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2016 Collection Appeal

  • Antique hinged photographic case reveals B&W photo of a 19th-century US naval officer
    Portrait of cadet Dabney Scales housed in its original case and handwritten pages from Scales' Shenandoah diary
  • Pablo Picasso's 'Carmen sur le texte de Prosper Mérimée'
    Pablo Picasso's Carmen sur le texte de Prosper Mérimée, La Bibliothèque Française, Paris, 1949
  • A page of cursive handwriting is placed beside a sepia portrait of a US Confederate soldier
    A photo of Lt Dabney Scales in Confederate naval dress and his handwritten Shenandoah diary
  • Colourful tapestry of a medieval knight in armour
    Richard Hooker, On the laws of ecclesiastical polity (1635)
  • Photo of a book containing a notice about King Charles' execution being held by a person wearing white gloves
    King Charls his speech made upon the scaffold, 1649, gift of John Emmerson, 2014
  • An old handwritten diary lays open beside photos of a US Confederate soldier and a clipper ship
    Lt Dabney Scales' ship-board diary, with a photo of Scales and an artist's depiction of the CSS Shenandoah
  • Illustration of some passionfruit flowers
    Passionflowers by Caroline Peebles, watercolour, c 1870-1910

Thank you

Donations to the Library's 2016 Collection Appeal raised more than $95,000 and secured the purchase of Lieutenant Dabney Minor Scales’ CSS Shenandoah diary, which will be displayed in the Library in 2017. 

The Appeal also raised funds to build and preserve rare and significant items for our History of the Book and Pictures collections.

These rich collections inform and inspire scholars and students as well as writers, musicians, artists and members of the public who use these unique items to understand and tell the story of Victoria's history.

About the CSS Shenandoah ship-board diary

This rare diary details a surprise visit to Melbourne in 1865 by the CSS Shenandoah, the only Confederate ship to circumnavigate the globe. Lt Dabney M Scales' ship-board diary features first-hand observations of officers and crew mixing with the people of Victoria, and offers valuable insights into Melbourne society in the mid-19th century. Discover more about the Shenandoah diary.