F’18 ENG 102.10 & 102.

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Assignment #2: Writing a Catalog Entry

Directions:
1. Read through all of the sample catalog entries
2. Rank them according to best (1) to worst (. ). Give reasoning how/why you are ranking
these.
3. Give feedback on how to improve the lowest ranking entries.

Entry #1:
a. Artist: No artist / 1931
b. Title of Work: A piece of paper with a grey person on it and words about a movie.
c. Material: Paper
d. Condition: ?
e. Description/ Context: This object relates to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein because it a
newer version of her book. It is an advertisement for a movie about the monster,
Frankenstein. It is similar to the book because it shows a monster who is the main
character in her book. It relates to the theme that monstrosity occurs through different
times and periods.

Entry #2:
a. Artist: no artist/ 1931
b. Title: a rectangular movie poster. An image of Frankenstein’s creature dominates the
poster in greyscale with a splinter down the middle of face, splitting it in two. An orange
fire burns in the bottom and ashes sprinkle across the bottom. The title Frankenstein
stretches across the bottom of the poster with the names of the actors, directors,
producers.
c. Paper, ink
d. Condition: ?
e. This poster directly relates to the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein because of its visualization
of one of the novel’s major themes about monstrosity. Throughout the novel, we are
asked to question the line between who and what is a monster and who and what is
human. The poster, with its lightning bolt cut across the center, symbolizes the tenuous
line between humanity and monstrosity.

Entry #3:
a. Artist: Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive / 1931
b. Title: A Frankenstein movie poster that is black, white, and orange. It is for the 1931
movie, starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, and Mae Clarke.
c. Paper, ink
d. Mint condition: no wear and tear
e. This poster encapsulates the theme of this exhibition, Frankenstein & Monstrosity: Visual
Adaptations through the Years. This is one of the most famous adaptations of Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein because of how it has visualized the theme of the novel that explores the
murky boundaries between monstrosity and humanity.

Entry #4:
a. Artist: no artist / 1931
F’18 ENG 102.10 & 102. 11

b. Title: no title. A black, grey, and white poster featuring Boris Karloff, who plays the lead
role of Frankenstein’s creature in Carl Laemmle’s Frankenstein
c. Material: paper & ink
d. Dimensions: rectangular; 15in. x 22 in.
e. Condition: mint condition
f. Owner: Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive
g. Description / Context: This poster for the 1931 film adaption of Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein shows how the novel has both endured and changed over time. On the one
hand, it visually depicts the longstanding and familiar theme of monstrosity and
otherness by featuring, first and foremost, a dominating photograph of Boris Karloff as
the creature. It offers its own modern spin on the 1818 novel with an update look for
Karloff with his lightning bolt neck pieces and short, stylish haircut. This suggests to us
that though the outer details of monstrosity may change over time, at its more it remains
a reliable theme.

Entry #5
a. Artist: no artist / 1831
b. Title: no title. A black, and white poster of Carl Laemmle’s Frankenstein with a giant
image of Mary Shelley Frankenstein.
c. Material: paper & ink
d. Dimensions: rectangle.
e. Condition: good.
f. Owner: Margaret internet
g. This relates to the theme of monstrosity because it has a monster on it. It is an updated
version of a book that is now a movie. It shows that Frankenstein is a book that people
want to adapt into movies.