Category Archives: nostalgia

Ring Ring Why Don’t You Give Me a Call?

Posted on July 6, 2020 by

The Telstra Museum (Melbourne) is a small museum situated within the Hawthorn Telephone Exchange, Burwood Road, Hawthorn. It is managed by a group of dedicated volunteers from the Victorian Telecommunications Museum who strive to preserve Australia’s telecommunications heritage.  The museum … Continue reading →

Posted in Collectibles, nostalgia, Urban Art | Leave a comment

A Great Combi-Nation of VW Art

Posted on June 16, 2020 by

This post introduces a new art page category –  VW ‘Kombi’ Art. I base this on my love of the Kombi/Combi VW van.  In fact we are a family of devotees of the Kombi and many friends and family members … Continue reading →

Posted in Gallery Art, nostalgia, Textiles, VWArt | Leave a comment

Luna Park | Just for Fun

Posted on June 6, 2020 by

The Carousel at Melbourne’s Luna Park (formally known as PTC#30) is the 30th carousel machine made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) in Pennsylvania, USA and was built in 1913. Like a giant puzzle, the huge carousel complete with cast … Continue reading →

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I’m Spinning Around | The Famous Hill’s Hoists

Posted on May 14, 2020 by

The Australian invention Hill’s Hoists outdoors clothes line transformed backyards across Australia in years after World War Two (WW2) due to a couple of wayward fruit trees behind a house in an Adelaide suburb. Lance Hill of Glenunga returned home … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Gallery Art, Illustrations, nostalgia, Paintings, Tea Towels | Leave a comment

They Are Redheads | Not Deadheads!

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

Redheads is an iconic Australian top-selling brand of matches originally manufactured in Victoria by Bryant & May match factory at Church Street, Richmond. The factory was opened in 1909 by The Honourable Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister of Australia. The Redhead … Continue reading →

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Why do these remind me of the ICPOTA man with his newspaper cap?

Posted on November 24, 2019 by

[River art installation: Talking Our Way Home by Shaun Kirby, River Torrens, Adelaide, South Australia. (Five glass and steel origami-like boats suggesting movement, transport and the idea of journey)]. Installation artist Shaun Kirby (born London 1958- ) migrated to Adelaide, … Continue reading →

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Hutton’s Hamming It Up

Posted on July 24, 2019 by

Hutton’s Hams and Bacon (Pine-Apple Brand) During the 1860s the suburb of Preston in Melbourne’s north saw the introduction  of a bacon-curing factory. Following its opening in 1862, came a tannery in 1865. These original establishments would be followed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Edible Art, Illustrations, nostalgia, StillLife | Leave a comment

These Tins Really Take the Biscuit!

Posted on May 23, 2019 by

From Melbourne Open House -“Cabinets of Wonder” ephemera collection at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. entitled – ”The Welcome Guest”. These biscuit tins belong to the personal collection of “TG” [Occupation: Driver]. In reference to his collection, TG says: … Continue reading →

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Cereal Collectors? – Not as Corny as it Might Seem

Posted on July 4, 2018 by

Cereal boxes – from 2016 Open House “Cabinets of Wonder” ephemera collection at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. This collection is entitled ‘Breakfast is Good for You’. The collector is identified as ‘IS’ and their occupation: Cleaner. IS claims: … Continue reading →

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A Bit of Hanky Panky

Posted on June 30, 2018 by

“Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases – So Trap Them in Your Handkerchief.” A handkerchief also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square and made from thin fabric that can be carried in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Collectibles, Fabric, nostalgia, Textiles | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Apples of Temptation are Bonza!

Posted on March 10, 2018 by

Above are some great examples of Apple Case Art and Australiana. Labels began to appear in large numbers on wooden crates around 1920 and were only superseded in the 1960s by cardboard cartons. Although the designs were for the most part basic, and … Continue reading →

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From Backstage Girl To Lucky In Love

Posted on March 3, 2018 by

Pulp Fiction paperback publishing did not only happen in America. In the second half of the 20th Century an Australian pulp scene burned brightly with tales of jaded gunshoes, valiant servicemen and women, daring spies, violent youth gangs and bikies. The … Continue reading →

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Bathroom Blues? Let Freddie the Frog Come to the Rescue On Demand

Posted on February 14, 2018 by

Arkie by Brett Whiteley (1967) oil mixed media on canvas on board (Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria). Australian Avant-garde artist Brett Whiteley (born Sydney,  7 April 1939 – died 15 June 1992) is well represented in many Australian galleries and was … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Artists A-Z, Collectibles, Gallery Art, nostalgia, Paintings, QuestionableArt | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair

Posted on October 15, 2017 by

Above is the cover design for Japanese ‘Rainbow’ Ne-Ne stationery note-paper designed ca. 1969. Japan has a plethora of smart pieces of stationery with both practical and sophisticated design elements. Japan is the design stationery capital of the world. Stationery … Continue reading →

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How To Create Some Very Angry Penguins

Posted on July 16, 2017 by

Editors of an Australian mid-century literary and artistic avant-garde magazine ‘Angry Penguins’ were devoted to the cause of Modernism which was based on the movements of Surrealism and Expressionism. From its humble beginnings in Adelaide, South Australia, through to its … Continue reading →

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