I found a hair in my library
4/21/202626 min
Plagued by the question "Am I a hoarder?" journalist Annabel Crabb visits Australia's oldest library and learns that her own issues with 'collecting' historical items are MINOR. The State Library of NSW is known for books, but its underground vaults are teeming with oddities: Bits of Henry Lawson. Military antiques. HUMAN HAIR!
This episode's speakers:
- Maggie Patton - Head of Collection Acquisition & Curation
- Louise Anemaat - Executive Director, Library and Information Services and Dixson Librarian
- Richard Neville - Mitchell Librarian
- Damien Webb - Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch
Search for this episode's treasures in the SLNSW collection:
- Mary Shelley Lock of hair 1851
- Portraits of John and Harriet Blaxland attached to ropes of plaited hair - 1880s
- Sir Charles FitzRoy c 1855 - Henry Robinson Smith
- Bicorn, or cocked hat, belonging to Matthew Flinders ca. 1800
- A Young Mount Pitt bird - Sydney Bird Painter 1792
- An Aboriginal Man 1810-1821? - Unknown
To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.
- Presenter: Annabel Crabb
- Researcher: Julia O’Shea
- Audio Engineer: Harvey O’Sullivan
- Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick
- Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney
- Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMark Fennell0:00
[whimsical music] Did you know that high-heeled shoes were originally invented for men? Or that Neil Armstrong's space suit was actually made by bra makers? I'm Mark Fennell, and these are just some of the weird and wonderful stories you don't often find in history textbooks, but you can find them by listening to my podcast, No One Saw It Coming. There are new episodes every week, and you can hear them now on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Maggie Patton· Guest0:28
[upbeat music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.
Annabel Crabb· Host0:35
[whimsical music] Hello, I'm Annabelle Crabb. Welcome to History or Hoarding, a podcast about the stuff we hang onto and why. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder exactly, but I do hang on to things that, while being utterly without value, are simultaneously irreplaceable to me. Old letters, clothes my granny made, the teeny-tiny little hospital tags that once used to fit around the newborn ankles of the teenagers who are now much taller than I am. Um, their teeth, somebody's teeth anyway. They're all jumbled up in a drawer that may have overstepped the notoriously permeable boundary between maternal fondness and just plain creepy. But these things are incredibly subjective, aren't they? One person's history