This book was part of a large group of books referred to as the Pattison Collection, which belonged to the Warrnambool Public Library, part of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. About RALPH ERIC PATTISON and the ‘PATTISON COLLECTION’ The ‘Pattison Collection’ is a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, founded in Warrnambool in 1853. By 1886 the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) had grown to have a Library, Museum and Fine Arts Gallery, with a collection of “… choice productions of art and valuable specimens in almost every branch and many wonderful national curiosities are now to be seen there, including historic relics of the town and district.” It later included a School of Design. Although it was very well patronised, the WMI was led to ask the City Council to take it over in 1911 due to lack of financial support. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Public Library as it was then called. Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 when Pattison accepted the position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council his huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower areas of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave from 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However, he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. THE NEW WARRNAMBOOL LIBRARY When the WMI building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the WMI. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Pattison. Eventually, the components of the WMI were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. The Pattison Collection, along with other items at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, was originally part of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s collection. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s publication collection is of both local and state significance. Fangs of The Sea Author: Norman Caldwell in collaboration with Norman Ellison Publisher: Angus & Robertson Date: 1939 The label on the spine cover with typed text R.A. 823.912 CAL Front loose endpaper has a sticker from Warrnambool Public Library flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, fangs of the sea, norman caldwell, norman ellison

Hard cover book. The Faith of Men Author: Jack London Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd Date: 1904 Further Information: Brick-red cloth boards, gilt/black spine lettering. Small 8vo format, roughly 246 pages. William Heinemann publisher's device on the title page, and referenced in bibliographies as BAL 11878 / Woodbridge 27fictionThe Faith of Men, and Other Stories (1904) is Jack London's fourth short story collection, gathering eight tales largely set against the backdrop of the Klondike Gold Rush and the far north the milieu that made London famous. The collection includes the title story "The Faith of Men," along with others such as "Too Much Gold," "The Marriage of Lit-lit," "The Story of Jees Uck," and "The One Thousand Dozen." As with much of London's northern fiction, the stories explore themes of survival, endurance, greed, loyalty, and the clash between "civilised" and Indigenous or frontier codes of conduct hallmarks of the naturalist style he became known for.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, the faith of men, jack london, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library

Hard cover book. When God Laughs Author: Jack London Publisher: Reprint Publisher Unclear Possibly Heinemann Date: 1912-1940s Further Information: A plain dark green cloth binding with the title and author stamped in flat white/silver block lettering "WHEN GOD / LAUGHS" over "JACK LONDON." There's no gilt decoration, no illustrated boards, and no dust jacket. fictionWhen God Laughs, and Other Stories is Jack London's eleventh collection of short fiction, originally published in 1911 (by Mills & Boon in the UK) when London was about thirty-five and roughly at the midpoint of his career. It gathers twelve stories he had mostly written as quick, paying magazine work, and the quality is famously uneven hack pieces sit alongside some of his finest short fiction. Jack London lived beyond his income for much of his writing career, and to pay his bills he often produced 'immediately remunerative short fiction for the magazines'. In 1911 he pulled twelve of these into one volume. The collection takes its name from the opening story, about a couple who try in vain to sustain an intensely idealistic romance against the erosion of time and human inconstancy, and the book as a whole explores themes London was known for: survival in hostile environments, humanity's rawest instincts, and worker exploitation under industrial capitalism. Unlike much of London's earlier Klondike centred work, this collection is set largely in Polynesia and the South Seas, reflecting his voyages aboard the Snark in the years just before.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, when god laughs, jack london, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library

Hard cover book. Smoke and Shorty Author: Jack London Publisher: Mills & Boon Date: 1920-1940s Further Information: A plain volume bound in pale blue cloth, with a stuck-on library classification label ("PAT FIC LON") on the spine and no visible date, edition statement, or printer's imprint on the pages shown the copyright/date page. There's no gilt decoration, no illustrated boards, and no dust jacket. fiction"Smoke and Shorty," first published in 1920, is a collection of linked short stories by Jack London, not a single continuous novel it follows two Klondike Gold Rush partners, the tenderfoot-turned-sourdough Christopher "Smoke" Bellew and his grizzled sidekick "Shorty," through a series of adventures in the frozen North. It is actually the second half of London's larger Smoke Bellew story-cycle: the first batch of stories, covering Smoke's initiation into the North, had already appeared in the 1912 volume Smoke Bellew, and this volume collects the remaining six tales to complete the series: "The Story of the Little Man," "The Hanging of Cultus George," "The Mistake of Creation," "A Flutter in Eggs," "The Town-site for Tra-lee," and "The Wonder of Woman." These stories mix comic set-pieces such as a wager over an omelette and a real-estate swindle with harsher tales of survival, justice, and hardship on the trail, all set against the Klondike Gold Rush backdrop that London knew firsthand from his own 1897–98 prospecting trip.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, smoke and shorty, jack london, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, mills & boon