Review of Securing the Past: Conservation in Art, Architecture and Literature, by Paul Eggert

Abstract

The cover-image of Securing the Past is an arresting photograph of a small group of people reclining on the grass while a partially restored manor house blazes in front of them. This image was lodged in my mind throughout my reading of this book as I contemplated the value of reading, viewing and occupying material objects that come to us from the past. For more than ten years Paul Eggert was the Director of the Academy Editions of Australian Literature, overseeing the production often scholarly editions of significant works of Australian literature and contributing to international discussions about the theories that inform the way we read books from the past. The convergence of theoretical contemplation and archival research with the pragmatic necessities of containing these elements within the boards of an 800-page book has greatly influenced the way Eggert deals with the frequently neglected idea of the literary work.