Every item has a story….

While most people love the feel of opening up a brand new book or magazine, or being the first to see a photograph “hot off the camera”, what I love most about the NLA’s collections are the ”pre-owned” items that we’ve acquired. If only they could speak, imagine the stories they could tell about where they have been, the hands they have passed through, the impact they’ve had on thoughts and lives. In fact, sometimes it’s the little bits and pieces that might be written in, or accompany an item that add unexpected colour and context.

Recently we were fortunate to receive a donation of an original handwritten piece of music titled “Grey Foreshore”, composed by Miriam Hyde and with a dedication “To Florence and Lynda Simpson” at the top of the score.

Grey Foreshore cover

Grey Foreshore cover

Grey Foreshore first page

Grey Foreshore first page

 

While this was lovely personal touch, you might wonder who Florence and Lynda were, why Miriam dedicated this piece to them, and what it was about. Well, a charming letter that was included with the donated music reveals all! This was a real treasure, as the letter was from Miriam Hyde herself. In addition to describing how busy she had been with some family matters she thanked Florence and Lynda for their Christmas card and explained that the beach scene on the card had inspired her to write this piece of music which she was sending to them. Miriam then goes on to describe how different sections of the music are intended to evoke various aspects of the scene on the card. She says in part:

“I was much taken with the atmosphere of that charming sea-scape on your card……

I have at last managed to complete ‘Grey Foreshore’ and I offer it to you both with my love. Like a dressmaker who has completed a garment, I enclose the ‘scraps’ in case it is of any interest to you to see a few of the processes that preceded the finished article.

It is a modest little piece, unlikely I think to interest any publisher. The sea is subdued under a cloudy sky. The first change to 4 flats might suggest the warmer tones of golden sand and brown earth at the cliff’s base. From the ‘mf’‘ on page 2 there is a bigger amplitude  ; one’s thoughts go out to the ocean’s depth and the romance of a passing ship (though there is not one in the picture!). The new figure in 4ths, page 3, is associated in my mind with the gentle pattern of waves in that quiet inlet in the foreground. As I have conveyed in the manuscript, the closing section brings to us the lonely call of birds ; and in the closing bars we combine a reminiscence of the opening harmony with a pattern of parallel 4ths.

The card is still standing on my desk and I thank you both for the thoughts it has brought me.”

Letter page 1

Letter page 1

Letter page 2

Letter page 2

 

Miriam’s rather self-deprecating comment that she doesn’t think it will be of interest to any music publisher proved to be quite wrong, as it has been published, and you can even hear a little audio sample from a CD titled The Ring of New Bells, played by John Martin.

Makes me want to buy this CD to hear the piece in full (how I wish I could play the piano myself!) and imagine the grey skies, the golden sands, the pull of the ocean and the crying of seabirds as Miriam intended.

And just to bring the story full circle, the Library also holds a lovely thoughtful portrait of Miriam Hyde painted by Clif Peir in 1957, just a year after she composed Grey Foreshore.

Miriam Hyde portrait 1957

Miriam Hyde portrait 1957

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‘You are here’ Zine fair 23rd March 2013

Canberra turned on another gorgeous Autumn day for the “You are here” festival’s zine fair.  The fair was excellent and we enjoyed it muchly – even if we arrived only in time to catch the last part of the boy ‘Go Go’ dancers act.  Lucky for us we remembered we were there to work so we collected a great selection of zines for the National Collection.  Here is part 1 of a little photo essay of the day and of some of the zines we collected.

The folks from "A zine thing"

It was also good to catch up with the folks from ‘The Sticky Institue’

Sticky People

Who were there with a table jammed packed full of goodies;

Table full of Sticky Zines

wearing their love of zines on their …. urr, hands.

Zine Love

 The bottom of the U

One of the more colourful tables

The Femme Collective gave us another colourful table.

Librarian at Work!

The folk from Urban Pancakes – a new fav

The Urban Pancake team

Urban

Pancakes

Same time next year!

Adios! - until next time

Love the cats

Some Cool Cats

Don’t be shy about posting a comment if you recognise yourself or just were there having fun at the fair.

End of Part 1.  Stay tuned for Part 2!

Posted in Events, Zines | 4 Comments

Express your taste – learn to cut, copy and paste

Zines are a wonderful way to show your creativity and express your thoughts and ideas. They can range from the very simple, to something more elaborate. From black and white pages to sheets folded into beguiling shapes, sprinkled with glitter, or with “found items” glued in. They may be secured with staples or ribbon or string, or even in packages – brown paper bags for that environmentally friendy touch of course! I must say that from our Preservation Section’s perspective, rusty staples are a nightmare – so for those stapling zinesters, stainless steel definitely preferred!

The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. Zines can be serious or funny, about your experiences or your thoughts on the world, reflective and poetic or outrageous and confronting. They enable everyone to have their say and are a marvellous demonstration of popular culture and “non-mainstream” creative arts. That’s why the National Library considers them so significant and collects a representative sample of what is being produced. But perhaps the best part of zines is that they are made to swap and share with others. They give enjoyment to the creators and pleasure to the receivers.

So, are you feeling inspired?  Want to become a zinester but don’t know where to begin? Well, just to reinforce the importance the National Library places on zines, we are hosting a workshop called “Cut, Copy and Paste” on Saturday 25th May from 10:30-4:30. Suitable for anyone from 12 upwards – age is no barrier! It will be run by the experienced zinesters Jeremy Staples and Elouise Quinliven. So this is your opportunity to give it a try. Cost is $30 and you can make a booking here 

Cut Copy Paste flyer

Cut Copy Paste flyer

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Sad finale for a droll entertainer

In the days before TV and local movie theatres, what did people do for a night’s entertainment out in the suburbs or in country towns? Playbills and broadsides provide a fascinating insight into what was “hot”. In the early years of the 20th century, variety troupes toured the country presenting special guest artists from Australia and overseas, plus the latest in mechanical “moving pictures” to amaze and delight their audiences. The Library has many wonderful examples of the playbills and broadsides that advertised these performances, but here’s one that piqued my interest because of the rather poignant story attached to one of the performers.

The Southern Cross Combination Co. presented a touring variety show and this broadside from 1910 spruiks the presence of the “Prince of Balladists” Post Mason, an American baritone, plus films of “the world’s latest and greatest sporting events” shown by an electric biograph and finally the special engagement of “Alberto the Droll Conjurer”.

Advertising playbill

Advertising playbill

Although this performance was at the Auburn Town Hall in Sydney, the Company obviously toured their show around the state, as there is an enthusiastic review of the same show from the Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate in July 1910.

Now, what attracted my attention was the curiously named “Alberto the Droll Conjurer”. Who was Alberto and what became of him? Well he cut quite a dashing figure in his performing days as this photograph from the State Library of Victoria shows.

Alberto the conjurer

Alberto the conjurer

 

Alberto the “Droll Conjurer” was really Harold McAuliffe, a comedy magician. According to information from Magicpedia and MagicTricks.com:

Harold started his performing career in 1902, billing himself as “The Gay Deceiver” and “The Droll Conjurer”. He joined Harry Rickard’s Tivoli company with early tricks, The Miser’s Dream and The Vanishing Lamp. He was most famous for his More water! growing plant routine, where periodically he would shout “More water!” and pour water on a plant that was growing ridiculously large. Eventually, the plant would extend offstage into the right-side wings, only to begin to grow onto the stage from the left. Moving to the United States in 1922, he became a technical advisor to Hollywood movie studios during the 1930′s and 1940′s and committed suicide in 1964 after years struggling with severe clinical depression.

I wanted to know a bit more about this magician who went to Hollywood, so thought I’d do some digging to see if I could find out anything else. Both the Magicpedia and MagicTricks.com websites list his birth date as 1882. The only record of a birth registration I could find in Australia for 1882 that looked vaguely like him was from Geelong for an Archd Jos Harold McAuliffe. Was this our Harold? Hmmm…. I was beginning to wonder a little. There is also a birth registration record for a Harold McAuliffe in Glebe NSW in 1883. This is interesting as I found a record in the US Social Security Death Index for a Harold McAuliffe who died in California in June 1964, which shows his birth date as 1883 in Sydney – I’m convinced this is “our” Harold. Surely it’s too much of a coincidence for there to be two Harold McAuliffe’s dying in California in 1964 of about the same age? Intriguing!

Now, while working in the movies sounds exciting, I have the impression that Harold’s life may have been rather lonely and perhaps not very glamorous after his move to the US. Did he migrate there because those old variety magic shows and touring entertainment companies were losing out to the movies by the 1920s and work had dried up for our Droll Conjurer? How would someone like Harold who used to be up there on stage and receiving all the accolades feel about being just a behind the scenes “technical advisor” for the movies?

I found a record for Harold in the 1940 US census which showed that he was single, and a lodger in a hotel at 825 West Eighth Street in Los Angeles. A Los Angeles street directory from this time gave this as the address for the Abbey Hotel (probably one of those long-stay hotels that was more like a boarding house) and he paid $20 per week for his room. The hotel had obviously been there for a while. Here’s a picture of the “sitting room” from a 1926 postcard on flickr.

Abbey hotel from flickr tombarnes20008

Abbey hotel from flickr tombarnes20008

Rather sadly, Harold still listed his occupation as Magician on the census form and his “usual industry” as Theatre. Was he pining for those golden days of his past? Harold worked only 4 hours in the week prior to the census – so it certainly looks as though his work and income might have been a little sporadic. In the previous year he told the census that he worked 41 weeks. Did he gradually sink into depression during this time as his famous past became just a distant memory?

I’d love to know the movies Harold was involved with, and the nature of the “technical advice” he provided. Was it related to illusion and magic and sleight of hand? Or showmanship and performance? Is his name buried deep within the credits lists of those golden age movies from the 1920s to 1940s? Did he perhaps entertain his fellow workers and the actors on the set with a few magic tricks while they waited for a film shoot to get underway? I’m sure there is a lot more to tell in the story of our Harold.

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Something to tickle the palate?

The Christmas festive season is here
And we all take a sip with good cheer
As you savour that drink
Something to ponder I think
What gives a beverage its fame
Is it all in the name?

Some last long since first made
Pepsi, fanta, lemonade
But some are destined not to last
Marketing failures from our past
Launched with hope that was great
Now forgotten is their fate

Cast your mind back in time
To something other than wine
1927 was the year
A new orange drink arrived here
A competition run for naming
Now no trace of Palato remaining!

Palato poster

Palato poster

 

Palato newspaper advertisement 1927

Palato newspaper advertisement 1927

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Snakes on the loose!!!

I have been busy cataloguing more zines and comics from the Nick Henderson Zine Collection.  My favourite surprise was “Snake Tree” by SOLS (really Allan Salisbury), which is a collection of strips from the Snake Tales cartoon. Snake Tales is syndicated in many papers around Australia and the world. Before it was syndicated in the United States Lady Snake started wearing a bikini top (a touch of modesty for the US market?). It did not spoil the story. I love Sundays, I am sure I only like the papers for the comics, the rest of the news can be far too serious.

Some of our books including one with Lady snake on cover

Some of our books including one with Lady snake on cover

As a librarian who catalogues books I have my own personal snake – a book snake on my desk (in green). This is made of felt with ball bearings inside. Very useful for librarians to gently hold open the books we are cataloguing without damaging the spine – and I can assure you it doesn’t hiss or bite!

Of course working in our National Library we do have many books on snakes as we receive books from all publishers in Australia via legal deposit.

Living in our country, you are sure to have seen plenty of snakes in the bush.  Even living in a city like Canberra they can venture into our backyards. It’s nice and warm at the moment and that tempts the snakes out to enjoy sunbathing on the rocks in the sun. Do you think our neighbour New Zealand might be a little deprived as they don’t have any native snakes?

Well, I’m not so keen on the poisonous ones, so I’ll stick to my favourite cartoon versions and look for any new ones. Mind you I’m now hungry and thinking of different snakes! The edible kind.

Our recent book with a few other snakes, book snakes, edible snakes

Our recent book with a few other snakes, book snakes, edible snakes

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Visually appealing just love those illustrations

I enjoy cataloguing our collection of zines, I am always surprised by the variety of illustrations that we get from simple line drawing to beautiful art work. 

Some are a little shocking, or rather confronting, but can be done so well. We don’t make any value judgements about the subject matter, language or artwork, but do pop a content advice note in the records if appropriate to indicate that the zine contains adult themes or strong language.  One which I easily remember is: Dyko mik : your local zine with optical poptitude… & much gibberish  written by Tanya J. McLeod.

Others really astonish you visually. A recent one on my desk is titled: A forest / by Marc Martin. We picked this up at a zine fair. What excited me was the small writing on the back. Printed on 100 % recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.  The range of colours is astonishing. The story is moving and simple.

image from A forest / Marc Martin

image from A forest / Marc Martin

The next time I am free I will have to do some more research on this as it really makes me wonder about the history of vegetable based inks. Or perhaps readers of our blog will educate us all.

Posted in Cataloguing, On my desk, Zines | Comments Off

Pen vs. PC

One of the things I enjoy most about zines is their handcrafted nature. Lovingly drawn and stapled/stitched/taped, they make you feel close to the creator. A handwritten manuscript evokes that same emotion. Perhaps I’m just a little old fashioned, but typed words on a computer screen somehow seem to lack a bit by comparison. One of the objects I love from our collection is this rather battered looking pen. Ah the stories it could tell if only it could speak! It just doesn’t compare to a USB stick.
 
Lawson's pen

Lawson's pen

This pen was owned by Henry Lawson and used by him during his sojourn in Leeton from 1916-17. It is actually the end of a pencil in which a steel nib has been inserted and attached with a piece of string coiled up around the pencil to hold it all together.

Lawson was invited to Leeton with the offer of two guineas a week and a house in return for producing articles and poems publicising the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA). During his stay he also revised one of his poetry anthologies for publication, Selected Poems (1918). The Library holds copy no. 1 and copy no. 10 of a special large paper limited edition of 75 copies of this anthology. It is printed on hand-made paper, with uncut edges and proof sheets of illustrations tipped in. Our copy no. 1 is inscribed by Henry Lawson himself (could it possibly have been done with this pen?) and copy no. 10 is inscribed by the publishers.

Among the 30 poems and 10 prose sketches that Lawson wrote during his 20-month stay in Leeton was “A Letter from Leeton”, which was published in a book called The Australian soldier’s gift book that was produced as a fundraiser for building homes for returned soldiers. It was later credited by a government report as having had an “inestimable value” in attracting settlers to the MIA after the War.

Title page of the book

Title page of the book

First page of the letter

First page of the letter

 

Not only does the Library hold a copy of this book, I was also thrilled to discover that we have the original handwritten letter!

First page of original letter from Leeton

First page of original letter from Leeton

A pristine Word document with all the changes of mind removed just doesn’t have the same character. So much more interesting to see Lawson’s thought processes at work with all the crossing out and insertions, and to imagine him writing it with his fingers wrapped around that well-worn pen.

This letter was acquired by the Library as part of a collection of literary manuscripts collected by Alfred George Stephens, who was a journalist, writer and critic.

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“Zine Control to Major Tom!”

Zines come in all shapes, sizes and genres, but I must confess one of my favourite types is the sci-fi zine.  Pre dating the popular bio-zine of today and their (now) middle aged cousins the music and political zines from the Punk rock era; science fiction and zines have been synonymous with each other for over 80 years.  This fact was brought home to me after I catalogued a couple of sci-fi zines from the Henderson collection. Btw we now have over 1000 items from the Henderson collection catalogued!!

Science fiction zines, commonly called “Fanzines” (they are the genre of zine to coin the phrase), are still an important part of the zine world though they do not seem quite as popular as they once were.  As a science fiction fan this seems sad to me.  So, when in recent times, I came across a couple of particularly interesting examples of fanzines I was very pleased.

The first zine is called “My time annihilator: a brief history of the 1930’s science fiction fanzines” by Christopher Todd.  This zine, to borrow a quote from Zinewiki, “Details the origin as well as printing and distribution methods of early zines. Christopher describes finding a book called The Fanzine Index, which listed science fiction fanzines from 1937 to 1952, and hunting down titles from the list at a Temple University archive. Selections from the early zines illustrate My Time Annihilator”. 

What I love about this zine is that it shows us some snippets of early fanzines while detailing some of the rich history behind zine making.  OK so while it’s not actually a fanzine zine (or maybe it’s a fanzine of fanzines?) it does take us on a time travel journey through the history of early science fiction zines.

Writing a Sci-fi zine flow chart

The second zine is called “Megca”.  Well I think it’s called “Megca”, those of you who go to the record will notice that the title is enclosed in square brackets, which is cataloguer speak for “For various reasons this information may not be entirely correct, I think it is correct but am not 100 percent certain {cataloguer scratches head, crosses fingers and hopes for the best}”, followed by two alternative titles also enclosed in square brackets to show other potential alternatives for the title.  In this case the square brackets and alternative titles are because the title is written out in a very dramatic font, which looks wonderfully artistic but also makes it a little difficult to read for the humble cataloguer! {Although now I look at the scanned image it suddenly looks much clearer than the actual item – tricky!}

Luckily I didn’t let it put me off reading this somewhat rough but compelling (very) short story.  Only every second page is populated with a sparse text, alternating between pages of dark rough illustrations.  The story, though somewhat cryptic so therefore open to interpretation, is about the fate of some interplanetary explorers after their ship crashes, stranding them in a hostile environment.  What I love about this zine is that it represents  another type of fanzine, which is also often called a ‘literary’ zine, as it is a creative work written in the Sci-fi genre rather than a zine dedicated to the genre.

It reminds me also that many zine creators are also aspiring fiction writers, who use zines as a starting point for their careers.  In the past, an author getting their short stories published in a literary zine or publishing their own work as a zine has been a precursor for getting their stories published more widely in pulp fiction serials or in short story anthologies – this is how sci-fi and fantasy authors such as Vol Molesworth, Ray Bradbury and H.P. Lovecraft got their start. It is fun to think that the creator of Megca may one day become a popular sci-fi writer – and the NLA will have preserved a copy of their earliest work.

Posted in Cataloguing, On my desk, Zines | 1 Comment

Just a scroll lot of fun!

I recently catalogued two scrolls and a zine in a typewriter.  Much earlier I also catalogued a zine in the shape of a paper plane. So zines are not always in book form. These are part of our Nick Henderson Zine Collection.

The paper plane is titled: Space people team initiative : together everybody achieves more

After cataloguing, of course I couldn’t resist and had to test this plane out (once) and yes it flew fine! A winner creatively and aerodynamically!

The scrolls are a bit of a challenge for reading, as soon as you unroll them they also go flying (were they watching that paper plane and getting ideas?). Maybe a very good reason why scrolls aren’t used today! They are titled Germany 2008 by Vanessa Berry and Alice by Alice McDonald.

Alice was written in a typed script and there was a spacing issue with the letter T. Which always makes me curious, was this deliberate, or not?

Now my favourite, that zine in a typewriter. My record for this zine is titled: 1:25 pm City park, under tree. Raining. It challenged me as I was actually cataloguing the zine, and the paper typewriter is a prop to showcase the zine. It is made from a series of images of a typewriter, printed in black and white, cut out in sections and pasted to an inner cardboard frame. It is just over four inches square and an inch high. The zine is rolled round the platen.

Now, how do we store something like this on our shelves so it doesn’t get damaged? I went to our expert Preservation staff to ask about the housing of the typewriter, and a phase box was made by Erika Mordek to keep it safe and snug. Here are her photos of the zine before and during boxing.

1:25 pm. City park, under tree. Raining.

1:25 pm. City park, under tree. Raining.

 

Boxed paper typewriter

Boxed paper typewriter

There is an interesting blog entry by Robert Messenger about the I am Typewriter Festival which was held in Melbourne by the Sticky Instute in 2011 that has some great shots of some paper typewriters. 

What really surprises me is that some of the photos look amazingly like real typewriters.

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