This item is from the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was 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 lack of financial support led the WMI in 1911 to ask the City Council to take it over. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library as it was then called. 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 Ralph 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 1942 to 1942 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 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. Martin Chuzzlewit Author: Charles Dickens Publisher: Collins Clear Type Press Label on spine cover with typed text PAT FIC DIC Pastedown end page has sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Servicewarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, martin chuzzlewit, charles dickens

Martin Chuzzlewit. Author: Charles Dickens. Introduction by Kenneth Hayens. Publisher: Collins, London & Glasgow. Date: 1953. (See note section this document for more information on Edition). Blue leather hardcover with title on spine in gold lettering and pattern. The spine has a Library label and no Volume information only title and author.fictionCharles Dickens (1812–1870) was one of the great English novelists of the Victorian era, famous for vivid characters, social criticism, and stories that were first published in serial form. He began as a journalist, rose to enormous popularity during his lifetime, and wrote major works such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations. “Martin Chuzzlewit” is Charles Dickens’s sixth novel serialised 1843-1844, with a novel published in 1844 by Chapman and Hall. The themes are about selfishness, hypocrisy, and moral reform, its plot follows young Martin, his proud grandfather, the hypocritical architect Pecksniff, the loyal Tom Pinch, and the good humoured Mark Tapley. There is also a criminal subplot around Jonas Chuzzlewit. The core plot in short is where Martin becomes at odds with his miserly grandfather as he works for Pecksniff, becomes friends with Tom Pinch. He travels to America, is nearly ruined by a swindle, eventually returning to England. Several villains are ultimately exposed and punished while virtuous characters are rewarded.book, the old curiosity shop, charles dickens, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, warrnambool, maritime-museum, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, 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, great ocean road

This book was a prize given to Marion Mahood in 1935 from the Clarendon Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Ballarat. Marion Mahood was a Warrnambool-born lady who spent most of her working life nursing at Prince Henry’s Hospital in Melbourne. In retirement she was active in community affairs in WarrnamboolThis book is of interest because, with the school badge embossed on the front cover, it is a good example of the type of prize awarded by private schools in Victoria in the early to mid 20th century. It also has a connection to a resident of Warrnambool, Marion Mahood.This is a dark blue leather-covered book of 796 pages. The cover has gold lettering on the spine with some gold ornamentation and the badge of Clarendon Presbyterian Ladies’ College embossed in gold on the front cover. The book has an Introduction and 54 chapters of storyline. There are several black and white illustrations scattered throughout the chapters. The book plate is printed and pasted on to the back of the front cover and handwritten material in black ink is included in the name plate. There is a slight gouge in the leather on the back cover.‘Clarendon Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Ballarat, Awarded to Marion Mahood, Prize, Sewing, Form 1VA, Janet M. McDonald, Principal, December, 1935’.clarendon presbyterian ladies’ college, ballarat, marion mahood

Ill, p.839.fictionThis Charles Dickens classic is the powerful satiric novel of selfish hypocrisy and financial speculation as it bloomed in insular England and in the spacious but narrow minds of the U.S. It is a novel that has retains its relevance to today's issues. england - fiction, charles dickens 1812-1870

Small square dish depicting a character from "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit", by Charles Dickens (1843-44). The character on the dish is one of Dickens' great villains, Seth Pecksniff, who is a sanctimonious surveyor and architect "who has never designed or built anything'.Picture of Mr Pecksniff in kitchen. Front bottom: MR PECKSNIFF / (Martin Chuzzlewit) Back: New Hall Hanley / Staffordshire England. dickens, pecksniff

Sarah Gamp (better known as Sairey Gamp) was a major character in Dickens' 'Martin Chuzzlewit' and one of the best known of all his characters. Gamp is the midwife, nurse, and 'layer out' of the dead, although she is much more concerned with her own creature comforts than those of her patients. Habitually in liquor she creates the imaginary Mrs Harris whose good opinion is used to promote Mrs Gamp's character. Royal Doulton ceramic jug designed in the shape of a woman's face. The woman is wearing a black and white bonnet with a green scarf on top. She is wearing a green coat with a yellow and red bow. An umbrella on the right-hand side functions as a handle for the jug. The back of the bonnet is in the shape of a bun. The words 'Sairey Gamp' are engraved on the back of the jug. There is a Royal Doulton stamp on the base of the jug as well as the text 'Sairey Gamp/D 5451'.The words 'Sairey Gamp' are engraved on the back of the jug. There is a Royal Doulton stamp on the base of the jug as well as the text 'Sairey Gamp/D 5451'.

The Pickwick Club of Kew was founded by local residents in 1897. In 1904 it produced its first publication - Pickwick Portfolio Vol.1 No.1 - for which the local artist and member Alice Marion Ellen Bale (1875-1955) designed this frontispiece. The frontispiece was printed in Volume 1/1 and adapted for Vol.1/2 in 1912. Each member of the Club adopted a pseudonym from a work by Charles Dickens. Alice Bale is recorded in the 1912 edition as using the name Mark Tapley, a character in Martin Chuzzlewit (Dickens, 1842). Gift of the Friends of the KHS Collection, 2022Frontispiece, created in watercolour and ink on artist's paper, for the first edition of the Pickwick Portfolio of 1904 by the Kew Pickwick Club. Signed lower left by Mark Tapley, the pseudonym within the Club of the artist A.M.E. Bale.Lower left in pencil "Mark Tapley" (pseudonym). Initials above to the right AMEB (Alice ME Bale)a m e bale, pickwick clubs, pickwick club of kew