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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 55 | February 2002
Exciting
New Australian Items Acquired
 |
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The Wonderful Kanguroo
from Botany Bay
[London]: s.n., 1794
1 broadside; 13 x 22 cm |
The Australian Collection Development team at the National Library of
Australia have wound up the year 2001 with a number of exciting early
Australian items acquired for the collection. These are:
- A New, Authentic, Collection of Captain Cook's Voyages Round the
World, Undertaken by Order of His Present Majesty, for Making New
Discoveries
His First
in the Endeavour, in the Years 1768,
1769, 1770, and 1771,
His Second
in the Resolution
and Adventure, in the Years 1772, 1773, 1774 and 1775
His
Third and Last
in the Resolution and Discovery,
in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779 and 1780
Written by
several principal officers, and other gentlemen who sailed in the
various ships. Sheffield: printed by J. Brunt, 1786.
- Farjeon, B.L., An Island Pearl. London: Chapman & Hall,
1875. First edition. Issued as the Christmas number of Tinsley's
Magazine for 1875. This item was listed as part of the early Australian
items the Library wanted to acquire through its BookSearch promotion.
- The Wonderful Kanguroo from Botany Bay: (the Only One Ever
Brought Alive to Europe): to be Seen at the Lyceum in the Strand
[London, 1794] 1 broadside. A rare broadside handbill incorrectly
claiming the first live specimen in Europe. It does appear to be the
earliest recorded handbill advertising the public display of the
kangaroo in Europe.
- Album of the Finest Birds of all Countries. Philadelphia:
Weik & Weik c.1860. This album consists of 25 hand-coloured
lithographed plates, with the plates hand-coloured in Germany. The
species are arranged by continent. There are five plates of Australian
birds. This acquisition complements the Mathews Collection and increases
the Library's strong holdings on Australian ornithology. There are no
other recorded holdings in Australia.
- Turner, Dawson. Fuci Sive, Plantarum Fucorum Generi a Botanicus
Ascriptarum Icones Descriptiones et Historia = Fuci, or Coloured Figures
and Descriptions of the Plants Referred by Botanists to the Genus Fucus.
London: J. J. M'Creery, 1801-1819. 4v. 258 coloured plates, First
edition. This work is important in that it includes many species of
seaweed from Australia and represents another example of specimens
brought back to Britain by the voyages of the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, and gradually making their way for the first time
into the scientific literature. Turner was a banker and antiquarian as
well as a respected botanist. He was also a friend and close associate
of Joseph Banks (the book is dedicated to Banks and the first specimen
is the Fucus banksii) and the father-in-law of William Jackson Hooker,
who engraved the plates. Turner's actual specimens of algae joined
Hooker's collections and are preserved at Kew. The Library has a number
of Hooker's works encompassing flowers, ferns and mosses. The addition
of seaweed will add significantly to this collection.
- Moore, H. Byron. How the Cruel Imp Became a Good Fairy and Other
Stories. Melbourne: Melville & Mullens, 1900. First edition.
- Shakespeare's Historical Play, Henry V 'as produced and
played by the English actor, Mr George Rignold, in the principal cities
of the United States, Dominion of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand,
for over 2000 nights'. Melbourne: A.H. Massina, Printers, 1878. An
interesting feature is the Melbourne business advertisements included.
- A large consignment of theatre programs, including programs from the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1918-1936), Melbourne Philharmonic Society
(1912-1945), Melbourne University Symphony Orchestra (1925-1932), J.C.
Williamson theatre and opera programs (1911-1930s), Melbourne Repertory
Theatre (1913), J. & N. Tait Theatre Co. (1910-1920s) and
miscellaneous items of early theatre, including Tivoli. These programs
fill gaps in the Library's Collection and are of historical
significance.
- Enright, Nick. A Ballad for Two Dames. Sydney September 18,
1990. One foolscap sheet. A poem especially commissioned by Estee Lauder
and delivered by the author on the occasion of the presentation of the
1990 Dame Joan Hammond Award for an outstanding contribution to the
development of opera in Australia to Dame Joan Sutherland. Signed by
Richard Bonynge, Joan Sutherland and Joan Hammond.
Not an Australian publication, but related to the exploration of this
part of the world was:
- La Primera Vuelta al Mundo: Protagonistas, Genesis ..., a
facsimile of documents relating to Magellan and Elcano and the first
circumnavigation of the world. The quality of the printing, by
Testimonio in Madrid, is remarkable, with pencil marks, torn edges,
wormholes, etc. all vividly reproduced.
| Contents list
for this issue of Gateways |
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor,
Gateways: dthomas@nla.gov.au