Studies in Honour of A. R. Chisholm

Antiquarian & Collectible Literary Criticism Australian Literature Education Bibliography & Publishing History Essays History of the Book

Studies in Honour of A. R. Chisholm, the elegant 1969 hardcover tribute edited by Wallace Kirsop, is a scarce piece of Australiana that serious collectors of antiquarian books and Australian cultural history actively hunt for. Published by Melbourne University Press in a small academic print-run, this profusely illustrated volume brings together leading scholars to celebrate the life and influence of A. R. Chisholm—pivotal critic, teacher and champion of Australian literature. Because it was never reprinted, copies in the original dust-jacket are increasingly rare on the secondary market, especially in the clean, unmarked condition offered here.

Inside, readers will find fourteen authoritative essays covering Chisholm’s editorial work on the legendary journal Meanjin, his promotion of Australian writers to international audiences, and his ground-breaking studies in French and Australian comparative literature. Generous photographic plates, facsimile manuscripts and scholarly appendices turn the book into a mini-archive of mid-century Australian letters, invaluable to researchers, teachers and bibliophiles who want primary-source material without archive fatigue.

For collectors, the production values stand out: sturdy sewn binding, high-grade paper that has stayed bright for half a century, and a crisp, unclipped dust-jacket with its original 1969 price intact. The light shelf wear described is negligible compared with most surviving copies, which are often ex-library or jacket-less. This copy is free of inscriptions, stamps or foxing, making it an ideal shelf-candidate for anyone building a serious Australiana, education or literary-criticism collection.

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