Rare Book Club: introducing the John Emmerson Collection
Welcome to the Rare Book Club, a show-and-tell video series where we explore, inspect and marvel at some of the unique and extraordinary rare books in the Library’s collection.
Ranging from medieval manuscripts and early printed books, through to 20th century modernist literature and contemporary artists’ books, the Rare Books Collection is full of fascinating holdings just waiting to be shared.
In this episode, Anna Welch, Principal Librarian, History of the Book and Arts, gives us an introduction to the John Emmerson Collection – one of the world’s largest collections of rare British printed works. It features books and pamphlets from the 15th to 18th centuries, mostly produced in England, and was donated to the Library in 2015.
Watch the video above for a look at this significant collection, which was amassed over 40 years by the late John McLaren Emmerson QC (1938–2014), a bibliophile and brilliant scholar who had careers as both an Oxford physicist and a Melbourne barrister.
About Rare Book Club
Welcome to the Rare Book Club, a show-and-tell video series where we explore, inspect and marvel at some of the unique and extraordinary rare books in the Library’s collection.
Ranging from medieval manuscripts and early printed books to 20th-century modernist literature and contemporary artist books, the Rare Books Collection is full of fascinating holdings just waiting to be shared.
More to explore
- Learn more about the Library’s Rare Books Collection.
- Explore the Library’s collection of medieval manuscripts.
- Support the Rare Books Collection.
- Learn more about the John Emmerson Collection.
- Visit the online exhibition, Beyond the Book: A Journey Through the Treasures of the Emmerson Collection.
- Learn more about Beyond the Book: Transforming the Early Modern Archive, a two-day symposium at the Library on 10 and 11 August 2023.