Current exhibition
Janet Frame’s Bookshelf: A Writer’s Reading Life
Thursday 29 August- 28 February 2025
This exhibition is a celebration of the 100th birthday of Janet Frame ONZ, CBE (1924-2004), the acclaimed novelist, short story writer, and poet, and an examination of the relationship between her writing and reading. The exhibition forensically reconstructs the contents of Frame’s bookshelves, based on her autobiography and non-fiction writing, as well as her personal and literary papers held at Hocken Collections.
It presents impressions of her bookshelves and the types of reading material they held. This archival and documentary evidence of Frame’s reading reveals how it was woven into the fabric of the writer’s creative, intellectual, social, and everyday life. Books furnished Frame’s homes; their presence bolstered her literary purpose and sense of belonging. The printed word informed, inspired, and consoled her and sustained deep personal relationships. Overall, the books, images, and documents brought together in this exhibition reinforce how writing and reading were inseparable for one of Dunedin’s and New Zealand’s most esteemed literary figures.
The deBeer Gallery at Special Collections is open to all visitors Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm.
Past exhibitions
30 October 2020–31 October 2021 Out of the Vault: Gothic Literature and ales of the Supernatural
21 February–10 July 2020 This Book Belongs To …
21 June–13 September 2019 1869: The Year That Was
21 June–13 September 2019 The Female of the Species: A Celebration of Women in History
22 March–7 June 2019 For the love of books: Collectors and Collections
14 December 2018–15 March 2019 Medical Marvels: Treasures from the Health Sciences Library
7 September 2018–7 December 2018 Auld Acquaintances: Celebrating the Robert Burns Fellowship
15 June–31 August 2018 All the Year Round: Exploring the Nineteenth-Century Periodical
16 March–1 June 2018 A Middle Eastern Odyssey: Constantinople to Palmyra
15 December–9 March 2018 Moving to the Left: The Art and Development of the Frontispiece
15 September–8 December 2017 Parlez-vous français? Celebrating France & the French
16 June–8 September Intrepid Journeys: Travelling with the Hakluyt Society
24 March–9 June 2017 500 Years On. Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation
9 December 2016–17 March 2017 Keeping it in the Family: British and Irish Literary Generations, 1770-1930
1 September 2016–2 December 2016 A Letterpress Legacy: The Dartmouth College Book Arts Workshop
10 June 2016–26 August 2016 Scholarly Favourites. Researching in Special Collections Exhibition, University of Otago
11 March 2016–3 June 2016 Fashion Rules OK
11 December 2015–4 March 2016 By Land and By Sea: Scientific Expedition Reports in Special Collections from 1826 to the 1960s
28 August–27 November 2015 The Melrose Library: Reflecting the Life and Works of Sir F. Truby King
5 June–21 August 2015 Black + White + Grey. The Lives + Works of Eric Gill + Robert Gibbings
12 March–29 May 2015 Aliens, Androids & Unicorns. The Hal Salive Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection
17 December–23 March 2014 The World of Joseph W. Mellor (1869-1938)
11 September–5 December 2014 Celebrating Botany (1924-2014)
11 June–5 September 2014 Viva l'Italia. A Regional Romp through Italy
21 March–23 May 2014 Make It New! Modernism & the Medieval Presence
20 December 2013–14 March 2014 Rare Delights III. Recent Additions to Special Collections
27 September–13 December 2013 Reaching Out: Celebrating 100 years of Otago Physiotherapy Graduates
28 June–20 September 2013 Maths, Politics and Concrete: The Legacy of the Classical World
5 April–25 June 2013 Celebrating Pharmacy
20 December 2012–22 March 2013 From Pigskin to Paper: The Art and Craft of Bookbinding
21 September–13 December 2012 Celebrating Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
22 June–14 September 2012 Charting the Land on the Ocean: Pacific Exploration, 1520-1876
23 March–15 June 2012 Ray Guns & Rocket Ships. The Fred Fastier Science Fiction Collection
21 December 2011 to 16 March 2012 The Gentleman's Magazine: The 18th century answer to Google
30 September–16 December 2011 In Search of Scotland
1 July–23 September 2011 Experimental Philosophy: old and new
1 April–17 June 2011 Forging a Magical Landscape: The Works of Robert Graves, Poet
17 December 2010–25 March 2011 Faces of Authorship: Constructing the Author in Medieval and Early Modern Books
27 August to 10 December 2010 Pulp Fiction
14 May–20 August ALL ABOARD! The Ernie Webber Railway Collection
8 February–7 May Footnotes on Official History: Celebrating Dr Hocken's Pamphlet Collection
30 October 2009–29 January 2010 Heresy, Sedition, Obscenity: The Book Challenged
13 July–23 October 2009 'I sat down in the evening to read...' Books from the Library of Charles Brasch, Poet, 1909-1973
8 April–3 July 2009 Beetles, Barnacles, Orchids, and the Origin of Species: Charles Darwin and His Legacy
19 December 2008–27 March 2009 A Record of Achievement: The 50th Birthday of the Otago University Press
29 August–12 December 2008 Nourishing the Roots: an exhibition celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago
5 May–22 August 2008 Éire á Móradh: Singing the Praises of Ireland
25 February - 25 April 2008 Rare Delights II: Recent Additions to Special Collections
20 December 2007 - 1 February 2008 RETROSPECTIVE: A look back at the last 21 Special Collections exhibitions
17 October to 14 December 2007 Initials: In the Beginning...
6 July to 28 September 2007 Linnaeus, Prince of Botanists: His Works and Legacy
11 April to 29 June 2007 A Quick Stab at the Eighteenth Century
12 December 2006–30 March 2007 Master of the Burin: the book illustrations of John Buckland Wright, 1897-1954
4 September–1 December 2006 In the Flesh. The Monro Dynasty 1720-1846.
1 June–25 August 2006 The Black Art: Hand-printing in the Bibliography Room, 1961-2005
10 February–26 May 2006 West Meets East: Images of China and Japan, 1570 to 1920
17 October 2005–27 January 2006 Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass
11 July–23 September 2005 The Word on Modernism: How Books Aided a Revolution in Design
11 April–24 June 2005 "£100 & a butt of sack yearly" The office of the poet laureate
20 December 2004–31 March 2005 Straight Jackets: the Art of the Book Jacket
20 September–10 December 2004 'A Civilising Mission' : New Zealanders and the Rhodes Scholarship 1904–2004
24 June–10 September 2004 41 Stunning Books: A selection of modern private press books
23 March–11 June 2004
Glimpses of London's Past
25 November 2003–12 March 2004 He tirohanga ki muri ~ A view of the past
4 July–17 November 2003 Harmonizing my starting place: Charles Brasch, patron, poet and collector
21 March–27 June 2003 Cultivating Gardens: Practical garden advice through the ages
13 December 2002–13 March 2003 Rare Delights: recent additions to Special Collections
12 September–28 November 2002 Unpacking Ruins: architecture from antiquity
21 June–1 September 2002 Enlarging the prospects of happiness: European travel writing through the ages
21 March–13 June 2002 Portrait of a gentleman scholar: celebrating the life and legacy of Esmond de Beer
