To give you a fresh start in the new year, we’ll be waiving all overdue fines on Monday 11 January 2021.
To continue our support throughout the year, we’ll also be suspending overdue fines during 2021. From Monday 18 January 2021, we will no longer charge you for returning an overdue item. However, fines may still be charged on items borrowed from other institutions via Resource Sharing if they become overdue.
Help everyone get the most out of the Library by practising good library etiquette and always being considerate of others. When you borrow an item, please follow our updated borrowing terms and conditions so that everyone has access to our collections.
Lockdown Discoveries is an exhibition currently on display at Rare Books & Special Collections in Fisher Library. Due to COVID restrictions preventing access to some people, we’ve created a series of blog posts to ensure no-one misses out.
The Lockdown Discoveries exhibition presents highlights from the Ron Graham Science Fiction collection, handpicked and curated by the RBSC Cataloguing Project Team. This is Part 3, the final in our series of blogs about the exhibition. Read Part 1 or Part 2.
All paths lead back to Lovecraft
When H.P. Lovecraft died in 1937, his friends August Derleth and Donald Wandrei gathered Lovecraft’s best ‘weird fiction’ from pulp magazines into a memorial volume and tried to get it published. Publishers showed little interest, prompting the two to establish Arkham House in 1939, named after the fictional town in Lovecraft’s stories, and formed for the express purpose of publishing all of Lovecraft’s writings in hardcover.
Derleth wrote a number of stories based on fragments and notes left by Lovecraft, inventing the term ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ to describe the universe from the stories written by Lovecraft and other authors in his circle. Derleth’s style emphasised the struggle between good and evil, in contrast to Lovecraft’s depiction of an amoral universe. Arkham House continues to champion ‘weird fiction’ to this day.
Richard Taylor designed the covers for these volumes. An author in his own right, he is perhaps best known as a cartoonist for Playboy and the New Yorker, and his covers for Arkham House are among their best.
The Mask of Cthulhu August Derleth, 1958 Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House Graham SF 03050
The Trail of Cthulhu August Derleth, 1962 Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House Graham SF 03055
The Shuttered Room & Other Pieces H.P. Lovecraft (& Divers Hands), 1959 Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House Graham SF 03101
Marginalia H.P. Lovecraft, 1944 Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House Graham SF 03088
Shadow over Innsmouth was the only book Lovecraft published in his lifetime and he was far from happy about the print quality. He died a year later.
Shadow over Innsmouth H.P. Lovecraft, 1936 Illustrated by Frank A. Utpatel Pennsylvania: Visionary Publishing Co. Graham SF 01140
In his works, Lovecraft makes reference to The Necronomicon, a book written in Duriac script. While we don’t anticipate anyone visiting this exhibition being able to interpret the script, we have been advised not to show you the internal pages for your own safety. In the preface, L. Sprague de Camp writes:
“So, if any reader be so rash as to undertake the translation anew, let me urge that he have a care not to move his lips or mutter as he does so. We have all, I am sure, been annoyed in libraries by people who mumble as they read; but never before has this petty offense been punished by the fates that befell Doctors Babil, ibn-Yahya and Abdalmajid.”
L. Sprague de Camp, in the preface to the Necronomicon
You have been warned.
Al Azif (The Necronomicon) Abdul Alhazred, 1973 Philadelphia: Owlswick Press Graham SF 06829
Fantome Press
Founded in Warren, Ohio in 1976 by artist, printer and publisher C.M. James, the Fantome Press specialised in small, fine letterpress reprints of fantasy, supernatural and horror poetry. Featuring works by various authors, including James himself, these booklets were typically limited to between 50 and 75 copies and often featured James’ beautiful woodcuts.
The woodcuts are made by carving out negative space from a surface, leaving only the lines and shapes desired to appear in the print.
Next, the remaining surface is coated with ink and the block is placed on a piece of paper. In this case, the print is created by placing pressure on the back of the block with a printing press, transferring the ink onto the page. The result is a unique print, that can never be duplicated exactly.
Reprinted here is one of the sonnet sequences from supernatural horror writer H. P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth. It tells the story of a person who obtains an ancient book of esoteric knowledge that allows one to travel to other planets and strange parts of the universe. In Antarktos, a ‘great bird’ tells the narrator of a mountain in a polar region that might hold an untold city buried underneath.
Antarktos H.P. Lovecraft, 1977 Illustrated by C.M. James Warren, Ohio: Fantome Press Graham SF 08891
Coleridge was fascinated by the supernatural and metaphysics. He believed in the spirit as the true essence of a person, not the physical form. Here he is describing Sara Hutchinson, with whom he was infatuated, as she appeared to him in a dream. From his description it seems Coleridge believed he actually crossed a threshold while in the dream state and met with Sara’s spirit.
Phantom Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1976 Illustrated by C.M. James Warren, Ohio: Fantome Press Graham SF 09630
Moone’s ode to Howard Phillips Lovecraft is accompanied here by a portrait rendered by James. Lovecraft is commonly regarded as one of the most influential American horror writers of all time. He helped invent the genre of cosmic horror, which is the idea that the universe is an alien and dangerous place, incomprehensible to most sane people. His stories often feature protagonists who encounter horrible beings from outside our world, resulting in horror, insanity, and death.
To H.P.L. Schuyler Moone, 1977 Illustrated by C.M. James Warren, Ohio: Fantome Press Graham SF 09684
Translated as Faces of Death, this is a collection of macabre figures and ominous landscapes rendered in woodcut by James.
Et Faces de la Mort: blockprints C.M. James, 1977 Warren, Ohio: Fantome Press Graham SF 08536
Ghostly images
How would you create an image of a ghost? It became a popular novelty in Victorian times. By using a blank page and an ink pen, one would sign their name along the middle of the page. The page was then folded so that the wet ink created a ghostly pattern.
The Ghosts of My Friends is an unusual autograph album arranged by Cecil Henland, an author who wrote a number of novelty books for children and founded the National Society of Day Nurseries in 1906.
The book was circulated to the owner’s friends to sign and complete, quite similar to the ‘Ad libs’ game. The signatures and ghosts which appear in this copy were collected between December 1926 and April 1931, and feature English surnames such as Ward, Gross, Cox and Thomas.
The Ghosts of My Friends Arranged by Cecil Henland, 1905 London: Dow and Lester Graham SF 10930
Internal pages from The Ghosts of My Friends
Crossing genres
Not all science fiction authors write exclusively in the science fiction genre. Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was a famous American author who published in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction, winning many awards. Anderson won the Hugo Award seven times, the Nebula three times, the Prometheus Award four times, as well as receiving the Gandalf and SFWA Grand Master awards in 1998.
When he was a Guest of Honour at Boskone III in 1976 (organised by the New England Science Fiction Association), Anderson authored a collection of unusual writings. Published as Homebrew, the initial print run was 500 copies. The Graham collection has copy numbers 432 and 460, both signed by the author. Homebrew contains essays, poems, lyrics, articles, and the short story, House Rule.
Homebrew Poul Anderson, 1976 Cambridge, Massachusetts: NESFA Press Graham SF 06879
Lockdown Discoveries was curated by the Rare Book & Special Collections Cataloguing Project Team: Vicky Chiu, Simon Cooper, Tonia Fossey, Chingmy Lam, Hiyori Ogawa, Phuong Pham, Liz Ray, Theresia Sandjaja, Dannielle Williams & some other guy.
The Lockdown Discoveries exhibition is located at: Rare Books & Special Collections Open: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm Phone: +61 2 9351 2992 Email: rarebook.library@sydney.edu.au
The University of Sydney Library’s Rare Books & Special Collections is pleased to bring you a new exhibition: a collection of bookplates drawn from the Colin Berckelman Personal Papers Collection. The physical display can be found on Level 4, Fisher Library, but you can also view the exhibition online, in the post below.
‘The Beautiful, Artistic, and Quaint’: International Connectivity and 20th Century Bookplates
Curated by Finlay MacKenzie, Master of Museum and Heritage Studies, University of Sydney
From 14th century BCE Egypt onwards, people have marked books as their own by furnishing them with bookplates, or decorative labels. While the use of bookplates fell in and out of fashion over subsequent centuries, the peak of bookplate production and ownership in the early- to mid-20th century saw these ‘beautiful, artistic, and quaint’ items reach an unprecedented level of popularity and accessibility. Along with this rise in prominence came the practice of collecting and exchanging bookplates belonging to others, reflecting an ever more globalised and connected world. Societies were formed, exhibitions held, and global exchange networks established as people traded duplicate bookplates in their own collections for more elusive or desirable designs.
The Berckelman Collection, amassed by the Sydney-based bibliophile Colin Berckelman from the early 1900s until his death in the 1960s, gives a rich glimpse into the lively world of bookplate collection in the early- to mid-20th century. As an active collector and member of several Australian and international bookplate societies, Colin Berckelman gathered bookplates from across the world through correspondence and travel. The variety of bookplates he collected and the stories they brought with them speak to the level of international communication and connection which existed at this time, and Australia’s position within a global network of artists, collectors, and book-lovers.
Bookplates in Australia
The emerging international craze for bookplate production, use, and collection in the early 20th century quickly reached Australia. Numerous local, regional, and national bookplate societies were established, and the work of Australian bookplate designers was sought not only by Australian collectors but by bookplate enthusiasts overseas. The surviving material paints a picture of a thriving and colourful world of collecting which established itself in bookstores, meeting-rooms, and mailing lists.
Berckelman Collection Item 1004 | 1930 | Sydney Long
Like many collectors of books and bookplates, Colin Berckelman made use of several personal bookplate designs throughout his life, employing them at different times or for different literary genres. This design, created in 1930, may have been a favourite of his, as he appears to have used and reproduced it extensively, and likely sent copies to other collectors both within and outside Australia.
Berckelman Collection Item 1006 | date unknown | P. Neville Barnett
This early- to mid-20th century pamphlet by P. Neville Barnett, a noted Australian author on the subject of bookplates, describes the shift of bookplate artistry in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. As acceptable imagery began to extend beyond heraldic designs, he describes the ‘beautiful, artistic, and quaint’ bookplate designs of the period as responsible for their greater accessibility, and hence their increased popularity. He attributes the popularity of bookplates in Australia to the high quality of Australian bookplate artists, many of whom were women. Notably, he observes that Australian bookplate societies attracted members not only from Australia and New Zealand but from around the world.
Berckelman Collection Item 1007 | 1949 | Herbert Wauthier
This letter, written by the managing director of a London metalworking company to the Sydney Bookplate Society, illustrates the appeal which Australian bookplate-collecting circles held for international bookplate enthusiasts. In the letter, Herbert Wauthier describes his expectation of exchanging high-quality bookplates with Australian collectors, and offers to produce bookplate designs in exchange for membership. His letter also illustrates the difficulties which could be experienced in international communication during this period – he expresses a concern that he may not be able to pay his membership fee due to currency regulations!
International bookplates in Australia
Through personal correspondence and society membership, large numbers of bookplates produced internationally were sent to Australia. Colin Berckelman received many such bookplates through various means, whether from bookplate enthusiasts overseas or from other Australians who had collected them. The variety of designs show the increased freedom of acceptable bookplate imagery, and the ways in which bookplates could be adapted to reflect local tastes. Furthermore, the correspondence which accompanied these bookplates demonstrates the enthusiasm for people in the early- to mid-20th century to establish international connections and exchange networks.
Berckelman Collection Item 699 | date unknown | creator unknown
Although the provenance of bookplates in Colin Berckelman’s collection is not always recorded, the diversity of names and scripts suggests their places of origin. It is unknown whether this group was collated by an international or an Australian collector. However, an assemblage of bookplates like these shows how bookplates from various sources could be distributed together, increasing the reach of international exchange.
Berckelman Collection Item 674 | date unknown | creator unknown
Whilst most of Colin Berckelman’s bookplate collection originated from Australia, America, or Europe, some examples also illustrate the presence of bookplate production and exchange in Asia. The Japanese bookplates in this scrapbook show the adaptation of the bookplate format according to local Japanese aesthetics and artistic styles. Whether they were acquired through correspondence or during a visit to Japan, these bookplates highlight the breadth of bookplate-collecting networks, and the ability of such simple items to bring together people from across the world.
Bookplate exhibitions were relatively common in the early- to mid-20th century, with bookplates from various artists, owners, or collectors being brought together for display. This catalogue is from an exhibition held in Los Angeles, which displayed the work of bookplate artists from various countries. Represented countries were primarily located in Europe or were European colonies, such as Italy, Java, Latvia, and the Netherlands. In accordance with this, Australian bookplates were featured in the exhibition, with bookplates by famous Australian bookplate artists being displayed.
Sending bookplates overseas
Bookplate collectors seeking to expand their own collections and exchange bookplates with others often turned to the mailing lists of bookplate societies, where members could list their details and addresses in the hopes of receiving correspondence. Colin Berckelman’s collection includes a large number of letters and attached bookplates sent to him by fellow international collectors, many of whom located him through such mailing lists. These letters show the range of his personal correspondence, and the diversity of people who could be connected through the practice of bookplate collecting.
Berckelman Collection Item 702 | 1930 | Gertrude Morgan Hawley
Women were involved not only in the creation of bookplate designs, but also in the collecting and exchange of bookplates themselves. The owner of this bookplate, Miss Gertrude Morgan Hawley of New York, discovered Colin Berckelman through an exchange list of bookplate collectors, and wrote to him requesting examples of Australian woodcut designs. Her references to the artists Adrian Feint and Lionel Lindsay indicate the regard with which some Australian artists were held in bookplate-collecting circles internationally.
Berckelman Collection Item 701 | 1932/1933 | Manuel A. Ortiz
A bookplate collector from Lisbon, Manuel A. Ortiz, sent these bookplates to Colin Berckelman alongside a letter addressed to the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers and the Australian ExLibris Society. In the letter, he describes his interest in bookplates from the United States, and asks the recipient to send him American bookplates in return for the Portuguese bookplates he has attached. While he does not seem to have been acquainted with either society before writing this letter, they presumably seemed to him to be accessible sources of bookplates, indicating the significance of Australian bookplate collectors in international exchange.
Berckelman Collection Item 701 | date unknown | creator unknown
In some cases, bookplate collectors looking to exchange bookplates with collectors from other countries encountered language barriers. When this occurred, pre-written letters in an established format could be used to communicate requests, with space for the sender to write in how many bookplates they were sending or wished to receive. This example, sent to Colin Berckelman by the Czechoslovakian bookplate designer and collector Ctibor Šťastný, delivers its message not only in the standard languages of German, French, and English, but also in Czech and the constructed international language Esperanto. It accompanied a selection of Czech bookplates designed either for or by Šťastný, with their varying designs including an owl in an art deco style, a relatively standard depiction of books and a candle, and a praying mantis with a Portuguese slogan.
In the modern world of rapid and extensive interconnectivity, it is easy to imagine the world of the past as slower-paced and far less open. However, the picture painted by Colin Berckelman’s bookplate collection is vastly different. Despite the issues of language barriers or currency restrictions which could arise, communities such as bookplate collectors found ways of corresponding and sharing their interest, whether through travel to attend international exhibitions, writing to collectors in other countries, or simply obtaining internationally-produced bookplates from collectors closer to home. It is perhaps surprising that such a small and incongruous object as a bookplate should have attracted so much attention from so many people. But bookplates could easily be viewed as emblematic of a new and modern world in the early- to mid-20th century – a world which brought together people from across the globe in a shared enthusiasm for the ‘beautiful, artistic, and quaint’.
All material in this online exhibition is drawn from the Colin Berckelman Personal Papers Collection. Colin Blake Berckelman (1907-1965) was an Australian bibliophile, author, amateur photographer, and collector of material relating to books, bookplates, and printing material. The collection encompasses a broad ranger of topics, particularly relating to Australian social history, including politics, business and commerce, early settlement history, architecture, literature, and the arts. Following Berckelman’s death in 1965, the collection was acquired by the University of Sydney Library. It is now held by the University of Sydney Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections. The physical display of this exhibition can be found on Level 4, Fisher Library.
Just like the University of Sydney, the Library will be closed from Wednesday 23 December 2020 to Wednesday 6 January 2021. Here are a few answers to questions you might have about the Library closedown.
When does the Library close?
The Library closes on Tuesday 22 December. Individual libraries and their information desks close at slightly different times (most at 4pm or 5pm that day) – check the exact times on our Library Locations page.
When does the Library reopen?
We’ll be back on Thursday 7 January 2021. You can enter any of our 24/7 spaces (Fisher Library, Law Library, Bosch Commons, Camden Commons or the Quarter) at 8am that day.
All other Library locations (SciTech, Conservatorium of Music and ThinkSpace) open at 10am. We will be returning to our standard out-of-semester hours in January.
Can I enter any Library spaces with my swipe card?
No. All of the Library’s physical locations are closed during this time.
What if I need to return an item?
All borrowed items with due dates that would have fallen within the closedown have been automatically renewed to 7 January 2021, when we reopen.
If you still want to return an item during the closedown, you can do so via our external returns chute in the Fisher or SciTech Library.
Can I use the Library website?
Definitely! If you are a current student or staff member of the University of Sydney, your membership of the Library provides access to our extensive online collections, electronic resources and databases. You can also reserve or renew items.
Can I contact Library staff?
Not during the closedown, as we’re on holiday too. We will respond to queries after 7 January 2021, when we return.
If you need something urgent during this time, please contact Campus Security who may be able to provide assistance during the closedown.
Does the Library have anything exciting planned in 2021?
Yes we do! For starters, we’ll be running the biggest Welcome Week program ever in Semester 1, and launching the new Susan Wakil Health Building Library in February. Be the first to know what’s happening by following us online:
In the meantime, why not listen to our final PeerPod of the year: Episode 19 – PLA Insider – Tips For The Holiday Break! for ideas on what you can do with a summer in Sydney and Australia in general!
From all the Library staff – we wish you a safe and happy holiday and we look forward to seeing you in January.
Lockdown Discoveries is an exhibition currently on display at Rare Books & Special Collections in Fisher Library. Due to COVID restrictions preventing access to some people, we’ve created a series of blog posts to ensure no-one misses out.
The Lockdown Discoveries exhibition presents highlights from the Ron Graham Science Fiction collection, handpicked and curated by the RBSC Cataloguing Project Team. This is Part 2 of our blog about the exhibition. Read Part 1 and Part 3.
Inventing the future
Professor Archibald Low, a physicist, inventor and engineer, was known for his pioneering work on early radio guidance systems. In addition to enthusiastic non-fiction books on science and technology, Low also penned a handful of novels, including this 1937 science fiction adventure which features a garage-built rocket-ship, a cloud-like space monster, evil aliens, terror rays from Mars, floating space islands and technological marvels such as a supervitamin pills and colour television!
Adrift in the Stratosphere Professor A. M. Low, 1937 London: Blackie & Son Graham SF 08933
In the book shown below, Doctor Dolittle, world-renowned physician, linguist, veterinarian, and animal rights activist travels to the moon on the wings of a giant moth. There he learns to communicate with the local fauna and singing plant life with the help of marooned sculptor, Otho Bludge, whose occupancy dates back to the separation of the moon from the Earth. Together they work with the Lunar Council to negotiate an agreement for annual seed production quotas (a common theme in children’s literature).
Doctor Dolittle in the Moon Hugo Lofting, 1956 Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Graham SF 08853
Originally published as a short story Starship Soldier in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Heinlein’s controversial novel, Starship Troopers was written as a furious reaction to the United States’ suspension of nuclear testing in 1958. On the surface a military space adventure, it is at once a coming of age story for its main protagonist, Rico, and a vehicle for the discursive exposition of the author’s martial theories on civic virtue, criminal justice and voting franchise. While his Cold War opposition to communism is undeniable, Heinlein is equally critical of American democracy in themes that are as much satirised as they are presented in the popular 1997 film adaptation.
As science fiction, the work occupies a seminal position in the ‘space marine’ sub-genre, inspiring a military strategy game in 1978 that may be seen as the precursor to such games as Battletech and Warhammer.
Starship Troopers Robert Heinlein, 1969 New York: Berkley Publishing Corporation Graham SF 16050
Collectable first editions
The most valuable editions are usually the hardcover first editions with a dust jacket. An author’s first book might be considered rare and harder to find, but in science fiction the most valuable tend to also be the best known. Titles such as I, Robot, Fahrenheit 451, Dune and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Bladerunner) are known as both literary and cinematic classics, and demand in collectors’ circles remains high for copies in fine condition.
I, Robot Isaac Asimov, 1950 New York: Gnome Press Graham SF 02356Dune Frank Herbert, 1965 Philadelphia: Chilton Books Graham SF 06661Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick, 1968 New York: Doubleday Graham SF 05721The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury, 1950 New York: Doubleday Graham SF 04258A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess, 1962 London: Heinemann Graham SF 03893
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is regarded as one of Ray Bradbury’s best works. This first edition from 1953 features a personal letter written by the author to a fellow science fiction writer, providing a rare glimpse into his playful mind, which is contrary to the ‘brilliant nightmare’ painted in his famous book. The special asbestos-bound edition of Fahrenheit 451 mentioned in the letter is highly sought-after by collectors and sells in excess of $20,000.
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury, 1953 Illustrated by Joe Mugnaini New York: Ballantine Books Graham SF 03937Letter by Ray Bradbury, 1953
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
This is an early 20th century reprint of Samuel T. Coleridge’s famous 1798 poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It was published by Haldeman-Julius Company as part of their ‘Little Blue Book’ series that mass-produced cheap pocket-sized paperbacks to make literature accessible to the average citizen.
I first encountered this poem in my high school English class, and the imagery of the albatross and the heavy burden of guilt weighing on the ancient mariner’s neck has remained with me more than a decade later.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel T. Coleridge, 192-? Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company Graham SF 18489
Fandom
Fandom can take many forms. Here we have a hand-made book inspired by horror and fantasy stories and artwork. The book is a collection of handwritten stories, bound, with two variant hand-painted dust jackets. It may have been created for pleasure or as a student project. Unfortunately, no information has come to light (or dark) on E.C. Lambert, who concocted this work in Brighton, England, 1947-48.
Lockdown Discoveries was curated by the Rare Book & Special Collections Cataloguing Project Team: Vicky Chiu, Simon Cooper, Tonia Fossey, Chingmy Lam, Hiyori Ogawa, Phuong Pham, Liz Ray, Theresia Sandjaja, Dannielle Williams & some other guy.
The Lockdown Discoveries exhibition is located at: Rare Books & Special Collections Open: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm Phone: +61 2 9351 2992 Email: rarebook.library@sydney.edu.au
Friday 11 December is the last day the Health Sciences Library in Lidcombe is open to clients. It has been serving students and staff of the Cumberland Campus for more than 50 years.
The Cumberland College of Health Sciences was established at Lidcombe in the 1970s. It officially became part of the University of Sydney, and known as the Faculty of Health Sciences in 1989-90. The Health Sciences Library was a central part of the campus, a place not only to study and research, but an active, bustling place to meet, network and share ideas.
The Health Sciences Library will be remembered as a great place to work, with a very unique character. As one of our staff explains: “There was always a buzz and vibrancy about the space and the students. The Physiotherapy and Exercise Science students were often doing hands-on work (literally) – massages and manipulations on the plinths/physio tables. It was quite a close-knit campus, set within lovely gardens and trees, which added to the Library’s special feel.”
The Health Sciences Library will merge with the Nursing Library and relocate to the new Susan Wakil Health Building Library, opening in February 2021.
Remembering the Library …
Watch this virtual tour of the Health Sciences Library from eight years ago.
