One of the earliest tasks in establishing the new Launceston
Mechanics' Institute Library was the provision of a Reference Collection for
the use of members in the Reading Room. This collection was based largely on
donations and so by 1861 it included an eclectic mix of subjects, as shown in
this excerpt from the Printed catalogue of that year.
Many of these items remain in the collection today, and one with
especially interesting provenance is the Penny Cyclopaedia.
Its accession was recorded thus in the minutes of the 1843
annual meeting of the society; "on loan, for use in the reading-room, the
Penny Cyclopaedia, 21 vols., from St. John E. Browne, Esq." Every volume was permanently inscribed with
the owner's name on the flyleaf.
The Penny Cyclopaedia, which was produced for the Society for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, was published by Charles Knight the
publisher of the Penny Magazine. Twenty-seven volumes and three supplements
were published from 1828 to 1843. The Society's object was to publish inexpensive
texts for an expanding reading public, with a particular emphasis on
self-education; a perfect fit with the aims and ideals of a Mechanics'
Institute.
Clearly, since we still have the set of books, the original
owner did not exercise his right to reclaim his loan. So what is known about
the donor, St John E. Browne?
He was a younger brother of Rev William Henry Browne, who
was rector of St John's Church, Launceston from 1828 to 1868. St John must have
soon followed his brother to VDL as he first comes to notice in Launceston in
1831 as the operator of a private school. The brothers' relationship is succinctly
characterised by Gill Morris; - "hapless and impecunious [St John]
certainly tried his brother's patience, energy and pocket as much as his
position of influence within government circles."(1)
A few entries from Rev Browne's journal will serve to
illustrate;
5 June 1837 ... "Lectured Mr Wales & Mr Turner for
their conduct in trying to provoke my Brother to a Duel."
29 January 1842 ..."Wrote several letters, visited sick
etc. also engaged getting letters for St John from Bankers & to assist him
against the persecution of his superior."
2 November 1844 ... "Wrote several letters, also for St
John again in trouble with postmaster Genl ..."
In parallel with the "persecution of his superior"
St John faced the slings and arrows of public opinion via the columns of the
local newspapers, where correspondents repeatedly drew attention to the
shortcomings of the post office and his management.
Somehow, doubtless with his brother's assistance, St John
survived in his tenure as Post Master at Launceston until his retirement on a government
pension.
The Launceston Examiner announced his retirement with
characteristic delicacy;
Mr. St. John E. Browne, Postmaster at Launceston, has forwarded
an application, accompanied by medical certificates, asking permission to
retire on allowance. This request, made in consequence of failing health, has,
we understand, been assented to by the Executive. Mr. Browne will, therefore,
cease to hold office at the close of the year: it is presumed he will be
succeeded by Mr. Wm. Windeatt. Such is the programme for the 1st of January,
1861. We do not care to institute any comparisons, or to say a word calculated
to wound the most sensitive; but we cannot resist the conviction that the
arrangements thus briefly sketched, will be acceptable to the public and
beneficial to the service. (2)
St John returned to England, and, despite his
"failing health", survived until 1880.
At some point after his departure a user of the Mechanics'
Institute Reading Room must have taken down Volume Nine of the Penny Cyclopaedia
from the shelves, and, noticing St John's inscription, decided to add a sketch
of the man for posterity; - faintly pencilled below the signature is the observation that "He left behind him a character stained by avarice, harshness
and deception."
It is a reminder, in the age of increasing dependence on the digital surrogate, of the value of libraries in preserving what David Pearson has described as "museums of marginalia". Our volume of the Penny Cyclopaedia has preserved a unique interaction, a moment in time when our anonymous reader felt a spontaneous need to put a deeply held personal view 'on the record.'
1. Browne, W. H., His record is on high : the journal of
Reverend William Henry Browne, LLD, of St John's Church, Launceston, Van
Diemen's Land, 23 May 1830 - 19 February 1845 / edited by Gill Morris. Launceston,
Tasmania : Gill Morris, 2013. p 13.
2. LAUNCESTON EXAMINER. Saturday, December 1, 1860. P2.
