I was recently assessing some items in the collection at Eaglehawk Mechanics Institute in Central Victoria, and came across this book - How Can I Forget? by Jan Tempest - a popular novel from the 1930s.
The interesting thing was the books stamps on the title page:
Roundabout Book Club, Caulfield.
G.R. McGie, Charlton.
Stan Hall, South Yarra.
Taylors Pharmacy, Apollo Bay.
Tresgrove Library, Apollo Bay.
Murchison Mechanics Institute.
All these libraries are long gone, but this book and others like it provide testament to the role these small commercial libraries and Institutes played in the cultural life of our communities.
And that's an amazing journey for a humble romance novel!
No comments:
Post a Comment