Mr Roger Harris1, Dr Alfred Uhlherr2
1roger.org.uk, Hereford, United Kingdom, 2researchgate.net/profile/alfred-uhlherr-2, Mt Waverley, Australia
While digital platforms have made many forms of print media obsolete, they have also driven a transformation of the classic/antiquarian book sector. Widespread adoption of web repositories, e-texts, scanners, social media, online marketplaces (OMPs) and other familiar technologies allow globalised coupling of the complementary – and sometimes competing – interests of professional scholars, amateur collectors/enthusiasts, and commercial book dealers.
Here we look at how this transformation applies to the works of W. E. Johns, one of the 20th century’s most successful, prolific and controversial authors.
Digital repositories now act as the principal sources of information on the author’s work. They both reflect and enable numerous recent discoveries by the presenters and their colleagues, regarding scarce editions, attribution of “lost” articles, original artworks, correspondence and other pertinent documents.
We show that obtaining a true understanding of this author’s cultural impact is dependent on:
- Comprehensive records and knowledge of all of his writings, to more accurately reflect the time evolution, self-contradiction and other nuances in the viewpoints expressed therein
- Visual and other visceral impacts of the published books and magazines in their many different editions, revealing their richness and variety as ephemeral cultural artefacts
- Contextual references, by highlighting original editions and serialisations, to compare the author’s work with other stories, articles and advertisements of the same era that were targeting the same audiences.
These digital resources then allow us to revisit the question of whether Johns may in fact be the most influential fiction writer of the past century.
Biography:
Alf Uhlherr obtained his BSc (Hons) and PhD at Monash University and postdoctoral fellowship at University of Cambridge. He worked for 24 years at CSIRO, notably as a principal research scientist focusing on computational science of materials and soft matter. As Senior Manager, Scientific Computing Services, he was responsible for delivering eResearch services across the organisation, alongside governance roles with NCI, Pawsey, MASSIVE, NCMAC, AeRO and eResearch Australasia.
Alf is also a world-leading collector and authority on W. E. Johns, reflected in numerous (non-peer reviewed) published articles and election as foundation president of the short-lived Biggles Association of Australasia.