ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 41 | October 1999
The collections
Collection in a trunk
Wendy Morrow unpacking the Ledgar Collection from the steamer trunk |
Earlier this year, the Library was privileged to receive the photographic collection of the late Frederick William Ledgar, donated by his family.
Every profession needs its pioneers and academic leaders. Fred Ledgar, Victorias and the University of Melbournes first Professor of Town and Regional Planning was both. He joined the Department of Town and Regional Planning as director and senior lecturer in 1956 and then spent the next quarter of a century establishing town and regional planning as a recognised academic discipline and profession in Victoria and beyond.
At the University of Melbourne he painstakingly built up student numbers and he introduced a postgraduate diploma to train the vast army of professionals whic was operating in the field of town planning largely without formal qualifications. In the late 60s he also began to attract school leavers to a new undergraduate degree course.
The Ledgar Collection arrived at the Pictorial Section in a large old steamer trunk containing photographs in albums and in assorted series as well as many loose images on a variety of subjects. A number of the photographs were taken by prominent photographers including Charles Nettleton, Nicholas Caire and J.W. Beattie; others bear the names of photographic companies such as the Anglo-Australasian Photo Company and Bardwells Royal Studios.
Views of Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, Hobart, and areas of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania are included. In many cases the collection supplements the existing Pictorial Collection in a valuable way through its documentation of landmark buildings and scenery in another era. There is a jam factory, a Hobart shot tower, Launcestons Cataract Gorge, early Melbourne gardens and depictions of transport by horse and cart.
One of a series of images is of prominent Melbourne buildings. The Melbourne Post Office is shown with hoardings around the exterior, prior to its opening, and the Melbourne Hospital fence displays posters of current events from around 1864. The photographs in this series are a particularly valuable addition to the Pictorial Collection as they pre-date the Melbourne street scenes previously held. Despite their age, the photographs are in good condition.
Donations such as the Ledgar Collection, often provided through the generosity and foresight of families of collectors and photographers, are an extremely important source of material for the Pictorial Collection. Collections assembled with the selective eye of an expert in the field, such as Professor Ledgar, have a research value that is greater than the sum of their parts.
In 199899, the numbers of photographs donated to the Pictorial Collection or lent for copying was nearly double the number purchased.
Material offered for donation is assessed according to the Librarys collecting criteria, and, once accepted, is given the same high standard of care and housing as purchased material. With the donors agreement, the name of the donor, or a person associated with the donation, is included in the cataloguing and labelling of the material, as a way of permanently recording their generosity and honouring their memory.
* * * *
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: lkirwan@nla.gov.au