6. Library - Exhibition Material

Range, scope and location

The Society has a collection of material issued for local, national and international exhibitions around the world. It includes publicity material, prospectuses, entry forms, catalogues, jury reports and general ephemera. Part of the collection has been received direct from the organisers of the events. However, a substantial part has been built up from material donated by members, and the cover is therefore somewhat uneven. It is strongest in UK national exhibitions and FIP internationals. There is a fair coverage of national events held in Australasia, North America and Europe. Some of the literature issued for these events include articles and information that has not been published or been made available elsewhere.

The earliest item in the collection is a catalogue for the exhibition held in Vienna between 13 and 20 November 1881. Other early exhibition catalogues in the collection include Munich (October 1884), New York (March 1889), Amsterdam (April 1889). London (May 1890) and Sydney (September 1900).

There is a wider range of material for the more recent events, including Palmares dinner tickets and menu cards, lapel badges and other souvenirs.

Part of the collection, principally major international events, has been bound and is housed with the remainder in the Basement Stack Area.

Key to access

All material is available for inspection on the premises on application to the House Manager or a member of the Library Committee for entrance to the limited-access Stack Area. Borrowing by members is not permitted.

A comprehensive catalogue in date order of events is held in the Large Library. It lists in detail the research material available for each exhibition. A shorter country index notes the towns and dates of exhibitions held in each country, for which a more detailed entry is contained in the main listing.