News:
Imagine tall ships, schooners and yachts crowding the shimmering waters of Hobsons Bay for a grand regatta. Gleaming white sails unfurl and colourful flags fly in the seabreeze. This spirit of joy and the confidence of a young city are captured in an exquisite watercolour of early Melbourne, not seen publicly since it was painted in 1862.
What do the following things have in common: candlesticks, beehives, cock fights, drinking glasses, swans, flowerpots, crucifixes, stags, comets, and roses? Give up? They’re all convict tattoos.
Walter Crane (1845-1915) is today best known for his ornately illustrated 19th century children’s books. He designed artwork for the British master printer Edmund Evans in a variety of capacities for ten years, before Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway joined him as Evans’ triumvirate of children’s Toy Book illustrators.
Staff from the Family History team are delighted to be representing the State Library at two upcoming genealogy expos in Deniliquin and Colac.
Kate Baker’s autograph book bears witness to her passionate advocacy for Australian literature. Manuscripts librarian Sandra Burt tells us more.
News:
The winners of the 2017 Inky Awards for young adult literature were announced today by The Centre for Youth Literature at State Library Victoria.
To celebrate World Tourism Day (27 September), we’re taking a trip around the globe with some amazing photographs, photo albums, diaries and posters from our collection. Enjoy!
Our stories, Performing Arts, Rare Books & Arts:
Magician William Ellsworth Robinson left behind his plain name and New York background and reinvented himself as the Chung Ling Soo, the Marvellous Chinese Conjurer, complete with an imaginative and fictitious life story, In the great days of vaudeville he achieved world fame and in 1909 embarked on a wildly successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A decade later, still at the height of his career, Chung Ling Soo was mortally wounded on stage undertaking his sensational bullet catch trick.
News:
Australia’s YA community was deeply saddened to learn that Agnes Nieuwenhuizen passed away last week at her home in Woodend, Victoria.
Family history events, Family matters:
Interested in researching your Victorian family history? Why not try the Library’s new online family history course Branching out.
A recent donation to the Library gives us insight into the last wills and testaments of Victorians of the 19th and 20th Century, from what they were bequeathing to who they held dear.
Agatha Christie was a leading author of the golden age of detective fiction whose books continue to excite, delight and intrigue readers. To celebrate her outstanding legacy, State Library Victoria recently acquired first editions of some of Christie’s most popular titles.
