Media Release

Major New Exhibition to Open in December

Mirror of the World: books and ideas is a major exhibition that traces the development of civilisation through books. This permanent, free exhibition will open in the State Library of Victoria’s Dome Gallery on 9 December.

Mirror of the World will feature 205 books and 75 framed illustrated pages, drawn from the Library’s internationally renowned Rare Books Collection. It celebrates books as keepers of ideas, knowledge and the imagination, and provides a window into the history of book production and illustration through the display of fine examples dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.

'Our Rare Books Collection is one of the most significant collections in Australia', says Shane Carmody, State Library Director of Collections and Access. 'As Australia's oldest public library, the State Library has been collecting books for over 150 years. For the first time we are now able to show a selection of some of the finest items from our collection. This magnificent exhibition will give visitors a unique insight into the way books have shaped the way we think about the world and ourselves over the centuries.'

Among the seminal works and first editions on display will be:

• Sir Isaac Newton – Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, London, 1687
  Principia forms the basis of our modern understanding of dynamics and is considered one of the most important single works in the history of modern science.
  
  
• Charles Darwin – On the origin of species by means of natural selection, London, John Murray, 1859
  This book profoundly influenced nearly every field of modern scientific and philosophical study. When it first appeared in 1859, all 1250 copies sold out in a day.
  
  
• Myrrour of the worlde, London, William Caxton, 1490
  Produced by England’s first printer William Caxton, Myrrour of the worlde was one of the first illustrated books to appear in England. It is an introduction to the history of science, covering geography, economics, music, cosmography, zoology, meteorology and astronomy. The State Library exhibition was named after this work.
  
  
• Scriptores historiæ Augustæ, Florence, 1479
  Scriptores is a significant example of the Renaissance revival of classical literature. This manuscript book is a series of biographies of Roman emperors. This copy was commissioned by the Medici family.
  
  
• Shakespeare – Shakespeare Second Folio, 1632
  This is the very rare second edition of his collected plays.
  
  
• Milton – Paradise Lost, 1668
  First edition of one of the great works of English literature.
  
  
• Chaucer – Collected edition, 1532
  This is the first ever works of Chaucer collected in a single volume, including Canterbury Tales, with exquisite illustrated woodcuts.
  
  
• James Joyce – Ulysses, Paris, 1922
  First edition. One of 100 copies on Dutch handmade paper signed by Joyce.
  
  
• Charles Dickens – The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, 1836-1837
  First edition. Published in their original parts.
  
  
• John James Audubon – The birds of America, 1827-1838
  One of the most significant publications on birds ever issued. Hand-coloured engraved plates. Life size images.
  
  
• John Lewin – Birds of NSW, 1813
  First illustrated book published in Australia. It is one of only 13 known copies still in existence.
  
  
• Pierre Redouté – Les Liliacées from 1808
  One of the great French botanical artists.
  
  
• Ferdinand Bauer – 1813
  Hand-coloured engraved plates of Australian plants that are based on the drawings made on the voyage with Matthew Flinders.

Other remarkable items on display will include: a cuneiform clay tablet from 2050 BC, featuring one of the earliest known forms of writing; the Nuremberg Chronicle, a beautiful 15th-century German book with over 1800 woodcut illustrations of the history of the world since creation; Renaissance manuscripts and several medieval Books of Hours. One of the more unusual items is The Midget Library – twelve miniature reference books, including a Bible; Koran; English, French and German dictionaries; a volume of Robert Burns’ poems and an alphabet of birds and animals.

There are four major themes in the exhibition. Books and Ideas will explore the early history of printing, as well as  books that have changed the world. The Book and Imagination will look at the ways books and texts have been created out of the imagination, while at the same time acting imaginatively upon the reader. Exploring the World will examine the way books have been used to document the world, its landscape, topography, inhabitants, flora and fauna. The Artist and the Book will explore the role of the artist in book production, featuring beautiful hand binding and marbling through to Japanese woodblock books and graphic design.

Mirror of the World: books and ideas opens on Friday 9 December 2005, 10am – 5pm daily at the Dome Gallery, Level 4, State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne. This is a permanent exhibition. Entry: free. General inquiries: 8664 7000.