RETROSPECTIVE: Introduction

Special Collections is a rich source of information, supporting the research needs of staff and students of the University of Otago. Comprising the de Beer Collection, Brasch Collection, Shoults Collection, Post-1800 Stack Collection, Hogg Collection, McGlashan Collection, Mellor Collection, and Pulp Fiction Collection, it is both the main and supplementary source of material for 4 exhibitions every year. Retrospective: A look back at the last 21 Special Collections exhibitions is an 'exhibition of exhibitions', revisiting those held since 2002. Retrospective represents 6 years of exhibitions and highlights the wonderful range of material held in Special Collections. While most of the exhibitions were curated by the Special Collections Librarian, some had guest curators. Many exhibitions have stood alone, some have coincided with symposiums and community events, and at least one has travelled - all have been digitized and are available. The saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' is true for creating Special Collections exhibitions – many people are involved including individuals from Special Collections, Reference Department, Custodians, Bindery, Library Administration, Marketing and Communications, and the Web Office. With their continued involvement, the next 21 exhibitions will be, without a doubt, every bit as interesting, engaging, and visually spectacular as the last.

Upon completing his medical apprenticeship, William Cowper (1666-1709), a surgeon, anatomist and skilled draughtsman, began to study the muscles of the human body in depth. Cowper published Myotomia Reformata in 1694. With assistance from physician Richard Mead (1673-1754) and engraver Michael Vandergucht (1660-1725), he published a second edition of Myotomia Reformata in 1724. Cowper designed historiated copperplate initials to feature at the beginning of the Preface, Introduction and the 36 chapters for the second edition. The initials A, C, E, F, G, I, S, T - some of which had several versions made - measure 59mm square (Mark A. Sanders). On display is a selection of initials found in Myotomia Reformata (1724). The scene depicted in each initial relates to the content of the chapter, or section of text, it appears at the beginning of.

William Cowper, Myotomia Reformata. London, R. Knaplock [etc.] 1724. Medical Monro Collection M53

'The true botanist arranges his plants systematically; and he does not enumerate them out of order.' So wrote Linnaeus about the character of the botanist, whom he classified into true authors or learned compilers. Linnaeus's Philosophia Botanica is a compilation of his lectures on botany and was first published in Stockholm in 1751. Linnaeus was flamboyant, boastful, and unorthodox, yet his lectures – delivered with passion and enthusiasm – captured the imagination of his listeners. He gained many disciples, or as he called them: 'Apostles'. Philosophia Botanica also advanced his ideas and development of his binominal nomenclature applied to plants. This is the first full English translation.

Carl Linnaeus, Philosophia Botanica. Translated by Stephen Freer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Science QK 91 P513 2003

These four catalogues were compiled for exhibitions organized by the London-based firm of Wolseley Fine Arts. The first three reflect important periods of JBW's life: his European stint in Brussels and Paris; his association with Christopher Sandford and Golden Cockerel Press editions; and his involvement with the Surrealist movement. The fourth - My Own Pleasure - has a more personal focus: engravings and etchings made by the artist for his own pleasure between 1925 and 1954.

John Buckland Wright (1897-1954): The Continental Years: Catalogue of a Touring Exhibition Exploring the Work of Buckland Wright as an Engraver and Illustrator during his Continental Years 1926-39. [1997]. Stk NE 1147.6 B83 C66 | John Buckland Wright (1897-1954): The Surrealist Years, 1934-1954: Paintings, Drawings and Engravings. [1999]. Stk NE 1147.6 B83 S87 | John Buckland Wright (1897-1954): The Golden Cockerel Years: Engravings made for the Golden Cockerel and Other Presses 1936-1954. (2001). Stk NE 1147.6 B83 G64 | John Buckland Wright (1897-1954): For My Own Pleasure, The Autonomous Prints: Engravings and Etchings made for the Artist's Own Pleasure between 1925 and 1954. (2003). Stk NE 1147.6 B83 F67

The Murder Act of 1752 made medical dissection of all executed murderers compulsory. On 28 January 1829, Burke was hanged; thirty shillings being the cost of a good view of the scaffold. Tertius began the dissection and accompanying lecture at 1 o'clock and was (for the day at least) the most popular anatomy lecturer on campus. The scalp was first removed to show the muscles of the upper part of the head; then the skull was cut away to expose the brain. An enormous quantity of blood gushed out, so that by at the end of the lecture at 3 o'clock, the room was like an abattoir with the floor all bloody and trodden upon. Burke's skeleton was carefully preserved, and can still be seen today in the Anatomical Museum in Edinburgh. Hare turned King's Witness and escaped the death penalty.

Hugh Douglas, Burke and Hare. London: Robert Hale, 1973. Medical W 880.R856b

The first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass was published in 1855. While it appeared without Whitman's name on the title page or binding, it did bear his identity in three ways: the book's copyright notice is in his name, he identifies himself in the text as "Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos," and an engraving of him by Gabriel Harrison serves as the book's frontispiece. Twelve unrhymed poems and a preface 'written hastily' were contained in the 95 page folio book. Probably 800 copies were printed. This is the Collectors Reprints (1992) facsimile, showing the sprouting and root-bound title and green binding.

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass. First edition. Brooklyn, New York, 1855. New York: Collectors Reprints facsimile, 1992. Stk PS3201 1992

On 10 October 1972, Sir John Betjeman (he was knighted in 1969) received a telephone call from Buckingham Palace that informed him of his appointment as poet laureate. Besieged by the media, he told them: 'I don't think I am any good and if I thought I was any good I wouldn't be any good. I don't watch much television, except for Coronation Street and Alf Garnett who is outrageous but I am going to watch myself tonight on television.' Betjeman was also a film critic, an editor of the Shell Guides, and an active conservationist. This volume is edited by his daughter, Candida Lycett Green.

John Betjeman Letters. Edited by Candida Lycett Green. London: Methuen, 1994-1995. Central PR 6003 E77 Z5 A4 1994

Proof of the Norman Davis panel added to the collection of panels comprising the exhibition 'A Civilising Mission': New Zealanders and the Rhodes Scholarship 1904-2004.

'Norman Davis' [panel] [proof], 2004.

Exhibition poster.

Online exhibition

Exhibition poster.

On his death, one major work by John Evelyn remained unpublished. It was an encyclopaedia prepared during the 1650s which he entitled Elysium Britannicum. Evelyn later extracted and published various sections from it, for example Sylva, and Acetaria, and continued to enlarge the manuscript throughout his life. However he lost confidence in his ability to finish the work, believing that the amount of information it should contain was beyond the ability of one man to assemble. There have been several attempts to bring the work to publication, but the poor condition of the manuscripts, the absence of various sections referred to, and the multiple versions of other sections, made the task very difficult. This modern printing is the first edition of this complex work.

John Evelyn, Elysium Britannicum, or the Royal gardens. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. Stk SB 470 E9 EX6

John Cage (1912-1992) was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His influence was felt not just in music, as America's leading avant-garde composer, but also in the visual arts, dance and in aesthetic thought in general. Exploring the contents of Rolywholyover is itself an experience fully in keeping with Cage's philosophy. Of its design he said: 'The world is vast; give the impression that the materials are endless…' In the mirror box there are reprints of texts that he found stimulating, writings, letters and illustrations by Cage and others, photographs, musical scores and hints on healthy eating. Loose leafed, they can be read in any order. The publication accompanied a major exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

John Cage, Rolywholyover: a circus. New York: Rizzoli, 1993. Stk + ML410 C24 RR27

Charles Wilkes's expedition proved the existence of an Antarctic continent, though he shares the honour with Dumont d'Urville's crew on the Astrolabe. The United States government sponsored the expedition primarily to support the expansion of sealing and whaling interests, but allowed for the possibility that the voyage might 'extend the bounds of science'. During the winter months, the expedition also explored many of the known Pacific islands, improving the charts and collecting specimens of plants, animals and minerals. Few readers have ever read the full account, in five volumes, because Congress only authorised the printing of 100 copies.

Charles Wilkes, Narrative of the United States' Exploring Expedition, during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 by Charles Wilkes. Condensed and abridged [ed.] Papakura, N.Z. : R. McMillan, [19--]. Central DU 21 WN7

E. S. De Beer (Ed). The correspondence of John Locke. Oxford [Eng.]: Clarendon Press, 1976-1989. Stk B1296.A15

In 2005, Brendan O'Brien, a Wellington based hand-craft printer, was invited to be the third Printer in Residence. While here two projects emerged: the printing of a tribute volume of verse by the artist Joanna Paul called access to lilac; and a first time printing of Bill Manhire's and Ralph Hotere's PINE sequence. One hundred copies of the former were printed and available for sale; 150 copies of the latter were printed, with 100 only for sale: 26 signed and 74 unsigned copies. Hotere's PINE is the first publication from the new Otakou Press imprint, launched successfully in December 2005.

Joanna Margaret Paul, Access to Lilac. Dunedin: Bibliography Room, 2005. Stk PR9641.P42 A22