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 ›
Albert Ullin OAM (1930-2018)
In 1960 Albert Ullin founded the first children’s bookshop in Melbourne and named it the Little Bookroom. This tiny shop in the Metropole Arcade, followed by later expansions into other… Read More ›
The collar king
People & professions, Such was life, War:
A chance find in an opportunity shop sets the finder on the trail of Melbourne’s former ‘Collar King’.
Charmaine Matyson, RIP 1986-2019
State Library Victoria, and specifically the History of the Book and Arts Collections here, lost a rare treasure earlier this month. On the night of Sunday 8th December 2019, volunteer… Read More ›
New Sights & Sounds : Summer highlights
classical music, country music, Dance, Film, jazz, Music, Musicals, Popular music, Rare Books & Arts, rock:
Some great new arrivals for Summer, include recent releases and acquisitions in popular, rock and country music, musical theatre, jazz, ballet, classical and film music on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray. … Read More ›
‘I’m the boy that brings the news, so a Christmas box I won’t refuse.’
People & professions, Social life & customs, Such was life:
Don’t forget the postie, milkman and garbo!
Such was life
Arts
‘It really belongs to you people anyway…’: The story of Ken Pound
To celebrate the Children’s Book Council of Australia Week, we pay tribute to the life of children’s literature collector, Ken Pound, and the collection he has left for us all.
