Where: Fisher Library, level 1 (opposite the news room)

Colin Berckelman was a collector of books, bookplates and photographs covering a variety of genres and themes.

The collector

Colin Blake Berckelman (1907-1965) was a bibliophile, writer, amateur photographer and prolific collector of books, bookplates, manuscripts, ephemera and photographs. Unsurprisingly considering his clear predilection for print media, printing processes were another area of interest for him, as evidenced by his collection of 46 printing blocks.

The collection in Rare Books and Special Collections

Smaller in scale than other branches of the Berckelman Collections held by Rare Books & Special Collections, this typically eclectic grouping of objects clearly reflects the varied interests that underpinned all of his collecting efforts: bookplates, erotica, Australian satirical art and literature, and Australian colonial architecture.

This display features prints made from blocks in the collection by SCA student Julia McKenzie, who in 2017 worked on a project to clean, organise and describe the blocks. This work has enabled a finding aid to be created so that they are now findable online.

(Link to catalogue record: http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au:80/record=b5877519~S4)