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State Library of Victoria Rare Books at Clunes

State Library of Victoria books for Clunes 5-6 May 2012

1. Book of Hours (Use of York), Bruges, late 15^th century

RARES R66HB

Books of Hours were personal prayer books for the laity, containing a collection of prayers to be said at the eight canonical hours of the day.  This late medieval manuscript was produced in the city of Bruges, for a family in York, England.  It is an unusually large example of a Book of Hours, and was presumably designed for use in the family chapel, rather than for the owner’s private use.  The book’s calendar features 12 beautiful miniatures depicting the various ‘labours’ or activities engaged in over the course of a year.

http://catalogue.slv.vic.gov.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=485140 

2. Myrrour of the worlde London, William Caxton, 1490

RARES 093 C902C

Myrrour of the worlde was produced by England’s first printer William Caxton (c. 1422 – 1491), and is one of the first illustrated books to appear in that country. It is an English translation of L’image du monde (1464) – which in turn was chiefly derived from the medieval Latin text Imago mundi. The Myrrour of the worlde is an introduction to the history of science, covering geography, economics, music, cosmography, zoology, meteorology and astronomy.  While translating the work, Caxton added a prologue and postscript, and included material of English interest, such as noting Oxford and Cambridge as centres of learning.

http://catalogue.slv.vic.gov.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1245325

3. Arthur Phillip 1738 – 1814, The voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay: with an account of the establishment of the colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island

London, Printed for John Stockdale, 1789

RARELTF 994.02 P54V

Governor Phillip’s account of the voyage of the First Fleet in 1787–88 was only the second account to be published on the new English colony, and the first illustrated one. Although attributed to Phillip, the book was published without his active collaboration, having been assembled from various sources, including Phillip’s official correspondence, by publisher John Stockdale. It records the sea voyage to Botany Bay and the first months of the convict settlement, along with descriptions and numerous hand-coloured illustrations of the flora and fauna of the region.

http://catalogue.slv.vic.gov.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1672007

4. Bruno Leti and Chris Wallace-Crabbe Iron Age Melbourne, Bruno Leti, 1996

RARELT 702.81 L56I

Handmade artist book collaboratively made by prominent artist and printmaker, Bruno Leti, and poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe. For this book, Leti printed a series of images from rusted and weathered scraps of metal he found during a visit to Clunes in 1995. The sheets of metal, which reminded him of etching plates, prodcuced rich and abstract shapes, to which he added acquatint as a means of accentuating the rust colours. The book was produced in an edition of 20 copies.