The Loves, Rages and Jealousies of Juno

Image: Giulio Bonasone, Juno Asks Aeolus to Raise a Tempest Against the Trojan Fleet, from The Loves, Rages and Jealousies of Juno (1531-76), engraving, image (sheet trimmed to image) 13.5 x 10.4 cm, gift of Dr J. Orde Poynton, 1959, Baillieu Library Print Collection, University of Melbourne.

This exhibition, on the ground floor of the Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, displays prints about the Roman goddess Juno. Included are tales of her philandering husband, Jupiter; her forays into the Underworld; and her role in the Trojan War.

Floortalk by curator Meg Sheehan (Baillieu Library Print Collection intern)
Monday 10 December, 1.00-1.20pm.

The exhibition will be on display from 4 December 2012 to 31 January 2013.

The Moral Dissection

Image: Johannes de Frey, The anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, after Rembrandt, (1798), reg. no. 1959.4361, etching, gift of Dr J. Orde Poynton, 1959, Baillieu Library Print Collection, University of Melbourne.

Johannes de Frey’s print is after Rembrandt’s painting The anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp which he created in 1632 for the Guild of Surgeons in Amsterdam. There is some thought that the book seen in the lower right of the image is Andreas Vesalius’ De Humani Corpois Fabrica (The fabric of the human body) of 1543. Vesalius (1514-1564) is regarded as the founder of anatomy. The surgeons in the image are fascinated by the book rather than the cadaver. In Vesalius and Rembrandt’s time both public and private dissections were performed. The cadavers were criminals or vulnerable members of society such as paupers. Public dissection was intended to be a dreadful punishment following the execution of criminals, and also a deterrent to any prospective felons. Dissection prevented a person from a consecrated burial and their body parts could not be reassembled in the afterlife. The cadaver in the image is Aris Kindt (Adriaen Adriaenszoon) who was executed for stealing a coat. So the lesson presented is both a scientific and a moral one.

War Stories

Image: Ray Jones, England, 1919, Ray Jones collection, 1981.0081, NN/2520, University of Melbourne Archives

The University of Melbourne Archive’s records relating to World War I are extensive. The official University records document the University’s involvement in the war, through research, mobilisations and public relations. Other collections of significance include that of Sir Percival Edgar Dean, (one of) Billy Hughes’ private secretary from November 1916, and the war diaries of John Neville Fraser, the father of Malcolm Fraser. The large collection of union papers document the campaign against conscription in Australia.

In relation to the experience of Australian soldiers in France, UMA holds an interesting range of documents. They include the diaries and correspondence of University students’ and staff, some of whom did not return. UMA also holds photographs, medals, publications and other memorabilia gathered by Australian soldiers during the war.

The UMA will shortly be launching an exciting new blog titled ‘Somewhere in France’. Using collections from the University of Melbourne Archives, French language students at the University will discuss the experiences of Australian soldiers in France during World War I – this blog is under construction and will be launched on 15 November 2012. See <http://umasomewhereinfrance.wordpress.com>

The Four Horsemen: Apocalypse, Death and Disaster

Image: Stefano Della Bella, ‘Death on a Battlefield’, (c. 1646-48), etching, reg. no. 1959.4585, gift of Dr Orde Poynton, 1959, Baillieu Library Print Collection, University of Melbourne.

An exhibition currently on show at the National Gallery of Victoria includes 30 prints and rare books from the University of Melbourne’s Special Collections. The Four Horsemen presents images of death and disaster in prints, illuminated manuscripts, illustrated books and paintings from the 15th to the early 18th centuries:

The Four Horsemen: Apocalypse, Death and Disaster, 31 August 2012 – 28 January 2013, level 3, Robert Raynor Gallery Prints & Drawings, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road

For more information see www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/exhibitions/the-four-horsemen

The publication accompanying the exhibition, co-authored and co-edited by the University’s Professor Charles Zika (Professorial Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies), also includes ten illustrations from the Special Collection’s Prints collection:

The Four Horsemen: Apocalypse, death and disaster, by Cathy Leahy, Jennifer Spinks, Charles Zika, eds. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 2012.

The book can be accessed in the University of Melbourne Library: http://cat.lib.unimelb.edu.au/search/X?SEARCH=the+four+horsemen&SORT=D&searchscope=30 

Seminar on North Mount Lyell Disaster 1912

Image: A group of men in front of a locomotive at the Mount Lyell Mine in Tasmania, University of Melbourne Archives (UMA), Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Co, Ltd. Collection, 1975.0083, PA/241.1.

The 12 October 2012 marks the centenary of the North Mount Lyell disaster. The fire is believed to have started in an underground pump house at the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company mining site.

The disaster is the focus of a seminar co-ordinated by UMA which will be held in the Baillieu Library on 29 November 2012. Guest speakers are: 

  • Geoffrey Blainey, Internationally acclaimed historian and author of The Peaks of Lyell
  • Andrew Reeve, Professorial Fellow at Monash University and author of Up from the Underworld: Coalminers and Community in Wonthaggi 1909-1968
  • Richard Knight, Mining Engineer  and Company Director, researching the question: Did the North Mount Lyell fire lead to disaster?

Each speaker will share their insights into the events surrounding the disaster.

The University of Melbourne Archives (UMA) has recently digitised the Royal Commission into the disaster where 42 men lost their lives. Their names listed on page 830 under the heading ‘List of bodies recovered from North Mt Lyell Mine’ serves as a chilling reminder of the impact of this event on the small community. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/15818

Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company commenced operation near Queenstown in 1893. Photographs taken in 1899 by government photographer John Watt Beattie show Tasmania’s wild forested landscape; and the early beginning of the company and its railway. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/16047

Sources

Schultz, P. 2009 History of Queenstown West Coast Tasmania, accessed on 5 October 2012, www.users.on.net/~bilmac/disaster.html

University of Melbourne Archives, Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Ltd, 1974.0067 & 1975.0083

Wikipedia. 2012, Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company  accessed on 5 October 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lyell_Mining_and_Railway_Company

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