Our very own Magic Pudding: Sydney Rare Book Week
A 450-year-old Copernicus book meticulously restored. A crude life drawing in the back of an early edition of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, suspected to have been sketched by D. H. Lawrence. Original and draft sketches of The Magic Pudding, before it became Australia’s favourite literary dessert. These are just a few of the works members of the public will have access to during Sydney Rare Book Week.
Commencing 19 October, the week of activities is a gift that keeps on giving for bibliophiles, history enthusiasts and collectors of all things unique and significant.
In collaboration with the NSW State Library, The University of Sydney Library again joins a host of Sydney’s cultural institutions hosting a series of events, concluding with a Rare Book Fair on campus.
“Our Rare Books and Special Collections holds over 250,000 items”, said Julie Sommerfeldt, Manager of the Rare Books and Special Collections
“Featuring manuscripts, printed and archival material, from diverse places, cultures and religions across time, it is a rich and significant source of material to support teaching, research and outreach at the University.
“It is a treasure trove of discovery. The collections feature diverse items such as illuminated medieval manuscripts, significant early works in the sciences and literature, rare comics, modern science fiction and artists’ books.”
Pen sketch by Norman Lindsay in a first edition copy of The Magic Pudding, RB 1158.8
Compiling the works of Norman Lindsay: Another never-ending Magic Pudding?
A free public lecture about the iconic Australian artist, Norman Lindsay, who famously illustrated The Magic Pudding, will be a highlight of the week. Researchers Robert Holden and Rodney Kent took on the task of creating a bibliography for the Lindsay, soon realising the University’s holdings in the Rare Books and Special Collections were their very own ‘Magic Pudding’. What they thought they would be a one-day project snowballed into rediscovering a wealth of original materials – returning weekly for months. Holden and Kent found early self-portraits, rough sketches for significant artworks such as A Trio, printer’s proofs of The Pen Drawings of Norman Lindsay and early sketches of the beloved characters – and pudding – in The Magic Pudding. They will discuss their findings at their lecture.
Piscator Press : an original pen and ink drawing of the improved Albion hand-printing press, by Allan Gamble. Sydney, 1964. RB 770.1 20.
A look behind the scenes of Letterpress Printing
It’s not every day that you can operate a 19th century printing press, but the University Library is hosting two workshops taking visitors behind the scenes and giving them the chance to try out their Piscator Press. Purchased by the Library in the early 1960s, the 1879 Improved Albion printing press was a passion project of a former University Librarian, Harrison Bryan (1962-1980). A small group of passionate staff members produced the first official publication on the press in 1963, and today the Library hosts an annual Printer in Residence programme, giving artists and printers the opportunity to engage with our collections, people and spaces, and create work using the press. Visitors can register for the workshops and to learn about letterpress printing, with the opportunity to set some type and print a memento to take home.
Discover your own treasure: Sydney Rare Book Fair
At the close of Sydney’s Rare Book Week, the library will host the annual rare book fair, bringing rare and wonderful treasures from across the country to the University’s historic MacLaurin Hall. Attendees can find vintage postcards, antique illustrations and photographs amongst the offerings from antiquarian and rare booksellers. Highlights include a first edition of John White’s account of the natural history of the new colony at Sydney Cove, and antique prints from Henri Privat-Livemont, and the master of Art Nouveau, Eugène Grasset.
At the 2023 Fair, the University of Sydney Library found treasures to add to the Special and Rare Books Collection, including a postcard and letter from Albert Einstein to a professor of the University, written in 1948.
Entry to the fair is free, visit the website for opening hours.
The Sydney Rare Book Week program includes events at the State Library of NSW, Penrith Museum of Printing, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, City of Sydney, Antique Print Map Room, Moore College, Ralph Lewis Binery, Parliament House, the Mint, Western Sydney Records Centre and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Explore the full program online.