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Books

Showing 1 - 12 of 17 results
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Japanese portrait of a women reading

Bijin Shinobazunoike o nozomu, Beauty looking at Shinobazu Pond (1895), nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5744665

Asian collections

The National Library's Asian language collections focus on contemporary Asia from the 19th century onwards.

Information article
Black and white image of factories and other industrial buildings in a valley

William A. Bayley, The industrial valley of Lithgow looking west, Lithgow, New South Wales, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152895444

Bayley Collection

Books, booklets, pamphlets, leaflets and hundreds of photographs and postcards mainly relating to New South Wales country towns.

Collection guide
Sepia photograph of a monastery with people stanidng on the balconies

Adam Whyte, King Theebaw's monastery, Fort Mandalay, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-151519086

Burmese collection

The Burmese collections at the National Library of Australia consist of thousands of books, journals and microfilm holdings in Burmese language and Burma/Myanmar-related materials.

Collection guide
1904 camera

Harold Cazneaux's first camera, 1904, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-141166704

Harold Cazneaux (1878–1953) was perhaps Australia's best-known photographer of the early twentieth century. He purchased this camera in 1904, shortly after moving from Adelaide to Sydney, and made photographs of Sydney's streets and waterways.

In 1909 he became the first Australian photographer to exhibit his works in a solo show.

Cazneaux was a master of the pictorialist style of photography, using soft focus to capture scenes that were - and remain - familiar to many Australians in a new light. He was able to find a timeless, extraordinary beauty in the everyday.

Cazneaux collection

A large collection of glass negatives, papers and photographs dating mostly from 1904 to 1940 depicting many aspects of Australian life and architecture

Collection guide
A large, old text with Chinese characters is bound with traditional thread stitching, sitting on a shelf, supported by a white fabric strap wrapped around its cover. The edges of the pages are uneven, showing wear with the stitching slightly frayed. Other colourful books with Chinese characters are lined up alongside it on the shelf.
Chinese collections research guide

Get help to find and access material from the Library’s Chinese collection and beyond.

Research guide
The Birds of Australia Gould - Printed plate
Conserving John Gould’s Australian Bird Pattern Plates

While the National Library of Australia is the custodian of millions of books, among its treasures are items that show how books were made.

 

Blog
Black and white image of factories and other industrial buildings in a valley

William A. Bayley, The industrial valley of Lithgow looking west, Lithgow, New South Wales, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152895444

Crome Collection

Books, booklets, pamphlets, leaflets and hundreds of photographs and postcards mainly relating to New South Wales country towns.

Collection guide
Collection guide
De Vesci Collection

Country house library collection of 1648 books and 54 serials with strength in English and French publications of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

Collection guide
Image of the title page and portrait frontispiece of NLA RB CLI 2050 with portrait frontispiece an image of a woman in profile with a prominent 18th-century wig.

Mrs M. Robinson, Poems, volume 1, London: Printed by J. Bell, British-Library, Strand, 1791, Clifford Collection (Overseas Rare Books), RB CLI 2050, nla.cat-vn2476718

Great female writers of the eighteenth century: Trailblazers and radicals

Dive into the works of great female writers held in the Library's rare books collection.

Blog
Collection guide
Mabo Collection

Personal papers and legal material that record of one of the most important and controversial legal cases in Australian history and the life of the man who is chiefly associated with the case.

Collection guide
Protester holding a placard that reads, Our Future is in Your Hands

Leigh Henningham, Protester holding a placard that reads, Our Future is in Your Hands, during the School Strike 4 Climate rally, Melbourne, 21 May 2021, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2956718607

Protest and dissent research guide

Use this guide to help find and access resources about the movements that have shaped social and cultural change in Australia.

Research guide
Rare Books Swimming - Roger Lever

Frontispiece and title page of Melchisédech Thévenot, The Art of Swimming. The second edition. London: Printed for John Lever, 1764, nla.cat-vn7756220

Rare book highlights – Swimming in 1764

This blog, by the Library’s Rare Books and Music Curator Dr Susannah Helman, explores this charming little book, just in time for the last days of summer. It may even be helpful the next time you take the plunge!

Blog

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