WE HAVE LOOKED AT SOME COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING BLOTTERS. HERE ARE A SELECTION, AGAIN FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANDREW H., which show a style of communication that we may associate more with the early 21st … [Read more...]
Hum along with ephemera
MUSIC IS EVOCATIVE OF 3 OF THE 5 SENSES; ears flapping, vocal cords activated, fingers strumming, toe tapping, clapping, watching the musical gifts of orchestra members on stage, reading the music and … [Read more...]
The business of diaries
WHO DOESN'T LOVE THE FRIVOLOUS OR INDULGENT 'FANTASY' DIARY, THAT MAKES EVERY DAY A WALK IN THE PARK, BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE OR A LAUGH? THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BUSINESS SIDE TO DIARIES AND HERE … [Read more...]
Mopping up children’s spills – with blotters
PUDDLES, SPLASHES, BLOODY KNEES, SPLUTTER. Did the parent of the 1950s think about blotting up domestic disasters at work? Paddle Brand shoes are first advertised in the early 1920s and … [Read more...]
Are you free on 25 February 1939?
ESA MEMBER RICHARD FELIX COLLECTS OLD AND CURRENT DIARIES. Richard has more than 600 diaries including one for 1939 and 2015. There is nothing written in his 1939 diary (he prefers the diaries not to … [Read more...]
Australia Day in July?
THIS SERIES OF BADGES FROM THE 1910s MAY SURPRISE MANY BY BEARING THE DATES IN JULY. In 2015 there is discussion about what a national day should be and so when it should be celebrated. Many see … [Read more...]
Mango season – great time for collecting fruit labels
THIS IS A GOOD MANGO SEASON - SO SAYS THE FRUITERER OFFERING $15 A BOX. This makes it a great season for those who collect thumbnail size ephemeral stickers from the fruit displays in Melbourne. We … [Read more...]
This man kept a record of daily life in small pocket books
WE HAVE TEMPORARY OWNERSHIP OF 3 BOXES OF SMALL DIARIES KEPT BY A MELBOURNE BUSINESS MAN. We have been searching them unsystematically. We would like to do them more justice one day looking at them … [Read more...]
Paying tribute to early Australian collectors
WHAT ABOUT RECOGNISING EARLY COLLECTORS? HERE IS A MAN WITH A STORY SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR TO MODERN COLLECTORS. William Bednall was a printer, newspaper man and collector of many types of things including … [Read more...]