Robert Barr Smith's Commonplace Books :

4

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A collection of four 'commonplace books' belonging to Robert Barr Smith.

Commonplace books were a common way to compile knowledge in a easy to access and reference way, particularly around the nineteenth century. They are often similar to scrapbooks, containing anything the creator found of interest of importance, including recipes, quotes, letters, and cut out from other sources.

Robert Barr Smith appears to use his books to compile information on his businesses, properties, purchases, interests and happenings around Adelaide. Each book contains handwritten notes, newspaper clippings and letters.

Books 1 and 2 appear to have been created first, with Volume 3 serving as an index to the others. Volume 0 appears to have been started after the creation of the index, and labelled '0' to prevent a gap in numbering. There are references to volume 0 in the index, often appearing after references to volumes 1-2.