The Library: Digitising a Somerville Treasure

Digitising A Paradise of Dainty Devices

A unique collection of autographs, poems and sketches by preeminent early 20th Century writers, poets, and artists has been digitised and made available online thanks to a crowdfunding campaign.

A Paradise of Dainty Devices is the visitors’ book kept by doctor and writer Percy Withers (1867-1945), father of Somervillian and first female British Vogue editor Audrey Withers (1924, PPE), who donated his papers to Somerville in 1976. The beautifully bound volume is no ordinary visitors’ book, however. Within its pages are handwritten contributions from writers such as AE Housman and WB Yeats, alongside sketches and watercolours by artists including Paul Nash and Max Beerbohm, all of whom visited Withers and his wife, the Somervillian Mary Withers (née Summers, 1881) at their home, Souldern Court.

A successful crowdfunding campaign in 2018, generously supported by Somerville’s friends and alumni, enabled us to digitise and upload the book to the Bodleian Library’s Digital Bodleian site. Now, following a hiatus brought on by the pandemic, this important collection can be viewed anywhere in the world.

YOU CAN ACCESS A PARADISE OF DAINTY DEVICES VIA THE FOLLOWING QR CODE.

We are particularly indebted to the generosity of Karen Gray and her husband Ian, the current owners of Souldern Court. Karen writes:

My interest in the Withers family began with a locked cupboard in Somerville College library. Hidden away inside was a hoard of correspondence, photographs taken by Percy Withers of his many guests, and the handwritten draft of his autobiography, including a description of the joyful day he first saw his future home (and later ours), Souldern Court. Here began a fascination for my husband Ian and I that continues to this day. I will always be grateful for Somerville’s generosity in unlocking that cupboard and allowing me to explore this remarkable archive.