Monthly Archive for July, 2009

What’s happening on level one?

Published by Paula Bray on July 31, 2009 1 Comment

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Museum staff have been really busy working on installing a new exhibit beyond the blue walls you can see in this image. This has been developing over quite a number of months now and all will be revealed very soon. The photography team has been busy preparing a time-lapse of this work developing and we will share this with you too. So stay tuned unless you want to have a guess at what it could be.

Photography by Paula Bray
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

Crystal Palace in Sydenham

Published by Paula Bray on July 30, 2009 0 Comments

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This detail from a stereo photograph is of the french machinery in the western annexe of the Crystal Palace in Sydenham. Central to the composition is the prize winning band saw made by J. L. Perin of Paris. Taken in 1862 the photograph was published by ‘The London Stereoscopic Company’ but the photographer was William England.

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Post by Geoff Barker

Preparing for Eat Green Design

Published by Paula Bray on July 29, 2009 1 Comment

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Walking through the Museum at the moment is a hub of installation activity in preparation for the annual Sydney Design Festival. Yesterday I caught the installation of a section of the Eat Green Design restaurant/café/exhibition being installed, which is taking place in the Turbine Hall on level 1. This interesting structure is a part of an overhead feature that will hang above the dining table.

This dining experience features bio-dynamic and organic food and is a space for ideas on sustainable practices in design. The concept was designed by Cilla Madden from Collaborate while the space was designed by award-winning architect Hannah Tribe and Tribe Studio architects. It also showcases a selection of innovative, sustainable products from independent and emerging eco-designers around Australia including Design By Them, Toby Horrocks, Lightly, Spaceleft and ISM Objects.

Photography by Paula Bray
© All rights reserved

What’s in the workshop #6

Published by Paula Bray on July 28, 2009 0 Comments

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This telescope was sitting, in a very unassuming way, in the workshop today almost escaping our notice.

Its history packs allot more punch than its aesthetics.

This historic telescope was ordered by Sydney Observatory from the telescope maker Sir Howard Grubb of Dublin, Ireland, for the 1882 transit of Venus. Customs problems though meant that it only arrived at the Observatory after the event. The telescope was set up in the Observatory’s north dome where one of its initial users was pioneer aviator Lawrence Hargrave . In the early 1980s the telescope was replaced in the north dome by a modern computer-controlled telescope.

As with the majority of our collection, the telescope has never been on display, just tucked in a silent corner waiting for its moment.

It is going to go into the From Earth to the Universe exhibition, opening on 11 September 2009.

Photography by Paula Bray
Post by Erika Dicker, Curator
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

Then and now: looking into the past, King Street, Sydney c.1900/2009

Published by Paula Bray on July 27, 2009 0 Comments

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Photography by Scotticus
License: Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic

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Tyrrell photography by Kerry and Co
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This great shot was taken by one of the members in our Tyrrell Today group on Flickr. This photographer has printed a version of our historic image below showing King Street, looking west in the central business district in Sydney taken circ 1900 and matched it up with the actual location today. We love it when Flickr members go to great lengths to get comparison shots.

Our Tyrrell Today group is asking for contemporary comparisons to our historic photographic collections that we add to the Commons on Flickr . For a really great comparison check out Paul Hagon’s Then & Now Google Mashup.

Studio portrait of three young women

Published by Paula Bray on July 26, 2009 0 Comments

This portrait comes from the wonderfully playful and unique Phillips photographic collection that the Museum acquired in the 80s. It is more than likely that the photographer was Arthur Phillips, the father of the donor Raymond Phillips, a rotograver who grew up in Sydney. This collection, one of my favourites, was found in box in the garage of the house in Bellevue Hill where the Phillips family lived. The family moved to the area after living in Latimer Road in Willoughby.

The three women in this group portrait are likely to be, on the left, Ida Phillips and the other two are probably her sisters, Amy (b.1863) and Eva (b. 1865). The woman in the centre also features in this image.

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A day at the races

Published by Paula Bray on July 25, 2009 0 Comments

Photographer Tom Lennon took this image on January 1st, 1934 at Warwick Farm Racecourse. There were a few shots taken on this day and we have been adding these to the Commons on Flickr. This woman is also featured in this image where she is enjoying a playful moment, sharing ice cream.

Tom Lennon was a commercial and portrait photographer, operating his studio at 64 Victoria Road, Drummoyne, NSW during the 1930s and 1940s. We have acquired 1796 negatives from this collection that cover topics such as balls and dinners held in Sydney, weddings, funerals, work events, parties, portraits, pets, fashion, horse races, and various places and events in Sydney.

Photography by Tom Lennon
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Preparing for the Odditoreum

Published by Paula Bray on July 24, 2009 0 Comments

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This shot was taken just before our new display Odditoreum was opened. This is our conservator Suzanne Chee working in the photographic studio on the griffin. We recently showed you the wing of this object that was resting in the workshop for a while, seen in this post.

Curator Charles Pickett says that griffins are “the king of birds married to the lord of the earth. Perhaps because of its presence in many cultures, the griffin has embodied numerous qualities; however a role as protector and guardian is the most common”

The Odditoreum features some unique and strange objects from deep within the vaults of the Museum’s collection. Children’s author Shaun Tan has created some intriguing stories about the weird objects featured that blur the line between fact and fiction.

Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

A hand tinted and framed ambrotype

Published by Paula Bray on July 23, 2009 0 Comments

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This photograph is exceptional for two reasons. Firstly it is an unusually large (280 x 320 mm) and finely hand tinted and framed ambrotype. Secondly the sitter is the grand-daughter of a Vice-Admiral of the Royal British Navy, Sir Charles John Napier. Charles Napier was the son of the famous mathematician and after fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, and postings in Portugal, Syria, he was appointed Vice-Admiral commanding the Baltic Fleet during the Crimean War. The children in this photograph are likely to have actually been his step-children born before his marriage to Frances (Elizabeth) Elers, née Younghusband.

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Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator

A coloured bouquet

Published by Paula Bray on July 22, 2009 0 Comments

A coloured bouquet

This colourful abstract composition was created by one of our photographers whilst photographing a childrens craft activity in Cogs’ workshop at the Powerhouse Museum. Ordinary objects like coloured pens are transformed by the creative use of colour and design.

Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0
Post by Kathy Hackett, Photo Librarian