Reminiscences from 1965
Social life & customs, Such was life:
In 1965, some older Victorians wrote short essays for a competition, recalling their early lives.
Such was life
Online Collection Spotlight: Trench journals and unit magazines of the First World War.
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, War:
This Online Collection Spotlight examines WWI trench journals created by units from several combatant nation between 1914 and 1919. Produced in camps and battle zones, these handmade publications reveal humour, creativity, and resilience through poems, sketches, notes and stories.
The sky is the limit: pioneering aviator Freda Thompson
People & professions, Such was life, Uncategorized, Victorian history:
In 1934, Australian aviator, Freda Thompson, made history as the first Australian woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Thompson was a pioneer who believed the sky was the limit – she wanted to reach that limit, to feel the adrenaline, to just fly.
Ailsa O’Connor: highlights of a life of socialist activism, feminism and art
Painting, Politics, Uncategorized:
Ailsa O’Connor (1921-1980) was a political activist, painter, sculptor, author and teacher. Throughout her art career she was a member of the Communist Party and associated with the Socialist Realist Group.
Online Collection Spotlight: Bloomsbury Historic Dress in Detail
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Fashion, Our stories, Such was life:
Watch the wonders of fashion unfold with this informative and visually stunning peak into the history of clothing. This video database, with companion articles, explores historical contexts, materials, and construction methods, enabling you to see how different garments were worn, and the function that each item served.
Feasts of Christmas past
Ask a librarian, Food, Social life & customs, Victorian history:
What are your favourite festive food memories? Have you ever enjoyed Christmas Day lunch on the beach, up a mountain or aboard a ship? Do you remember pineapple glazed ham? Would you like the 100-year-old recipe for walnut stuffing? The State Library’s historic menus, cookbooks, photos and magazines trace Christmas foods from early colonial tables to the festive flavours celebrated by our diverse migrant communities. Dive in and rediscover your favourite Christmas dishes — or find inspiration for this year’s feast.
On the case: Detective Piggott and the development of forensics
Ask a librarian, People & professions, Such was life, Victorian history:
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.
Escalators: Moving Melbourne and beyond
Ask a librarian, Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Our stories, Such was life, Victorian history:
In September 1932, hundreds of people congregated in and around a new building on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in central Melbourne. These crowds hoped to experience a new phenomenon: the escalator. As the twentieth century progressed, each decade saw more cities in Australia embrace the continuous movement that was possible with the introduction of the moving staircase.
Online Collection Spotlight: Early English books online
Arts & literature, Collection spotlights:
Proquest’s Early English Books Online database features page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere, from 1470-1700. More than 200 libraries worldwide have contributed to this comprehensive database, which covers literature, art, architecture, philosophy, religion, politics, history and linguistics. The collection has everything from the first book printed in English through to the ages of Spenser, Shakespeare and the English Civil War.
Recently digitised: playbills from the Coppin Collection
Collection, Digitisation, Performing Arts, Recently digitised, Social life & customs, Theatre:
George Selth Coppin, an indefatigable powerhouse, was responsible for much of the popular culture that entertained theatre going audiences in the second half of the 19th century. State Library Victoria has recently digitised more than 1200 theatre playbills from its comprehensive Coppin Collection – a highly significant archive of theatrical history.
