Monthly Archive for February, 2010

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Elbeo Stockings advertisement, Wolfgang Sievers, Berlin 1938

Published by Iwona Hetherington on February 18, 2010 0 Comments Tags: , .

These two advertising photographs for Elbeo Stockings were taken by Wolfgang Sievers at the Berlin’s Contempora School of Applied Arts in 1938, the same year he migrated to Australia. In Australia it wasn’t however fashion but architectural and industrial photography that Sievers became interested in and highly acclaimed for. He admitted that one of the reasons for loosing interest in fashion photography was the fact that in his opinion Australian models of that time didn’t quite match the sophistication and elegance of their European counterparts.

In his comments written next to the above photographs he says:

When working with one really great and elegant model I learnt how her talent made one’s work infinitely easier, so much so that later in Australia I lost interest in fashion work because almost all models at that time were an untrained lot (…)

Photography by Wolfgang Sievers
No known copyright restrictions

The Fountain, Botanical Gardens, Sydney

Published by Kathy Hackett on February 17, 2010 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Every street in Sydney should have its drinking-fountain. It should be at least as easy to obtain a drink of pure water as a glass of milk or beer. Sydney is a sub-tropical city, and sometimes it is warm and sometimes it is dusty … Sydney should be a city of fountains.
(J. H. Maiden, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens to the 1909 Royal Commission on Improving Sydney)

At the time that Joseph Maiden wrote this, Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens already had several public drinking fountains.

This photograph, taken around 1895, shows the drinking fountain near the Palm Grove, a popular spot with photographers. The woman and children appear to be safe and secure in the well-tended grounds with a plentiful supply of fresh water provided for their comfort.

The Royal Botanic Gardens were, at this time, an important destination for both leisure and learning. They were also the most regulated of Sydney’s public parks. Only those who, like this group, were ‘cleanly and decently dressed’ were allowed in and smoking was forbidden.

Photograph by Henry King. Tyrrell collection.
No known copyright restrictions.

Melbourne Arch

Published by Paula Bray on February 16, 2010 0 Comments

On 1 January Sydney celebrated Australia becoming a Federation by hosting a grand procession through its streets. The Federation ‘Melbourne Arch’ (also known as the Victorian Arch) was situated on Park Street just where the procession turned off from George Street. This arch was hastily constructed at the last minute under the supervision of Mr Mountain who found it difficult to find workmen for the job. The 7.5 meter arch was covered in foliage and was lit up at night by electric light bulbs.

No known coypright restrictions
Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator

Water

Published by Iwona Hetherington on February 15, 2010 0 Comments Tags: .

This photograph is a one of many water images taken by the Museum’s photographer Jean-Francois Lanzarone, when working on the Modern Times exhibition. Whilst most of the photographs taken for this assignment depict modernist architecture of Australian swimming pools, there is a series of photos in which he decided to focus solely on the ephemeral shapes of water. This photo was shot from underneath – holding the camera in his right hand and pointing to the sky, Jean-Francois was at the same time stirring the water with his left hand – hence the bubbles in the picture.

Photography by Jean-Francois Lanzarone
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

Meeting the mailman

Published by Kathy Hackett on February 14, 2010 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

The writing and posting of messages on Saint Valentine’s Day has a long history. On February 14 girls in ancient Rome would place their names in a box and invite the boys to choose. The celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day is mentioned by Chaucer and Shakespeare and was popular in England during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Samuel Pepys wrote of it in his diary in 1667 and in 1838 Hone’s Everyday book estimated that 20,000 cards were sent for Valentine’s Day each year. In 1888 Chamber’s Book of days referred to “many hundred thousand” being sent.

In the latter part of the 20th century Saint Valentine’s Day became known as a ‘Hallmark holiday’ in the USA because of the numbers of commercial greeting cards that are sold. It is not difficult to imagine that the posted greeting may eventually be overtaken by the virtual Valentine.

This photograph is from the studio of Charles Kerry & Co and is part of the Museum’s Tyrrell collection. Like many of the staged images created by the Kerry studio, its purpose was a narrative one. In late nineteenth century Australia, the postal service was, for many, an essential link between their isolated rural existence and the wider world. As well as an opportunity to receive news from afar, meeting the mailman, for some, may have been an important social occasion.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Photography by Charles Kerry & Co., Tyrrell collection.
No known copyright restrictions

Celebrating the Chinese New Year, an age old tradition

Published by Paula Bray on February 13, 2010 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This is another fascinating image taken by Hedda Morrison in the 1930-40s in China, showing a Chinese new year painting and calligraphy stall in Haiwang Village.

The tradition of Lunar New Year celebration that Sydneysiders are familiar with includes street fairs, dragon boat races and lion dances. Perhaps a lesser known part of the celebrations are the home adornments using calligraphy work called chun lian and colourful papercuts. This image shows three men wearing hats and padded robes standing in front of an outdoor stall viewing a Chinese new year painting and calligraphy.

The Chinese New Year Festival begins on the first day of the first lunar month of the year and runs for 15 days, until the first full moon appears. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on 14 February and marks the start of the Year of the Tiger.

Photograph, ‘Chinese New Year painting and calligraphy stall, Haiwang Village, east of Liulichang’, black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946.
Post by Anni Turnball, Curator

Visitor photography: Flickr group highlight

Published by Paula Bray on February 12, 2010 1 Comment


Light Experiment, originally uploaded by Erik K Veland.

This is another great image that we are highlighting on Photo of the Day that has been taken by one of our visitors to the Museum. This creative and experimental shot using lights and mirrors has been added to our new group on Flickr Me and the Powerhouse Museum. This photographer has used a Creative Commons license for this particular photo which means it can be shared and remixed for a non-commercial use as long as you properly attribute the photographer.

Photography by Erik K Veland
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic

Discharging wool at Bourke: river transport linked with rail

Published by Paula Bray on February 11, 2010 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Paddle-steamers once worked their way up and down more than 6500km of the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers. They carried wool, allowing settlements to expand along the rivers. Transport costs were far less than overland rates. Wool unloaded in Bourke was transferred onto trains heading for Sydney.

Today much of the river water is diverted to irrigate cotton, rice and other crops. Even when we are not in drought, there is seldom enough water in any of the rivers to support a paddle-steamer’s passage.

Photography by Charles Kerry Studio
No known copyright restrictions
Post by Sandra McEwen, Principal Curator

Trainspotting competition

Published by Paula Bray on February 10, 2010 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Our Trainspotting competition has been attracting many great photos in our new group on Flickr dedicated to photography competitions. There are six categories that you can enter your images into including: steam trains, diesel electric or electric trains, night photography, railway infrastructure, trainspotting and railway workers. You can get all the information about the competition from our Trainspotting page online. Entries need to be in by Wednesday 31 March.

This image was taken by our photographer Marinco and was shot during the Locomotive 3265 steam trial at Eveleigh railway workshop.

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

Military and Naval Review of Troops’

Published by Paula Bray on February 9, 2010 0 Comments

On Friday 4 January 1901, the ‘Military and Naval Review of Troops’ was held in the grounds of Centennial Park. The activities began at 10.30 when Lord Hopetoun rode out from the saluting-base to review the 9,374 men of all ranks who took part in the march past.

In this particular image we can see part of the huge crowd which had gathered all through the morning to view the proceedings. This image appears to be of the slopes that flanked the covered stand near the saluting base. Note also the white trousers and white hats of the constables placed around the grounds to ensure no-one was run over.

No known copyright restrictions
Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator