Collection areas

The Rare Books Collection has a number of special collection areas:

	Art and photography Fragile and valuable items relating to art and photography.
	Books on books Materials about the history of books, dating from the 17^th century to the present day. Covering all aspects of book production, selling and readership.
	Children's books The Lindsay Shaw Collection of children's books from England and Australia contains about 10,000 titles, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries
	Cookery and household management books Includes French and English cookery books from the 18^th century and English and Australian material from the 19^th century to the present day.
	French literature A wide range of French literature dating from the 17^th and 18^th centuries.
	Manuscripts Includes a small collection of 18^th century manuscripts by Jonathan Swift and contemporaries, French material, and recipe books..
	Nineteenth century periodicals Includes the Illustrated London News, the Graphic, the Edinburgh Review, the Strand, Pall Mall and many more.
	School textbooks Early 20^th century textbooks used in Australian schools.
	Travel Travel accounts and guides dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Includes a collection of Baedeker and Murray guide books.
	Theses Hard copies of original Monash University theses held by the Sir Louis Matheson Library. Access to hard copy theses is restricted, but microfiche copies are available in the Music and Multimedia Collection.

	Australiana Materials relating to Australia, Australian literature and history. Includes First Fleet journals and explorers' accounts. Highlights include: Gould's The Birds of Australia and Celia Rosser's The Banksias.
	Circulating libraries Materials from Melbourne's circulating libraries of the 1940s and 1950s. Includes popular fiction and romance.
	Comics Comics from the 1930s to the 1950s, mainly Australian material.
	English literature and history English literature and history dating from 15^th century to the present day. There is a strong focus on material produced between 1660 and 1800.
	Medical books Includes the library of Dr Richard Travers, the former rare book collection of the Australian Medical Association, early Australian material, fringe medicine, the Goller Collection of AIDS material, 18^th and 19^th century forensic medicine.
	Nineteenth century books A collection of books from the 19^th century, mainly in English.
	Pamphlets Political, theological and literary pamphlets from the 17th century to the present. A large collection of Restoration and 18^th century plays.
	Science fiction American science fiction magazines dating from the 1920s to 1950s. Includes Fantastic Adventures, Amazing Stories, Startling Stories and Other Worlds.
	Yellowbacks A collection of yellowback books dating from the mid to late 19^th century.

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