A collection of pamphlets on politics in England printed in 1688 and a poetry book sent to troops in the trenches in World War 1 will be among the rare books offered at The Friends of the University Book Fair to be held from 6 August to 13 August.
The Book Fair, which is staged every two years, will be held at the University of Newcastle‟s Great Hall and this year features one million items for sale.
The historic pamphlet collection is titled A Collection of Papers relating to the Present Juncture of Affairs in England. It includes a plea from Prince William of Orange to the English army to help him “secure the nation from Popery and slavery.”
A pocket poetry book sent to troops in 1917 called Saltbush Bill, JP and Other Verses, features the verse of A.B. Paterson, C.J. Dennis and Will H. Ogilvie with illustrations by Norman Lindsay.
According to Friends of the University President, Vic Levi, there is a wide selection of items on sale ranging from comic books to editions of the Karma Sutra.
“One collectors‟ book is A Century of Journalism, 1831-1931, a beautifully illustrated 805-page history of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Fairfax organisation. It includes early photographs of Newcastle.
“For music lovers there is a collection of music and lyrics from ABBA‟s classic Arrival album authorised for sale only in Australia and New Zealand in 1976 and 'The Penguin John Lennon', a second edition of drawings, poems and stories by The Beatles band member printed in 1965.
“There will also be a number of first editions available including A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, printed in 1970. This book recently sold in the US for $4,000.”
"For the local historians, Books 1, 2 and 3 of The Hill End Story by well-known former Newcastle school teacher Harry Hodge will be on sale. The author of this rare trilogy was Economics Master at Newcastle Boys High School for many years.”
The Book Fair will also offer a collection of miniature books including the Lilliput Dictionary which measures only 3cms by 5cms but has 575 pages. Among the many other items for sale will be a huge array of popular fiction, audio books, thousands of magazines, sheet music, records, CDs, DVDs and textbooks.
All money raised from the Book Fair will be used by the Friends of the University to fund scholarships to assist students with their studies. The Friends have so far raised more than $500,000 to help support the University and students.
The Book Fair is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and 10am to 4pm on week days. It will be open till 7 pm on Thursday.
For further information and photograph or video opportunities please contact Friends of the University President, Vic Levi, on (02) 4946 8859 or 0417 416 003.
