Karl and Eleanor Marx – Life in the Reading Room (Exhibition label text)

2018 marked the birthday of political philosopher Karl Marx. In connection with the anniversary, the British Library Treasures Gallery display ‘Karl and Eleanor – Life in the Reading Room’ (1 May to 5 August 2019) explored the special relationship that Karl Marx and his youngest daughter, political activist Eleanor Marx, had with the Reading Room of the British Museum, one of the predecessor institutions of the British Library. Items on display included a rare first edition of the Communist Manifesto, letters by Karl, Eleanor and other members of the Marx family, as well as first editions of Das Kapital that Marx himself had gifted to the British Museum. The exhibition was accompanied by a programme of related events at the British Library. This file holds the object label text that provided context and descriptions of the items on display.