Slice of colonial history

WHEN Dennis Joachim travelled to London in 1958 on a family holiday, it wasn’t the bright lights of the city that caught the 20-year-old’s interest, but the history he found in book shops filled with colonial manuscripts.

Joachim loved to browse through the collections of rare books and on this trip he bought several historic books and manuscripts.

When Joachim returned to Melbourne, his interest in Australian history grew and he began to think of himself as a collector, seeking out books, prints, paintings and photographs.

For 55 years he passionately collected Australian books, prints, photographs and fine art dating from the First Fleet to the end of the 19th century.

These included a first edition of the official accounts of Captain James Cook’s three voyages around the world; Samuel Purchas’s accounts and maps of sea voyages published in London in 1625 as Purchas His Pilgrimes; paintings and sketches by S T Gill of Melbourne and Sydney in the 1850s and 1860s; and collections of photos including Olaf Blackwood’s 1858 album of panoramic photographs of Sydney titled Panorama of Sydney & Harbour From Government House, and Henry Gritten’s picturesque views of Melbourne from the Royal Botanic Gardens taken in the 1860s.

All the items, which add up to more than 1000 lots in the Dennis Joachim Collection, were being sold at auction by Mossgreen in association with Australian Book Auctions in Melbourne on June 19-21, with the collection expected to realise more than $3.6 million.

Joachim was born in 1938 into one of Melbourne’s oldest Jewish families. His great-great-grandparents Moses and Emma Ottolangui emigrated to Australia from London in 1866 (their family was originally from Livorno, Italy where they had lived since the mid-17th century) while his other great-great-grandparents, Mendel and Hannah Cohen, came to Melbourne in 1857.

After his schooling Joachim worked in his father’s wholesale clothing warehouse, but by the time he was 21, he had set up his own business, Zone Distributors, importing luxury homewares, which meant that he often travelled to Britain, Europe and America on business.

While overseas, Joachim would visit art fairs, antique bookstores, auctions and galleries, constantly adding to his collection.

Joachim’s daughter Elissa, 45, recalls growing up in their Toorak home, which was like living in a museum and gallery, with rare books on display and colonial paintings and sketches hanging on the walls.

“They were there for everyone to see and enjoy,” says Elissa. “Dad lives and breathes his collection. It was common to find him sitting and entirely focused on his favourite piece, admiring every small detail as if looking at it for the first time. His knowledge about all the pieces was incredible.”

Elissa says her father was always interested in history, and was excited by the idea of capturing the early raw observations of the Australian and Pacific landscape and its people, flora and fauna.

“He has a discerning eye, one that recognises and admires aesthetic beauty and craftsmanship, and it was this that drove him too. He created an incredible collection of beautiful hand-coloured plate books, paintings, photographs and prints.

“He was passionate about it, and every piece he acquired was done so with the desire to preserve and enjoy.”

For the past 10 years Joachim has been thinking about selling his collection, and the onset of Parkinson’s disease in recent years has given impetus to the decision.

Elissa explains: “My father gained immense pleasure from his collection. It has been a huge part of his life and has been very important to him – now it’s time for someone else to enjoy it and become the custodian of it. That’s why he is selling the collection.”

Jonathan Wantrup, director of Australian Book Auctions, says the collection is the most comprehensive and important of its kind still in private hands.

“Denis assembled, piece by piece, a collection that tells a vibrant, dramatic story which everyone can now share,” he says “The importance of this collection is that it covers so many areas. It is quite an achievement considering it’s one person’s work over 50 years.”

Elissa adds: “This is a slice of Australian history that has not been available to the public before. All over the world he knew collectors who were just as passionate as he was about these historical pieces. It has been hard for him to come to the decision over a long time to sell the collection which he has been so attached to.”

REPORT by Danny Gocs