The Architecture, Decorations and Symbolism of the Mitchell Library, Sydney

Graham Southwell: Scholarly Musings Presentation. 5 May 2015.State Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

! ! ! ! !Abstract

The completion of the Mitchell Library building and its many adornments was largely due to

the drive and passion of William Ifould, Principal Librarian of the Public Library of NSW 1912 to

1942.

During his 1923 and 1936 trips to USA and UK Ifould inspected many public libraries and

was greatly influenced by the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and the Boston

Public Library.

The three pairs of bronze doors on the northern facade, the other pair of bronze doors on the

southern facade, the Chaucer windows and other decorations are the result of the extremely

generous donation of Sir William Dixson at the encouragement of William Ifould.

Two pairs of bronze north doors feature aboriginal people celebrating 40,000 years of their

presence in Australia and one pair of navigators and explorers doors celebrating 400 years of

European discovery and settlement. The south doors have images of 15th and 16th century printers’

marks which are symbolic of the invention of printing in Europe.

! ! ! ! ! Mitchell Library. Photo Author.

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Presentation.

! Thank you Rachel. Good morning everyone. I am delighted to have been selected for my

presentation. I have no real experience in Librarianship. However, I think I can claim, with as much

humility I can muster, to be one of the most important people involved with the State Library of

New South Wales, the various libraries of the University of Sydney and the Wollongong City

Library. I am a reader! And, of course, the primary function of the State Library of New South

Wales is to support its readers, which it does extremely well as do the other libraries I will mention.

After 50 plus years as a dentist, along the way I developed a pursuit of Art History at the

Australian National University followed by a unit for my Graduate Certificate in Arts from the

University of Sydney entitled “Back Stage at the Mitchell Library” directed by Dr Anita Callaway,

encompassing the art treasures in the library’s collection.

As stated in the title my focus in this presentation is on the Mitchell Library. In my

discussion I hope to show it, and hence the State Library of NSW, as having always been a Library

for the People. No one has ever been excluded from the Mitchell Library. In the past a few were

banished. For example, Bea Miles, one of Sydney’s brilliant eccentrics of the mid-twentieth century,

on several occasions was banned not because it was thought she was stealing books, not because

she knew more Shakespeare than the Principal Librarian and continually displayed that knowledge,

but because she was raucous. She was readmitted many times until finally banished in the late

1950’s by the Principal Librarian, John Metcalfe. This is one example showing this library is and

always has been a library for all the people.

A friend of mine, Colin Steele, who is a retired Principal Librarian of the Australian National

University, in his 1976 book rated the State Library of NSW (at that time the Mitchell Library) one

of only four Australian libraries ranked in the world’s top 300 great libraries, not only for its

architecture but also for its collections. I am sure today’s State Library of NSW will still hold that

position.

In his excellent book on Johann Gutenberg, John Man states there were four turning points

in human contacts “each recording moments at which communication flicked to a new level of

speed and outreach. These were firstly the invention of writing, secondly the invention of the

alphabet (which in my opinion should also include those languages where the written word is in

characters), thirdly the invention of printing with moveable type and fourthly the arrival of the

internet.” The third one, Gutenberg’s brilliant invention of printing with moveable type is the

reason why we are able to be here today and why public libraries exist! Of course, if it hadn’t been

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Gutenberg, sooner or later someone would have come up with a similar idea. Gutenberg’s genius

was not only to invent the type using his punch cutter’s and casting skills, but to also devise the

printing press and discard water based ink to come up with oil based ink only twenty tears or so

after the beginning of oil based painting. The only thing he did not invent was paper which had

come from China.

Mitchell Library 1910. Photo State Library of New South Wales

To fully understand the construction of the Mitchell Library building one needs to look at

late nineteenth and early twentieth century library buildings around the world. In narrowing the

focus there were two very similar important new public libraries opened in the early twentieth

century: the Mitchell Library, Sydney and the New York Public Library. The Mitchell Library was

built to house David Scott Mitchell’s collection of Australiana and Pacific items donated with the

proviso there would be a suitable building to house them. Mitchell died in July 1907 while the

building was in progress. It, the northwest corner of the Mitchell Library building, was opened in

1910. The New York Public Library opened in 1911 to accommodate three private donated libraries.

The New York Public Library when opened was complete, however it took until 1964 for the south

east wing of the Mitchell Library to be finished, somewhat in the tradition of Gothic cathedrals

which took up to two hundred years to complete. Both these library buildings are a combination of

block building Renaissance architecture together with nineteenth century Neo-classical facades.

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Mitchell Library.

New York Public Library. Photo NYPL.

I state it is no coincidence the facades of the Mitchell and New York libraries are similar,

that in both cases a circular reading room was rejected in favour of a rectangular one and these two

libraries are the only ones with four pairs of bronze entrance doors.

While the initial impetus for the construction of the Mitchell Library building came from

David Scott Mitchell, we need to look at the two other main personalities who brought it to fruition.

they are William Ifould and William Dixson.

William Herbert Ifould, Principal Librarian of the Public Library of New South Wales from 1912 to

1942, in a 1929 talk to Sydney architects said if he wasn’t a librarian he would have been an

architect.

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William Ifould in front of Daphne Mayo’s bronze doors. Photo Beat Bros Ltd. Stonework PLNSW 1939 - 42.

As a result of his interest in architecture he retained an overriding influence in the

architecture and decoration of the Mitchell Library. In his 1923 and 1936 trips to USA, UK and

Canada Ifould inspected many large libraries and was especially impressed with the architecture

and decorations of the Boston Public Library, the New York Public Library and the Library of

Congress (Thomas Jefferson Building). The many Printers’ Marks at the Boston and Congress

library buildings were very obvious for anyone including Ifould to observe and, I suggest, further

influenced him to use Printers’ Marks on the South doors, my passion and the subject of my thesis

which I will come to shortly.

The finishing of the Mitchell Library focuses on the main person with the determination and

problem solving ability to see the process to a successful conclusion. This was William Ifould. The

Minister Drummond was a key, however the Trustees, Government Architects; Wells, Smith, and

Parkes; the library staff, the artists, the builders, stone masons and bronze casters were all

peripheral to Ifould’s single mindedness. His high intellect and good knowledge of library

architecture and decoration saw this project to a successful conclusion as a much needed public

library building while also an aesthetic architectural achievement. Let us look at the architecture

and decorations and their symbolism.

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Mitchell Library North Portico. Photo Author.

The Portico on the northern facade of the Mitchell Library, using reproductions of ancient

Greek and Roman Architecture, shows the importance of the building for the people of New South

Wales. It is the repository of a vast amount of knowledge, hence I feel needs eight massive fluted

Ionic columns to support the heavy weight of that knowledge. The candelabra are symbolic of the

light to be shown on this knowledge within the library building. The portico was added to the

Library as part of the late 1930s extensions to the original Mitchell Library. The portico continued

to serve as the main entry until the new Macquarie Street building opened in 1988.

Not everyone is aware of the significance and symbolism of the Mitchell Library bronze

doors. The north, main entry, bronze doors are a celebration of the history of Australia. The left and

right doors are of aboriginal history and culture during 40.000 years and the central doors of

European navigators and explorers over 400 years with resulting settlement and development of our

nation. The south doors with early Printers’ Marks are a celebration of the invention of printing in

Europe, hence a celebration of books, and the main reason for the existence of libraries.

Looking at symbolism, in a 2000 book on “Building libraries for the 21st Century” by

Terry Webb there are many comments on recent, current and future library buildings. The author of

this book states: “Symbolic Librarianship, as I call it, is the little recognized portion of library

practice that acknowledges the library as a system of symbols and calls for proper management of

those symbols as an important part of a library’s resources. It is the ability to interpret, be sensitive 6

to, and build upon public perceptions of a library as a societal asset that is as much symbolic as

functional.”

Reading Room looking south. Photo Author.

If one accepts this argument of symbolism being as important as functionality, it follows that

the Mitchell Library architecture and all of its decorations including the carefully chosen stained

glass windows and the diligently selected motifs of all the bronze doors have high symbolic value.

The architecture of the Mitchell Library is symbolic with its arresting exterior demonstrating its

importance, the awe inspiring reading room is a powerful reminder this is the fountain of

knowledge. In my opinion the north doors which are opened every morning are inviting the public

to enter and access the knowledge contained within.

The main Public Library building on the corner of Bent and Macquarie streets was

inadequate for its purpose. The Government Architect, Walter Vernon drew a plan for a new

building in 1905 which was termed the National Library. Large parts of this plan were included in

the Mitchell Library building as we know it today.

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William Dixson. Photo State Library of New South Wales.

In 1919 William Dixson a wealthy collector of rare books, manuscripts and pictures offered

some of his collection to the library on condition they be displayed in the galleries of the completed

National Library. The government ignored the offer which was again, fortunately, made in 1924.

Dixson was a very patient man. His provisos included a purpose built extension to the Mitchell

Library to house the collection and he would bequeath his entire, large collection to the library on

his death. The very next day to Dixson’s offer Ifould urged the department of Public Works to

accept the offer and immediately restart work on the new National Library Building, commencing

with the Dixson wing. This was accepted and work started in 1926 and took over two years to

complete. The Dixson Wing of the National (previously Public, later State) Library was opened on

21 October 1929 adjacent to the Mitchell Wing with all of Dixson’s gifts on display.

After the extremely generous donation of 4,000 pounds by William Dixson for bronze

entrance doors to the Mitchell Library in memory of David Scott Mitchell, which was accepted by

the Government in July 1934, a process was set in place to implement the design. The money stayed

in the Dixson Donation Account gathering interest for six years until able to be utilised during the

construction of the main part of the Mitchell Library

This donation came about because of Dixson’s desire to have a grand library decoration to

celebrate David Scott Mitchell whom he venerated but had never met. Ifould had been in close

contact with Dixson since the initial discussions of Dixson’s very significant donation of books,

manuscripts and paintings in the 1920’s and opened the discussion after a game of golf.

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Mitchell Library north,main entry, doors. Photos author.

Initially it was envisaged there would be one bronze door, however at the first meeting of

the Bronze Doors Committee of PLNSW it was concluded there were to be three bronze main

entrance doors. The central doors were to be of navigators and explorers, the side doors of

allegorical figures with the eastern doors showing images of Poetry, Drama, Music, Sculpture and

the western doors of Philosophy, History, Science and Architecture. These images are similar to

those of other late nineteenth and early twentieth century library buildings such as the Boston

Public Library. The images on the eastern and western doors of the Mitchell Library were later

changed to show aboriginal people.

The enlightened idea of using aboriginal figures was very unusual for the time and came

under much criticism as was the selection of the Slovakian, Dr Arthur Fleischmann for the central

doors as, during 1940 the Second World War which was going poorly for Australia and its allies in

Europe, some saw anyone not from the British Empire as a threat. The use of aboriginal people on

the left and right doors was a magnificent gesture in symbolically acknowledging the original

inhabitants of Australia. The images of navigators and explorers symbolises the discovery and

settlement of Australia by European people.

The final plans showing three pairs of north doors and one pair of south doors in bronze

were signed by Cobden Parkes, Government Architect on 12 November 1935.The doors on the left

are by Daphne Mayo and those on the right by Ralph Walker, E Lenegan and Frank Lynch. All the

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north doors were cast by Wunderlich and there is an adjoining plaque stating they were donated by

Sir William Dixson in memory of David Scott Mitchell, in 1942.

Shakespeare, Bourke and Flinders statues. Photos author.

In front of the northern facade of the Mitchell Library, isolated in Shakespeare Place by the

entry and exits of the Cahill Expressway, are the Shakespeare Statues. They comprise of

Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Portia and Falstaff. They are by Sir Bertram Mackennal

and were paid for by Henry Gullett. The statues were cast in bronze in England and the white

marble base came from Italy in 1925.

Near the north western corner of the library is a bronze statue of Sir Richard Bourke,

Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. He was obviously very much admired as the

statue was paid for by public subscription and was the work of Edward Hodges Baily in London in

1842.

Early in his career as Principal Librarian, William Ifould acquired the Flinders papers from

Professor Flinders Petrie, grandson of Matthew Flinders. These were given on the condition that a

statue of Flinders be erected. This was done and a bronze statue of Flinders in naval uniform,

holding a sextant was unveiled in 1925. The sculptor was William Robert Colton in England.

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The symbolic value of the embellishments and decorations of the Mitchell Library are

important for the people of New South Wales. The sandstone carvings are symbolic of past

traditions handed down to us. The North facade, the Shakespeare Room, the Caxton, Chaucer and

Sydney Gazette stained glass windows symbolise the literary and cultural traditions we have

inherited. The Shakespeare, Flinders and Bourke bronze statues symbolise the literary tradition, the

exploration and the European settlement of this great country. The Tasman map on the vestibule

floor is another treasure showing Abel Tasman’s route around Australia. It was was carried out

using Wombeyan russet marble by the Melocco Bros of Annandale who, because of their Italian

background, had to be released from a World War II internment camp for the duration of this project

and other adornments in the building. The Melocco brothers – Peter, Anthony and Galliano –

arrived in Sydney from Italy in the early 1900s to become the city’s leading marble and mosaic

workers. Tasman’s original 1644 map is in the Mitchell Library collection.

Vestibule quotation. Photo Author.

Carved into the eastern wall of the Mitchell vestibule, the words of Thomas Carlyle are from

his Hero as Man of Letters dated 1840. The stone was laid by the Beat Brothers, and carved by

James Fowler, M Swan and A Sproule. This famous quote captures the essence of the Library,

which the principal librarian William Ifould and the Sydney press often referred to as ‘Everyman’s

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Library’. Ifould had tried hard and successfully changed the image and reach of the Library, as he

believed that the wider public, not just the privileged few, should have access to its resources.

Living at a time when tertiary education was out of reach for most people, Carlyle also

remarked, ‘the true university of these days is a collection of books’. An abbreviate version of these

words were inscribed in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building in the US Library of

Congress in 1897, which Ifould saw and decided to expand the quotation.

Vestibule Windows. Photos author.

There are three stained glass Manuscript Windows on the north wall of the vestibule derived

from old illuminated manuscripts, the centre window is from the thirteenth century Gifford Psalter

and the two side windows are from the eighth century Book of Kells, donated by printing craftsmen

and the Country Press Association of NSW. Below these windows are three small balconies. There

are also large fluted sandstone columns with corinthian capitals and stone carvings high on the

walls, these are best viewed from the first floor balcony level. Also in the vestibule is a bronze head

of William Ifould paid for by the employees of the library after his retirement and created by Arthur

Fleischmann.

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Three Chaucer Windows. Photos author.

The three Chaucer stained glass windows on the eastern wall of the main Reading Room are

of Canterbury Tales, which was printed by William Caxton in 1476, the first book to be printed in

England. There is an Australian twist is these windows too. If you look closely you will see a

koala. Sir William Dixson was delighted part of his Donation Account was used to fund the three

Chaucer windows.

Sydney Gazette Window. Photo author.

On the western wall is the Sydney Gazette window commemorating first Australian

newspaper printed in 1803 which was donated by the Sun Newspaper to celebrate the 500th

anniversary of the Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in Europe in 1440 and was

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installed in 1940. On the left side of the window is George Howe the paper’s printer, publisher,

typesetter and proprietor presenting a copy of the first issue to Governor Philip Gidley King.

Mitchell Library Reading Room looking north. Photo author

On the northern end of the reading room are two bronze medallions celebrating the major

benefactors of the library, David Scott Mitchell and Sir William Dixson created by Arthur

Flieschmann.

Seven Ages of Man Windows. Photos author.

Adorning the north wall of the Shakespeare Room are stained glass windows of the Seven

Ages of Man from ‘As you like it’. The Shakespeare Room resulted from a group of Sydney

Shakespeare enthusiasts deciding in 1912 to acknowledge the 300th year of Shakespeare’s death in

1616. World War I intervened and the Shakespeare Room became part of the 1942 extensions of

the Mitchell Library paid for by the Shakespeare Fund. The ceiling is closely modeled on that of

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Cardinal Wolsley’s study at Hampton Court Palace and was made by Art Plasto Company. In the

Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC there is a 1932 large stained glass window with

images of the Seven Ages of Man. William Ifould would have seen this during his 1936 trip and as

he was very influential in all aspects of the Mitchell Library building design would probably have

recommended these images as suitable for the Shakespeare Room. The Shakespeare Room is open

for inspection today, it is certainly worth seeing and the guides are very knowledgable.

The Chaucer, Sydney Gazette, Vestibule and Shakespeare room windows were by Arthur G

Benfield and constructed by Frank G O’Brien Pty Ltd of Waterloo. The Caxton window was by

John Radecki, who was trained by Arthur Benfield and constructed by J Ashton and Co, Sydney.

Mitchell Library South Facade. Photo Author.

As you walk out of this building and go around to the southern side you will see the south

facade of the Mitchell Library building has three components: the central part which is the rear wall

of the main reading room and set back are the western and eastern parts. The central and western

segments have carvings high on the walls while the eastern segment has windows in place of

carvings. The cornice comprises carvings in the sandstone including several architectural

decorations. Immediately below the frieze with the sandstone carving “Public Library of New

South Wales” there are four fluted Ionic pilasters astride Caxton’s printer’s mark which is carved

into the sandstone above the Caxton window and a balcony below which are the south bronze

doors. I will return to these doors which are my passion and the subject of my thesis.

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Egyptian Lion. Photo Beat Bros, 1941.

On the south facade there are nine sandstone carvings of images of past civilisations from

1447 BC to 1200 AD. These are, from left to right, Egyptian lion 1447 BC, Assyrian winged bull

fourth century BC (an original of this image was recently destroyed in the current war in Syria and

Iraq), Chinese war horse tenth to seventh century BC and a phoenix second century BC, Byzantine

peacocks installed in Venice 1200 AD, Greek horse and rider fifth century BC, Assyrian mounted

archer seventh century BC, Hercules capturing the bull Greek first century AD, Greek horse breaker

fifth century BC, finally Byzantine griffins (Venice) 1200 AD. I interpret these entablatures are

saying those civilisations were communicating to others and eventually to us through their artwork

and the written word. These high relief carvings were exquisitely created by highly skilled

craftsmen of Beat Bros (Darlington).

Mitchell Library four Sandstone Carvings. Photos author

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There are six panels on the South doors with bronze castings of fifteenth and sixteenth century

printers’ marks.

Mainz Psalter Colophon. Photo author from the State Library’s facsimile of the Mainz Psalter.

A printer’s mark or device is a trademark which has enacted as an intellectual property

copyright to let everyone know who was the printer of the book, a tradition which has endured in

part until the twentieth century with printing craftsmen proud of their trade. In the early days

printers were also publishers and book sellers.

The first mark, shown here, was used by Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer in their 14 August

1457 printing of the Mainz Psalter, which was the first book printed bearing the date and place of

printing and names of the printers. For some unknown reason the mark did not appear on all copies

of the Psalter and now exists on only one copy which is in the Austrian Nationalbibliothek. This

library has an excellent facsimile of the Mianz Psalter which is shown in this image.

The best source of printers’ marks are the books of William Roberts and Hugh William

Davies, both in this library.

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1940 Architect’s Drawing. Photo author.

Little has been written on the pair bronze doors on the

southern facade apart from brief mentions in two books of

the State Library buildings, so few people are aware of their

existence.

I first discovered the existence of the south doors of the

Mitchell Library early in 2011 while walking through the Dalgety walkway from the Mitchell Wing

of the State Library of New South Wales (commonly called the Mitchell Library) to the Macquarie

Street Wing. There are changing displays in this area and on this occasion there was one of early

architects’ drawings for the Mitchell Library building including the 1940 plans for the south doors.

Mitchell Library South Doors behind Glasshouse. Photo

author.

My reac t ion was “What Doors?” a s

unfortunately these excellent bronze doors, on the south

facade of the library, are largely hidden from view due to

the 1987 construction of the Glasshouse between the

newly built Macquarie Street wing of the State Library of

New South Wales and the Mitchell wing. I was not alone; my supervisor, Dr Anita Callaway, who

knows the library well and several senior staff at a meeting I had with the State Librarian, Dr Alex

Byrne were also unaware of the existence of these doors.

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Bronze South Doors. Photo author.

I have titled my thesis “The Bronze South Entrance Doors of the Mitchell Library, Sydney”

as obviously if anyone can see them they are bronze and they are on the south facade of the

Mitchell Library. But why entrance? I have already mentioned the New York Public Library having

three pairs of main entrance doors and another on a different facade. The answer is that in all the

plans of the 1942 Mitchell Library extensions these doors are labelled “Entrance doors”. I have

found a 1942 photograph with open door from inside the Reading Room showing the glass doors

and the left bronze doors closed and with light and shadow showing the right door to be open. In

1942 it was envisaged one could walk through these doors from the reading room down the steps

then turn around to admire all of the south facade of the Mitchell Library. To my knowledge they

have not even been opened in the last twenty five years except on two occasions in 2014 for the

State Librarian and his senior staff, also during the November 2014 Library History Forum. I was

present on both occasions and asked to comment. There was a 1982 Strategic Plan for the 1987 19

extension showing a walkway behind the Glasshouse where the south doors could be observed. If

that had been followed the problem of the dismissing of these doors could have been avoided.

The Printers’ Marks cast in bronze on the Mitchell Library South Doors by Chubb’s

Australian Company are a celebration of the invention of printing in Europe by Johann Gutenberg,

hence books, one of the main reasons for libraries. I consider from the library’s point of view they

have greater symbolic significance than the north bronze doors, signifying one of the main purposes

for the existence of libraries: the collection and preservation of books, thus making them available

to their readers. Even in this age of digitisation books will continue to be printed and libraries will

be needed. In 1996 10,000 million books were being printed per year using 50 million tons of paper,

plus about 9000 daily newspapers and magazines bringing the total annual use of paper to 130

million tons. By 2012 this had risen to 400 million tons of paper being produced.

Six Printers‘ Marks. Photos author.

The images above are the printers’ marks appearing on the south doors of the Mitchell

Library.

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Jan Veldener who worked late 15th centiry, in Cologne, Louvain, Utrecht and Culemborg.

His printer’s mark has the twin shields of Veldener and Louvain with Veldener’s name between,

suspended from a branch of the Tree of Knowledge with foliage.

Luc Antonio Giunta late 15th and early 16th centuries, in Florence and Venice. His printer’s

mark is a broad Fleur de Lis with the initials LA.

Johann Fust mid 15th century and Peter Schoeffer mid to late 15th century, Mainz. Fust

had lent money to Gutenberg, who couldn’t repay. Fust took him to court, just as the magnificent

1455 Gutenberg Bible was finished, won the case and acquired Gutenberg’s printing works

including all copies of the bible.

Aldus Pius Manutius. End of 15th Century, Venice. His printer’s mark is a dolphin and

anchor with AL and DVS either side.

Jean Petit early 16th Century, Paris printing over 1000 works with fifteen presses. His was a

large family firm lasting 366 years, and had many printer’s marks. This printer’s mark (1516) is a

shield with a narrow Fleur de Lis and initials “I P” on either side.

William Caxton late 15th Century in Cologne, Bruges and London. He was a wealthy businessman

in the Low Countries watching the impact of printing and the business opportunities. His printer’s

mark is composed of the letters of his name and 74 in medieval Arabic numerals.

1474 was a very significant year for Caxton as he had finished his translation and completed

printing in Bruges of his “Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye”, the first book printed in English, and

in that year presented it to his patron, Princess Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, which was

a significant moment in his career. This window is based on a copperplate engraving in a 1475

presentation edition of that book, currently in the Huntington Library, Los Angeles. Caxton had

learnt the art of printing in Cologne from Jan Veldener and returned to England in 1476 to set up the

first printing press in England at Westminster.

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Huntington Engraving. Photo Huntington Library. Mitchell Library Caxton Window. Photo Author.

Fust and Schoeffer Printer’s Mark and Wildflower Panels. Photo author.22

The bottom panel of each door features two rose like flowers which are small bolwarra, a

native to New South Wales, two small four petal flowers with stamen (which I and learned others

have been unable to identify) and large renaissance version of acanthus mollis leaves which signify

longevity. The surrounds of all of the panels of these doors have flannel flowers, New South Wales

waratah flowers with their leaves which are both native to New South Wales, also rosettes and

acanthus leaves. These, I am sure, symbolise the library belonging to the people of NSW.

Should you wish to see images of the treasures I have been describing, they are easily

accessed on the Library’s website. Access that, click on Exhibition and Events, click on Curio and

scroll down to Mitchell Library Discovery Tour. At this point I wish to acknowledge some of my

descriptions arise from Curio. This again highlights the ease of retrieving information at the State

Library of New South Wales. For anyone interested I have copies of a short bibliography of my talk

to pass out.

Mitchell Library South Facade with Glasshouse Obscuring South Doors. Photo author.23

The date inscribed in the sandstone below Caxton’s Mark, the Caxton Window and above

the South Doors is MXMXLI (1941) and the doors were installed in 1942, one of the last items in

place on a magnificent building project which took almost four years. All that remained to complete

the building was the southeast corner which was done to Ifould’s suggested designs in 1964. The

south doors, a celebration of the printing of books, could thus be regarded as the final piece in

William Ifould’s great undertaking. Unfortunately, due to the 1987 major extension of the State

Library buildings, general access to these doors has been completely eliminated. It is to be hoped

this will be rectified in the next upgrade to the buildings which is already underway, allowing any

one walking past to closely view the bronze south doors. It is very important these doors, one of the

treasures of the State Library of New South Wales, should be seen and understood. I trust what I

have been speaking and writing about will help make a change.

DocumentsMitchell Library. Photo author.

2014 was the year of celebrating 50 years since the completion of the Mitchell Library

building. While you are here I suggest you inspect some of the architecture and decorations

yourselves in the vestibule, reading room, bronze statues and the northern and southern facades. I

hope what I have presented will give you a broader understanding of the architecture and

decorations of the Mitchell Library. Their quality is at least equal to or exceeding that of any other

Library of its size and age in the world. I seek your agreement they are rich artistic, cultural and

architectural treasures emphasising the symbolic nature of the Mitchell Library being a library for

the people. I thank you.

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Bibliography. All available in the State Library of New South Wales.

Beat Bros Ltd. Stonework PLNSW 1939 - 42. Self Published. Sydney. 1943.

Davies, Hugh William: Devices of Early Printers 1457 - 1560. Dawson, Folkestone UK.

1974.

Ifould, William Herbert. The Bibliography of Architecture. Architecture, Oct 1928.

Man, John. The Gutenberg revolution: the story of a genius and an invention that changed t h e

world. Review, London. 2002.

McMurtie, Douglas C. The book: the story of printing and bookmaking. Oxford University

Press. Oxford. 1937.

Roberts, William. Printers’ Marks: A chapter in the history of typography. George Bell &

Son, London, 1893.

Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales. The Public Library of New South W a l e s .

Sydney. 1943.

Webb, Terry D ed, Building Libraries for the 21st Century. McFarland and Company, Jefferson,

North Carolina. 2000.

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