The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part two: sideshow magic and human curiosities
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Part two of the story of the Melbourne Waxworks, featuring a water nymph, the Chinese giant and the ‘half lady’ illusion.
Quarantine and the Little Red Bluff
Dr Barry Cotter (Melbourne’s first medical doctor) was preparing to leave for an extended tour of Europe when, in April 1840: On the eve of his departure the ship Glen… Read More ›
Make your own 19th-century paper puppy
Today we paws to celebrate the work of 19th-century Australian artist ST Gill, the subject of our new exhibition Australian sketchbook: Colonial life and the art of ST Gill.
Slums of Melbourne: Little Lon
Buildings & streets, Social life & customs, Such was life:
Of all the slums in inner Melbourne, ‘Little Lon’ was the most notorious. But there was more to the precinct than met the eye…
New Sights and Sounds in Arts
classical music, Dance, Film, jazz, Music, Musicals, opera, Popular music, Rare Books & Arts, rock:
Some great new arrivals include recent releases and acquisitions in popular, rock, musical theatre and film music, classical, jazz, chamber, ballet and opera on CD and Blu-Ray. All CDs listed… Read More ›
Blondin and his imitators
People & professions, Such was life:
In the 1870s, a visiting French tightrope walker inspired others to try the same- often with disastrous results.
The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part one: ‘…the more murderers, the more it thrives.’
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Before true crime podcasts and books on serial killers, where did Melburnians go for their taste of the macabre? To the waxworks of course.
EBooks for Family Historians
Did you know that the State Library provides access to over 16,000 eBooks on a wide range of topics? Our eBooks can be accessed by anyone within the Library and,… Read More ›
A lesser known story of the Syme family
Collection Care, People & professions, Preservation, Such was life:
Found within the family papers of The Age editor-in-chief David Syme, are a set of letters that give a small insight into the women of the Syme family.
Back to the future in Rare Books
State Library Victoria’s Rare Books Cataloguer Derrick Moors uncovered a fascinating item recently while working on the Wallace Kirsop Collection, a generous gift by one of this library’s greatest supporters.… Read More ›
Such was life
On the case: Detective Piggott and the development of forensics
The early 1900s was an exciting time to be a detective. Innovations in science and technology, combined with the popularity of detective stories shifted crime fighting away from the seedy world of informers, which had influenced the early years of policing, towards the detection of crime using scientific methods and forensic evidence. Find out about how one Victorian detective contributed to the development of police forensics.
Arts
Portraits of Melbourne artists in their studios
John Hinds, an artist, photographer and active ROAR member from 1986 to 1992 spent time capturing artists he personally knew and the spaces that they used to create their works. His photographs captured a unique and often unseen time and place, creating an invaluable insight into the art scene in Melbourne.
