Historical information

The booklet is a catalogue of the books in the Warrnambool Presbyterian St. John's Sabbath School Library (Robert Carswell's Bequest) early in the 20th century. The books for boys and girls are listed separately and are mostly fiction, many with some religious content. St John's Presbyterian Church was opened in 1875. The building was destroyed by fire in 1920 and rebuilt in a similar style to the original one. Robert Carswell was a Warrnambool resident who died in 1900 at the age of 77 and it is presumed that the bequest from his will enabled the Sunday (Sabbath) School library to be established. The card is a membership certificate indicating that Elsie Alston was enrolled as a Sunday School member in Class 14 and thus entitled to borrow books from the library. No details have been found on Elsie Alston but there were several Alston families in Warrnambool at the time.

Significance

These items are of some interest as church Sunday Schools in the past, particularly in the 19th century, were important as they were widely attended and provided a range of educational and recreational activities, often not otherwise available to the children at that time'

Physical description

.1 A booklet of ten pages with a blue cover with blue printing and a decorative border on the front. The pages contain printed material. The booklet was once stapled but the staples have been removed.
.2 A white card with black printing and handwritten names.

Inscriptions & markings

Elsie Alston
Mr M. Ritchie