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Thursday, November 5, 2026

#CulturedPeachy @MorganLibrary FIRST U.S. EXHIBITION DEVOTED TO MEDIEVAL BLOCKBOOKS EXPLORES A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN BOOK HISTORY

 The Morgan Library & Museum will present Graphic Devotions: Late Medieval European Blockbooks, an exhibition that explores a pivotal thirty-year period in European book history, from 1450 to 1480, when growing demand for books spurred innovation and experimentation in their production. Featuring twenty bound works plus five prints, the exhibition is the first in the United States devoted exclusively to blockbooks. It will be on view from November 6, 2026, through May 16, 2027.

Blockbooks, sometimes described as medieval graphic novels, are highly illustrated books printed entirely from woodblocks, with both text and images carved into the same blocks. While some blockbooks adapted texts and imagery from contemporary manuscripts, block cutters and printers generally created new texts specifically suited to the medium, allowing words and images to work together in an innovative and accessible format.








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