Chaplin Collection

The Chaplin Collection holds papers and manuscripts from key Australian authors, assembled by collector Harry Chaplin. It includes extensive material on John Shaw Neilson, Christopher Brennan, CJ Dennis, and others.

Literature and writing

Key items in the collection

John Shaw Neilson (1844–1922)

Collection of manuscripts including the autobiography of Neilson in the form of letters to James Devaney, manuscripts and typescripts of poems, notebook, letters received by Neilson, and inscribed or signed copies of published items (79 volumes).

Christopher Brennan (1870–1932)

Manuscript poems by Brennan, inscribed and association copies of his books, commentaries on Brennan by other writers, letters and portraits (97 volumes).

CJ Dennis (1876-1938) and Hal Gye (1888–1967)

Manuscript and typescript drafts of The Glugs of Gosh, note by Gye, letters and photographs relating to Dennis’ early life, photographs and drawings of Dennis and Gye, letters of Dennis and correspondence between Gye and Chaplin.

William Moore (1868–1937)

Manuscripts of ‘Black and White’ and ‘The Spoken Word’, other manuscripts, letters, photographs (three volumes).

EJ Brady (1869–1952)

Manuscript biography of J.F. Archibald by Brady (1944), correspondence between Brady and other writers about Archibald and memorabilia collected by Chaplin about Brady (three volumes).

Elioth Gruner (1882–1939)

Material about the landscape artist Eliot Gruner, including letters from writers and artists, articles about Gruner and photographs of Gruner and Norman Lindsay (one volume).

Jack Lindsay (1900–1990)

Correspondence between Lindsay and Chaplin, 1856–1983 (four folders).

About Harry Chaplin

Harry F Chaplin (1895–1988) owned the Chaplin-Elliott Dental Company in Sydney. Beyond his business, he was a passionate collector of Australian books, printed materials, manuscripts, and letters.

Book collecting and leadership

In 1944, Chaplin became the first president of the Book Collectors’ Society of Australia. Later in life, he focused on gathering correspondence from notable Australian figures like poet James Devaney, artist Hal Gye, and writer Jack Lindsay, building large collections of their letters.

Catalogues and collections

Chaplin carefully documented his collections in detailed catalogues published by the Wentworth Press, including:

John Shaw Neilson (1964)
Christopher Brennan (1966)
McCrae family (1967)
Norman Lindsay (1969)
Henry Lawson (1974)
Fanfrolico Press (1976)
Lindsay family (1978)
Jack Lindsay (1983)

Legacy

Many of Chaplin’s collections later passed to well-known private collectors such as Geoffrey Cains and Patrick Corrigan.

Background to the collection

The Neilson Collection was purchased from Chaplin in 1964, followed by the Brennan Collection in 1967. The CJ Dennis–Hal Gye Collection was bought from Chaplin in 1981.

The various collections are held in the Manuscripts Collection. The John Shaw Neilson collection (1964) and Christopher Brennan collection (1966) are arranged in accordance with Chaplin’s published catalogues.

The Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales holds several of Chaplin’s collections, along with some of his papers. These include volumes related to Arthur Bayldon, Louis Becke, Zora Cross, John Farrell, Eve Langley, and Louisa and Henry Lawson (one volume each).

The Fisher Library at the University of Sydney houses the McCrae family collection, assembled by Chaplin.

The James Hardie Library of Fine Arts at the State Library of Queensland holds the Lindsay family collection assembled by Chaplin (35 volumes).

The La Trobe Library at the State Library of Victoria holds collections assembled by Chaplin for E.J. Brady (three volumes), Joseph Furphy (one volume), Nettie Palmer (one volume) and Bernard O’Dowd (one volume).