Laurie Fitzhardinge was a well-known identity around Canberra, particularly at the Australian National University and the National Library. He had taught at the ANU for a long period, and was both a former staff member and an old friend of the Library, as well as a reader in the Library for many years. His magnificent collection of books had been built up over a lifetime of informed interest in a wide range of subjects, from the classics to Australian history, from art to the history of the printed book. The collection was in fact a phoenix: it had been started by his father, J.F. Fitzhardinge, but when well established was destroyed by a catastrophic fire. Laurie Fitzhardinge set about the task of rebuilding it - and achieved a magnificent collection which he saw as a memorial to his father.
For some years before his death, he had wished the part which demonstrated the history of printing to come to the National Library, and after his death in 1993 his sons donated more than 300 works under the terms of the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme. The books include a group of 30 early printed items and about 300 private press works. The collection includes five incunables (books printed before 1501); the gem among these is a Bible printed in 1477 by Anton Koberger, the printer of the "Nuremberg Chronicle". Among the private press books are works produced by the Golden Cockerel, Cuala, Doves, Eragny, Gregynog, and Kelmscott presses and some European printing. These impressive works have been kept as a formed collection known as "The J.F. and L.F. Fitzhardinge Collection". The books' call numbers have a prefix of RB FITZ, RBq FITZ or RBRS FITZ and the collection is located in the Rare Books Collection.
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