Project update 21 - E- record status

The Library has recently received funding to create electronic records for the Library collections. ( A press release can be viewed on the Library website). I have been gathering information for the project on the status of electronic records in the Rare books & Special Collections in the State Reference Library. The question is not just if there is an electronic record but is the electronic record good enough? Is it only an interim record created to record the existence of an item or does it provide a useful access point to the collection? Does it have a subject heading, a physical description or any provenance information? Many of the electronic records that do exist for our rare printed collections are only interim records.

This week I discovered that the Richardson collection holds a rare early herbal printed in England in 1527. I found it as I trawled through a long list of items that were only identified through a Richardson call number search. If you were looking for a herbal you wouldn't find it through any keyword search! The record for RICHARDSON/B282 is brief ! Herbals were important in medieval times as they described the appearance, medicinal properties, and other characteristics of common plants.

The Vertuose boke of dystyllacyon of the waters of all maner of herbes with the fygures of the styllatoryes ... is a translation by Laurence Andrewes of Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus, first published at Strassburg in 1500. It describes the method of distilling herbs, in order to make use of their medicinal properties or virtues. The numerous woodcut illustrations include pictures of stills and distilling equipment as well as numerous illustrations of plants and flowers known for their medicinal properties.

On the trail of a perfect example of an "interim" record I headed to stack. There it was hidden in the depths of a lovely blue cardboard box not known for it's acid free qualities. Even better the Vertuose boke was still wrapped in the brown paper wrapper in which Henry Richardson received the item from the bookseller in 1922!

Henry Richardson was an Englishman who had an extensive collection of early bibles, printed works and manuscripts. During the First World War Australian troops were stationed on his property in Weymouth, Dorset. He entertained the army chaplain and many of the officers. As an expression of his gratitude for the support from Australia during the war he decided to donate his collection to a suitable institution in Australia. The Public Library of New South Wales received the bulk of his collection in 1926. Although the agreement with the Library was made in 1919 Richardson continued to collect rare and valuable items up until 1924 knowing that they were being purchased not just for his benefit but for Australia!
Anyway, here is the 1527 herbal without a binding or title page, wrapped in a lovely acid-full brown paper wrapping. You can still read the personal notes written by Richardson and the bookseller's catalogue entry.

Latin diversion

In 1971 the Library advertised for a Special Collections Librarian - “Applicants must be fully qualified librarians with an appropriate degree and should have at least a working knowledge of Greek or Latin and another foreign language" – R.F. Doust
N0 need to panic - the National Archives Office has an online beginners' guide to the Latin used in documents between 1086 and 1733.

Project update 20 - Frank Heyner

Last week I received a request for information on Frank Heyner. The request came from Sylvia Holton Peterson who is undertaking a census of the Kelmscott Chaucer, published in 1896. The Library's copy of The works of Geoffrey Chaucer newly imprinted is bound in kangaroo skin and blind tooled with an ornamental design of grapes and leaves which replicates some of the detailed woodcut borders on the internal pages designed by William Morris. The binding was the work of Frank Heyner, who was "superintendent" of the bindery at the Mitchell Library, from around 1915.













Not surprisingly information files on Frank Heyner were scarce but Arthur Easton found a manuscript item ( A7143) which contained some wonderful examples of Frank Heyner's work. According to the accompanying article from the British & Colonial Printer & Stationer, March 30, 1916, nine panels completed by Heyner were included in the official exhibit sent by the NSW Government to the Panama - Pacific Exhibition at San Fransisco in 1915. The display of book bindings won a gold medal. Heyner used local flora to create the distinctive designs. Heyner was born in London in 1885, the son of a well-known London binder, Mr A.O. Heyner, of Islington.


You may find some of Heyner's wonderful bindings in the collection. They can be identified by his initials "F.H" at the bottom of the back inside cover.

Project update 19 - A Dixson safe item

Sir William Dixson's printed book collections include significant works on the history of Australia including the exploration of the Pacific. His collections also include some very rare European publications printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They are often distinguished by fine bindings in excellent condition.
De magnis coniunctionibus by Abalachus Albumasar was printed in Augsburg in 1489 (Dixson Safe/48/1) . This thesis on the creation of the universe was developed by Albumasar, a ninth-century Arab astronomer. Albumasar believed that the Creation occurred when the seven planets were in conjunction with the first degree of the constellation Aries, and that the world would end when they were in conjunction with the last degree of Pisces. The printer, Erhard Ratdolt, was well known for his publication of early scientific works.

Project update 18 - Writing in RB stack plus...

It's hard not to be distracted from writing when the voices of long gone authors, printers and binders call from the shelves...so here are some online distractions...

A Rare Books blog
Rare Book collections @ Princeton

A Curator's instant messaging service
Special Collections & Rare Books - University of Minnesota

An interesting blog entry on a talk given by Richard Ovenden, Keeper of Special Collections at the Bodleian Library from the Archives Hub Website- Revolutionising access to the archives of UK universities and colleges
Archives Hub Blog - A very rare thing!

Project update 17 - Report writing and Charles I

I am now gathering the information I have collected over the past months to produce a report. However, it is hard not to be distracted...
The Library holds a large Book of Common Prayer, 1633 (RB/LQ/3), according to an inscription in a contemporary hand, the bible was owned and used by Charles I (1600 - 1649).


The bible was donated to the Library after being kept by the Braham family for over a century.
To prove the provenance we would have to start from the latest known information as we would with genealogical research....but there wouldn't be any certificates or registry entries to confirm the ownership trail. Can this detailed provenance research be undertaken with the limited resources that we have? It would be fun but how cold is the case? We have a similar example in the Mitchell collection - A smaller Book of Common Prayer, 1639, reputedly owned by Bishop Juxon of London, who attended Charles I on the scaffold with this Book of Common Prayer.

Provenance aside, the Library has a fascinating collection of material on the life and times of Charles I. We also have a sample of his blood and multiple copies of the Eikōn basilikē . It isn't Australian history but could this fascinate the general public? Could this type of exhibition show the depth and breadth of the Library's collections for international not just Australian research?

What is a "rare book" diversion

It may be a bit late in the history of this project blog but here are a few definitions of a what makes a "rare book"
The National Library of Scotland
American Museum of Natural History
Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries

A "modern" rare book in our collection...
Howl : and other poems by Allen Ginsberg (RB 2371) was published in 1956. This is the first printing of one of the most important examples of Beat Poetry. Our copy is also signed by Ginsberg
Howell by Allen Ginsberg on YouTube