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A musical interlude is the theme for this month's book display exploring the art of music and why it is appreciated. Our display books are only a small selection of what is available about music, instruments and musicians. Our on-line catalogue provides a full listing of course. Display books can be reserved in March and picked up in April and no reservation fee applies. |
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 The current display in the library shows some of the items and documents held in the archives. Together the items create a sense of times long gone. The small number of archives, held in the Melbourne Athenaeum archives, may be few in number but high in nostalgia. We have some well-used pieces from the time before ball point pens were developed: an old letter holder matches the glass pen stand, wooden-handled pens with nibs and a rare bottle of Swan brand ink.
The book in the display case, an ex-library copy, is titled The History of Pendennis, by William Makepeace Thackeray, published in London, in 1878. Two documents written in July 1895 refer to the installation of gas in the building. A letter from the Metropolitan Gas Company quotes on the cost of installing incandescent gas burners and the accompanying file note give a calculation of gas consumption in the Large Hall, at that time. Marjorie Dalvean Voluntary archivist Melbourne Athenaeum |
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