A Fine Press

The University of Melbourne Library’s Special Collections holds some wonderful collections of private presses known for their fine printing. The Library began collecting titles from the Kelmscott Press in the 1970s, largely with help from the Friends of the Baillieu Library. The Kelmscott was founded in 1891 by William Morris, the English textile designer artist, writer and socialist associated with the English Arts and Crafts Movement, and by the time the Press closed in 1898, it had produced 53 titles. The complete collection of Kelmscott works was finally attained by the Library in 2005 when, with the help of the Library Endowment Fund as well as contributions from the Ivy May Pendlebury Bequest, the final work, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, considered one of the Press’s finest, was acquired.

Above: Illustration for ‘The knyghtes tale’ by Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898) with decorative borders and initial letters by William Morris (1834–1896). From Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The works of Geoffrey Chaucer now newly imprinted’, Hammersmith: Printed by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, 8 May 1896. From an edition of 425 copies. Purchased by the University of Melbourne with contributions from the Library Endowment Fund, the Ivy May Pendlebury Estate and the Friends of the Baillieu Library, 2005.

Middle Eastern Manuscripts

The University of Melbourne Library holds almost 200 Middle Eastern manuscripts, dating from the 12th to the 20th century. Languages  include Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Prakrit, Mongol, Sanskrit, Malmud, Ethiopic and Syriac. The collection is just one of a number of collections built up by the Reverend Professor John Bowman between 1959 and 1975 during his time as head of the Department of Semitic Studies at the University of Melbourne.

MUL 134, illustrated above, tells the love story of Kamrup and Kamlata in Persian poetical form, although it was produced in Northern India in about 1737. Its miniature illustrations are in gouache, gold and silver leaf. The script is in black ink with some red, ruled borders with decoration of silver, red and blue.

One of the exciting projects of the University’s Digitisation Service is to digitise this beautiful collection and to date half of the manuscripts have been digitised and are available at http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au/R/?func=collections-result&collection_id=5363

See also www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/collections/rarebooks/memss.html

Rare Maps

The Rare and Historic Map Collection comprises 15,000 culturally significant maps, mostly covering Melbourne, Victoria and Australia, and is located within the University’s collection of 100,000 printed maps and aerial photos. Around 500 of the historic maps can be viewed online via the Collections website: www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/maps/map-historical.html.

Top: ‘Tourist map of Geelong and District’, Melbourne: Department of Lands and Survey, W.J. Butson, 1924, University of Melbourne Library Map Collection. Other tourist maps made around this time were for places such as Ballarat, Dandenong Ranges and Buchan Caves.

Bottom: Martin Waldseemüller (1470-1521?) (after Ptolemy), ‘Tabvla Nova Asia Minoris’, Strasbourg: Published by Johann Schott, 1513, 34 x 47 cm, Walker Collection, University of Melbourne Library Map Collection. A hand-coloured map of Asia Minor using woodcut printing.

Protest!

The John Ellis Photographic Collection was bought from the artist, a documentary photographer, by the University of Melbourne Archives (UMA) in 1999. This incredible collection of about 12,000 images taken between 1971 and 1996 documents the peace, anti-nuclear and progressive movements, mainly in Melbourne, but also elsewhere in Australia and overseas. Issues covered include reconciliation, anti-war, uranium mining, unions, the environment, refugees and other typically ‘left’ issues.

Professor Stuart Macintyre said of the collection when it was handed over, ‘In these many striking images of activism and activists, there is an extraordinary record of radical life in this city. We often have ideas, but John has sustained his over 30 years.’ Though now retired, John Ellis’ photographic work is ongoing, as protest movements continue today as strongly as ever.

This invaluable collection for researchers of Australian and Victorian politics and history  is indexed with names, dates and events, and over a thousand of the images have been digitised and are accessible at UMAIC (University of Melbourne Archives Image Catalogue), http://buffy.lib.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/mua-search, and PictureAustralia, www.pictureaustralia.org.

John Brant Ellis, Photographer, (top) May Day march in Melbourne, 1975; (bottom) Palm Sunday rally, 1988,  University of Melbourne Archives.

Home Beautiful

The University of Melbourne’s Architecture and Planning Library Rare Materials Collection contains some wonderful historical items, mostly obtained through donations from architects and planners and the former library of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects. Some of the rare items relate to Australian domestic architecture, particularly from around the end of World War I, through the 1920s and 1930s and after World War II, when the idea of building a ‘dream home’ was in vogue. This is reflected in  the image above (top left) on the cover of the 1 April 1931 issue of The Australian Home Beautiful.

The image top right shows the catalogue of an exhibition held by the University of Melbourne’s Architectural Atelier 8-21 March 1933. Entitled ‘Exhibition of Domestic Architecture’, the exhibition showcased 22 architectural models made by the Atelier.

The image bottom left illustrates an advertisement for bathroom fittings, and is from the book, Fifty modern homes … to show the trend here and abroad and to demonstrate that modern buildings can be interesting and even beautiful, by A. Lanyon Clark and George R. Hann, Sydney: Building Publishing, 1940.

The 1930s sitting room (bottom right) is from an article, ‘Colour: the secret of successful interior decoration’, in Centenary Homes 1934-35: Building Industry Congress of Victoria, Melbourne, c.1935.

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