tragedy; between Sweden, the North Pole, England and the United States. They are objects at the centre of a cultural universe of music, science, exploration, and literature – physical anchors to the past that, over a century later, can still be used to make music and/or inaugurate research, thereby generating and regenerating cultural life.