The Holden VR Commodore was produced from 1993 to 1995, It had smoother exterior design and various mechanical improvements.Manufactured and sold by GMHPale Blue body, black strip both sides. Grille integrated with the front bumper fascia.HOLDEN Badge on bonnet and boot. COMMODORE badge on both front doors ACLIPSE badge on right hand side on backvehicle, holden, vr commodore

The VF Commodore was produced in Australia from 2013 to 2017. It was available as a sedan and station wagon (CALAIS) and also a commercial utility. This Calais was the last built by GMH. The VF series is the fifteenth and final Australian made Commodore range since the introduction of this nameplate in 1987 Manufactured and sold by GMH5 door Grey body wagon, leather seats, blinkers on both front side panelsHolden emblem on bonnet and boot centre. "CALAIS" badge on boot and both back doorscalais, cars, vf holden

Manufactured in 1969, 14,437 built. Cost $3,183Manufactured and sold by GMHBeige body with beige leather seats. 1/4 window in front. Round side mirrors. Holden hubcapsHOLDEN Middle of bonnet, 253 emblem both front side panels, Holden lion badge on grille, MONARO both side back panels and right hand side of boot.holden, ht monaro

Built in 2013. Manufactured and sold by GMHRed body with black grille .Sun roof. Rear spoiler. Scoop on bonnet.HSV emblem on grille and bootholden, vf ssv, redline

worn on the rear of boot to edge into the flank of the horse to help urge it forward.As manufactured and sold by Holden and Frost Ca 1900Metal U shaped boot mounted projection, straps for boot mounting buckled on toe of bootequine, spur

Used for the protection of feet and footwear while playing poloManufactured and sold by Holden and Frost Ca 1900Brass covered in leather with loop on top for strapboot, polo

The VF was the final Australian built Commodore and was the finest and best equipped car ever built by that companyManufactured by GMH 2017Blue Bodied VF2 Holden Commodore. Blue and white check banding on sides Police warning lights on top with scanners and six aerials. Police sticker on bonnet, Highway Patrol singage on sidesPolice on bonnet, Holden emblem on both boot and bonnet centresvehicle, commodore, police car, holden

The 48 - 215 was the first vehicle produced by GMH specifically for the local Australian market. This vehicle later became better known as the FX. This vehicle was manufactured from 1948 to 1953. From here Holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an Australian car. This involved compromise with GM as Holden managing director, Lawrence Harnett, favoured development of a local design, while GM preferred to see an American design as the basis for "Australia's Own Car". In the end the design was based on a previously rejected post war Chevrolet proposal. The Holden was launched in 1948, creating long waiting lists extending through 1949 and beyond. The name ":Holden" was chosen in honour of Sir Edward Holden, the company's first chairman and grandson of J.A.Holden. Other names considered were "GeM", "Austral", "Melba", Woomrah", " Boomerang", "Emu", and "Canbra", a phonetic spelling of Canberra. Although officially designated " 48-215" the car was marketed simply as "Holden" The unofficial usage of the name "FX" originated within Holden referring to the updated suspension on the 48-48 215 of 1953.This was the first vehicle manufactured solely for the Australian market.4 Door sedan, two pane split screen windscreen, lifting boot and bonnet. Powered by an 132.5 Cubic inch motor.Holden Specialautomobile, holden, 1948, vintage, car

The styling of the EJ was a radical departure from the previous model, the EK, with a lower roof line, a flatter boot and the absence of fins. This was the last car manufactured by GMH that utilised the "original" gray motor. Transmissions were a three speed manual, an automatic using the Hydra-matic. Auto was available in all models, including commercial vehicles for the first time.This is the last vehicle that was to be fitted with what was commonly referred to as the 132.5 cubic inch Grey motor4 Door blue with white roof sedanChrome strip along sides of car, Special badge on front Guards, Holden name across top of grill and across boot lid .Number plate Club permit 63455 Hej special sedan, manual, car

The VN Commodore was available in Executive, S, SS, Berlina and Calais specification levels, although a more basic SL model (opt. code A9K) was supposedly offered to government and fleet buyers, as it was not officially listed as part of the Commodore range. Changes in the relative values of the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen, and the US dollar made it impractical to continue with the well-regarded Nissan engine of the VL. Instead, Holden manufactured their own 90-degree V6 based on an old Buick design from the US, although initially it was imported. The 5.0-litre V8 remained optional and received a power boost to 165 kW (221 hp). Both these engines used multi point GM EFI and the V6 using 3 coil-packs for ignition. Holden and HSV developed this car as the basis for racing in Group A Confederation of Australian Motor Sport events. While the minimum number of cars built to qualify in Australian Touring car Championships, with modified body kit, brakes or engine is 500, only 302 VN were built but CAMS granted an exemption allowing them to compete.Holden and HSV had worked hard to develop this car to be a serious competitor to the Skyline, Ford Sierra and the BMW which had dominated in the previous years. This was to be the Holden’s answer and coincided with the return of Peter Brock back to the Holden team from 1987.Mechanically the cars were fitted with reworked version of Holden’s 4.9 litre V8. The engine block was cast for additional strength, modified cylinder heads roller rockers and high fuel flow fuel injection was applied. Output was 215 kw at 5200revs and, though at today’s standard, that is not that much it was very impressive at that time. The drive was through a six speed ZF gearbox with a heavy duty racing clutch and a limited slip differential.Under the Hawke government's Button car plan, which saw a reduction in the number of models manufactured locally, and the introduction of model sharing, the VN Commodore was rebadged as the Toyota Lexcen, named after the late America's Cup yacht designer, Ben Lexcen. Subsequently, the Toyota Corolla and Camry were, similarly, badged as the Holden Nova and Holden Apollo.Red executive 4 door sedanHolden Lion and stone emblem grille centre, Commodore boot LHS, Lion and stone emblem boot RHS.vehicle, vn commodore, holden, car

This clock was produced by the American Sessions Clock Company. The company was formed in 1903, after William E. Sessions and his nephew Albert L. Sessions bought out the failing clock company of E.N.Welch Manufacturing. The clock belonged to local Wodonga bootmaker Franz Gördes (b.1843) who immigrated to Australia from Germany in 1871. After docking in Melbourne Franz headed for the goldfields in Beechworth, but didn't strike gold. He returned to his trade and opened a boot shop in Wodonga, which burnt to the ground the day before the opening. Undeterred, he rebuilt and operated the business until his death in 1928.This item has a well documented provenance and connection to the local history of Wodonga.An ornate wooden clock with Roman numeral clock face and glass door with a decorative gold transfer. clock, clocks, session clock company, wodonga, gold rush, gold fields, beechworth

Photographer notations on slide: At the Leather Exhib. at T. Hall Melb 1933 Age Published: Age (Melbourne, Vic.: 1854- ), 1933 THE EXHIBITS. (1933, September 20). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 16. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205109730 Published title: THE EXHIBITS. A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE. Curios, Novelties, Working Displays Published Caption: ONE OF THE NOVELTIES – AN OUTSIZE IN SHOES Research by Project Volunteer, Louise McKenzie: Our photo is dated 20 September 1933, and shows a happy, chubby-faced young girl sitting in a very over-sized girl’s shoe. It is labelled – “Shoe, An Out Size, loaned by Messrs Blackman & Rose”. (1) It is an effective way to capture the attention of the readership and alert them to the Melbourne Leather Show 1933. This show was designed to be a drawcard of extraordinary proportion, and there is no doubt that this leather exhibition was a really big deal for Melbourne. It completely took over the Melbourne Town Hall, and was open from 10.30 am until 10.30 pm. It seemed to contain something for everyone – the military, the man about town, the home handyman, the housewife, the child, the sporting types, the domestic workers, the outdoor enthusiasts, the horseracing fans, car enthusiasts, those wishing to show off the latest fashion – both men and women - and those just intrigued by a lot of fascinating and wide ranging exhibits. One of the most comprehensive descriptions of the Exhibition accompanies the photograph, and is worth quoting in full: “PROMINENT among exhibits which first attract attention in the foyer of the Town Hall is a comprehensive display of leather articles used by the defence forces. A conspicuous legend states that leather plays an important part in national defence, being used for saddlery, tool containers, holdalls, range-finding, surveying and signalling equipment, explosives factories, harness accoutrement, bandsmen's equipment and clothing. Three models of horses and several figures of soldiers wearing leather equipment illustrate the lesson, and a great range of leather goods used in military training and work variegate the display. Nearby are Texas cowboy, buckjumping and breaking-in saddles; whips, a walking stick, made of leather and numerous other curios. The general exhibition occupies the whole floor space of the main Town Hall, and is subdivided by partitions running most of the length of the hall. A bewildering variety, of leather goods presses for close and leisured inspection. Here and there operatives in charge of working machinery give practical demonstrations of factory processes in the production of footwear. Polishing materials are well represented. One attractive exhibit includes two bush huts constructed of leather, with wattle bark for roofing. Opossums, rosellas and a kookaburra add touches of bush realism. Adjacent exhibits include bags, fishing boots, leggings, leather covers in all colours. Factory Processes. One exhibitor has installed an automatic cinema apparatus and screen, which projects various factory processes in making a shoe, the operator being shown at work. Elsewhere an interesting exhibit depicts the five stages in the manufacture of sole leather, and the tanning materials employed. "Very handsome effects are achieved in the interior appointments of motor cars, which are attended by figures of smart chauffeurs in leather coats. Motor-trimming leather is said to be more durable and hygienic than fabric materials, and cheaper. The neat finish of the material, its excellent appearance, certainly make a very favourable impression. It takes the hides of three beasts to cover the cushions, squabs and door panels of a full-sized sedan, while to finish the entire interior, including quarter-panels and head linings would take four or even five. Special Exhibits. Amongst the special sections the display arranged by the handicrafts and home industries- committee of the Country Women's Association of Victoria is a notable one. In all there are about 130 entries which are in four classifications, viz., hand-tooled or embossed leathers, suede, hand-made gloves and undecorated leather. The glove section attracted the most numerous entries, a number being the work of members and craft subscribers of the Country Women's Association. In the leathercraft competition, organised by the Country Women's Association, the judges yesterday awarded the first prize for bookbinding (the only prize given in this division) to Miss M. Alston, of South Yarra. There is also a creditable display of exhibits submitted by boys of the orthopaedic section of the Children's Hospital at Frankston. Amongst the novelties on view in other portions of the exhibition were the following: — Leather coats worn by Sir C. Kingsford Smith on his Atlantic flight. Model Wellington boot, Phar Lap's saddle. Melbourne Cup winner's saddle. Longest whip in world, 108 feet long. (33 metres) [See our photo, to left of Girl in Shoe] Diminutive shoes. Pair of shoes 65 years old. Pair of men's working boots 75 years old. Larwood's, Tate’s and Pataudi’s cricket boots. [Three internationally revered cricketers of the day] (2) Picture frame made of leather bought 63 years ago. [See our photo, to right of Girl in Shoe] Leather frame, powder bowl, &c. Saddle used by world's champion buckjumper in U.S.A. Mexican cowboy outfit. Miniature saddle and bridle. A fireman's helmet made of sole leather. (3) Sample of the leather hat worn by porters at the Billingsgate Fish Market, London. (4) From South Australia there have been obtained sets of harness for donkeys, goats and camels, the equipment being displayed to good advantage on stuffed representations of the animals mentioned. Close to the platform is a glass case containing snow shoes and coats which have been used in Antarctic exploration work. Trade Display. Amongst the trade exhibits may be seen in operation a slipper turn shoe sewing machine, with heeling and channelling facilities, and the various stages in the production of ladies' sandals are shown. There is a wide contrast between sole leather of varying degrees of thickness on view in one stall and the choice samples of ladies' footwear in another — footwear, by the way, which could almost be used as ornaments, so dainty in colour and production are they. Again, there are displays of upholstering leathers of such soft texture that they could he readily mistaken for some of the finest cloth. Those who may be particularly interested in the production of chamois leather may gain an insight into the materials and chemicals used in the "working up” of this variety of leather. Supplies of glace kid (5) are tastefully arranged, and there may also be seen bags of all shapes and sizes, including satchels, suit cases and "sporting" cases, and bags for tennis players and golfers. Further variety is given to the exhibition by the display of antique hides, brightly coloured, with punching balls, boxing gloves and batsman's pads. There are crocodile skins and snake skins so cleverly "Worked up" that one could be almost pardoned for betraying an affection for such unpopular creatures.” “ Another wonderful article on this Exhibition, published the same day in one of the opposition daily newspapers, The Argus, is in the weekly article “Women to Women”, entitled “A Great Victorian Industry: Many Uses for Leather”. This weekly column was penned by Vesta, and she writes, with much purpose: “Yesterday afternoon I paid a hurried visit to the Leather Exhibition now being held in the Melbourne Town Hall and I was disappointed to find that the early visitors to the main exhibition were almost all men. Women, I think, should make a point of seeing every exhibition of our great industries, for women are the buyers of household requisites and goods for their own use and their tastes, and opinion influence also, to a large extent, the purchases of men. So, the welfare of industries is more or less in their hands and it becomes a duty for them to inform themselves fully of the extent and the quality of the manufacturing that is done here. The value of the output of the Australian boot and shoe factories alone was in 1930-31, the latest year for which the figures are given, Stg 3,750,000. Fully two thirds of that amount must have been spent by women on boots and shoes for themselves and their children. In a host of other directions, in the purchase of handbags, travelling bags, belts and straps, cushions, furniture coverings, purses, notebooks, spectacle cases, their annual expenditure must be very high. Their interest, therefore, in this industry is practical, and their support of it should be governed by knowledge of comparable values and qualities of the goods they buy. From the point of view of women, however, the exhibition itself is rather disappointing. There is an amazing collection of good stuff on show, but most of it is not displayed in a fashion that attracts attention. I was surprised, for example, at the range and quality of the leathers displayed, the suppleness of the finer qualities, and the varied range of colours and designs. But they are shown in such a fashion that if one set out deliberately to look for them it would be quite easy to miss most of them.” …It was surprising, too, that no one seemed to have taken advantage of the present fashion of wearing coloured gloves, or the cult of glove making, which the Country Women’s Association has fostered so successfully. Outside the collection of chamois leathers I saw no skins which were suitable to glove making. (6) However, it is perhaps a little unfair to be highly critical of the exhibition, inasmuch as it is the first of its kind. The material is there, undoubtedly, for a splendid show of every phase of this enterprising industry, and I am confident that experience will prove to those concerned that it will be worth while next time to devote a great deal of attention of the method of display.” With further research, it transpires that “Vera” is in fact NZ born Stella May Allen (nee Henderson) (1871-1962), a journalist, the first woman in NZ to begin a law course, in 1890-91). She later worked at a law firm while she completed her degree. Study of the law had always been open to women in NZ, but its practice was still barred to them. Her case “…led to amending legislation in 1896 allowing women to practise as barristers or solicitors. However, on gaining her LL.B. in November 1897 she did not apply for admission to the Bar. Instead, she became the Wellington-based correspondent and leader-writer for the Lyttelton Times. Her appointment, the first for a woman, was not welcomed by the all-male Press Gallery, and special permission had to be obtained from a subcommittee of the House before her presence was accepted. In 1900 she married Edwin Allen, a senior leader-writer for the Wellington Evening Post, and they moved to Australia in 1903 when Edwin Allen took up the post of foreign affairs leader-writer and parliamentary man for the Melbourne Argus. As Patricia Keep notes in her excellent entry of Stella Allan in the Australian Dictionary of Biography: “In 1907 The Argus commissioned her to write a series of articles on the first Australian Women's Work Exhibition held in October. They aroused much interest and next year The Argus invited her to join its full-time staff and begin a weekly section on the particular interests of women. She adopted the nom de plume 'Vesta' and called the column 'Women to Women'. Her work was unique in an Australian daily paper at that time. Her pages extended to cover every aspect of women's affairs, children's interests and community welfare, and 'Vesta' became a household word for authoritative information and advice on such matters. An excellent needlewoman and first-rate cook herself, she thoroughly tutored her staff in the work and needs of women in both country and city, as well as providing the usual training for cadet journalists. She conducted interviews and also visited the country to see at first hand the results of bushfires, mouse plagues, droughts and floods. In 1910 she was one of three women foundation members of the Australian Journalists' Association. “…she found time to become deeply involved in community affairs. She was an original committee-member of the Victorian Association of Crèches and of the Free Kindergarten Union of Victoria, and had much to do with the early days of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association, the Baby Health Centres Association and the Queen Victoria Hospital. She was a member of the National Council of Women, first in New Zealand and then in Melbourne, and of the Country Women's Association from its inception. … in 1924 she was appointed substitute delegate for Australia to the fifth assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva and was a delegate to the second Pan Pacific Women's Conference in Hawaii in 1930. A meeting held in the Melbourne Town Hall in 1938 by representatives of all the main Victorian women's organizations paid special tribute to her work and influence. She retired next year to England where she continued to write for the Argus, contributing articles on the experiences of women and children in wartime.” It is little wonder that “Vesta” was unafraid to take to task both the women of Victoria, and those who created the exhibition! One item which appears to have gone unnoticed, or at least unreported, is a framed article in the background of the photo of the chubby girl in the shoe. The display frame is labelled “Leather from the Human Skin, Tanned and Dressed by French artists.” The exhibition was certainly a cabinet of curiosities! A charming article in The Argus is a nice note on which to end. It gives a quick history and overview of the Australian leather industry and its unprecedented, and possibly unexpected, development and success, and states with pride: “Though Victoria is the largest leather producer in the Commonwealth all tanners in the Commonwealth can look back with pride on the long march of progress.” Footnotes: (1) “Blackman and Rose”. Messrs Blackman and Rose were shoe manufacturers, from 1927 located at 200 Noone Street, Clifton Hill. The Melbourne Circle describes their building as a “fine-looking building in the Federation ‘blood and bandage’ style.” It was built around 1912 for Puttifoot and Bloom, boot manufacturers, and today the building is apartments. (2) These cricketers were household names in the day: Tate: Maurice Tate, “English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s, and leader of England’s Test bowling attack for a long time during this period. The founder of modern seam bowling. “ Larwood: Harold Larwood, “English right-arm fast bowler and the main exponent of the bowling style known as “bodyline”. Used to considerable effect in the 1932-33 Test series in Australia. Pataudi: Iftikhar A K Pataudi, “an Indian prince who in the 1930s played Test cricket for England, and in the 1940s played Test cricket for India (as Captain) – the only test cricketer to have played for both India and England. (3) “sole” leather “… is the thickest and most resistant material existing in the tanning industry … made from vegetable tanned leathers, usually bovine butts, processed in a special way to make them the hardest type of leather in existence.” (4) The hats worn by porters at Billingsgate Fish Market were also known as a “Bobbin” and look quite squat and rather unsophisticated. They were made of wood and tarred leather, with a “flat, hardened top designed to support large rectangular boxes of fish. The upturned brim protected the porter’s head against fish juice draining from the boxes of fish which would be carried on top of the hat. Some hats featured a small drain hole at the rear to allow this collected juice to drain down the back of the carrier. The hats were made using the ‘cuir bouilli’ technique. The leather was immersed in water which was heated until the leather began to shrink. It was then removed and put on a wooden former. The leather was stitched together to make the hat while still wet, and then held in place until dry.” (See article and photo on the London Museum website) (5) Glace kid – described on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Cameo database as “A smooth glossy leather originally prepared from goat or sheepskin. Early glace kid had a shiny surface that was originally prepared by tawing the skin in a mixture of alum, table salt, flour, and egg yolk. Today, glace kid is prepared from many types of vegetable or chrome tanned leathers. The smooth polished surface is obtained mechanically by shaving, glazing, ironing, and/or rolling the dry leather.” (6) In the 1930s, Melbourne’s glovemaking industry was characterised by local manufacturing, with key producers like Simpson’s Gloves Pty Ltd in Richmond and the Stagg Glove Company in Clifton Hill leading the market. These factories produced high-quality leather gloves, handbags, and specialty gear, often employing a clear gendered division of labour and training young, local women. Museum Victoria holds the Simpson’s Gloves Collection, comprising over 1200 items, and the University of Melbourne Archives holds the company’s business records. References: THE EXHIBITS. (1933, September 20). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 16. Retrieved January 25, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205109730 EXPORT LEATHER. (1929, September 17). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 17. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4037647 LEATHER EXHIBITION (1933, September 18). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11693362 (1933, September 23). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 21. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page522766 WOMEN TO WOMEN (1933, September 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 13. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11694034 Australian Dictionary of Biography, Stella May Allan (1871–1962) https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/allan-stella-may-4998 WOMEN TO WOMEN (1930, January 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 13. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4063888 Museums Victoria, Simpson’s Gloves, 486-496 Victoria Street, North Richmond, VIC, Australia https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/2702 The Argus. (1927, October 31). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 20. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3888451 Melbourne Circle: stories from the suburbs: “Boots and all in Clifton Hill” https://melbournecircle.net/2015/11/20/bootmakers-of-clifton-hill/ Wikipedia, Maurice Tate, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Tate Wikipedia, Harold Larwood, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Larwood Wikipedia, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iftikhar_Ali_Khan_Pataudi Buy Leather Online Italy, Sole leather: https://buyleatheronline.com/en/blog/outsole-and-insole-leather-n7 London Museum, Porters hats, https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/v/object-731122/hat-porters-hat/ Cameo Database, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Glace Kid, https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Glac%C3%A9_kid VICTORIAN LEATHER HAS WON RENOWN (1937, September 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 31 (March of Progress Supplement). Retrieved February 7, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1108704 Photographer notations on slide: "At the Leather Exhib. at T. Hall Melb 1933 Age B5".displays, melbourne town hall, leather, children, shoes, 1930-1939, industry, hats, gloves

Typical of the mass produced small items manufactured in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century for domestic use along with clothes irons, boot scrapers and griddle irons, these beetle-style boot jacks were usually located in the vestibule near the door to wedge the booted foot into and pull, removing the boot before stepping into the house with any detritus on the boot.

These boots were manufactured in Richmond, Victoria, circa 1920s. They could have been worn by William Wallace or Ruby May Selina Wallace - heeled leather boots were in fashion both for men and for women at the time - living in Inglewood in regional Victoria. They were donated by an Emerald resident who received them from Ruby.These books are an example of c. 1920s footwear fashion.A pair of Goodyear welted black leather lace-up boots with small heels. The body is made of soft leather, with hard leather near the toes and the rear of the boot. Six pairs of lace holes and four pairs of lace hooks. Hard leather sole. Brown material interior.Right Boot: Outside tag: "The / Stafford / HP & Co LTD" Inside tag: "PERRY'S / Stafford / FOOTWEAR" Inside: "7 754 1" Mid Sole: "GENUINE / GOODYEAR WELT" Forward Sole: "7 / 6" Left Boot: Outside tag: "The / Stafford / HP & Co LTD" Inside: "7 F934 1" Mid Sole: "GENUINE / GOODYEAR WELT" Forward Sole: "7 / 6"boots, lace up boots, clothing

VE Calais with cutaway side panels for display. Wheels car of the yearHolden manufacturedBlue body, passenger side and boot cut out for display. Holden lion hubcapsLion emblem on boot and bonnet. V8 Coutre badge on both front side panels. holden, cutaway

This bottle of finishing ink was manufacturer by Ascot Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary of Melbourne pharmaceutical company Rocke Tompsitt & Co Ltd. Finishing ink was used by cobblers - and in this case, by shoe and boot owners at home - to colour and polish the raw cut edge of leather and to repair worn or damaged edges of shoe soles. It is difficult to determine exactly when this was made or used without more detailed records of Ascot Manufacturing's catalogue, but Rocke Tompsitt ceased independently operating in 1978 and their ownership of Ascot dates back at least to 1945, if not earlier. Rocke Tompsitt was founded in 1908.Finishing ink was historically used in the area for domestic maintenance of shoes and boots. This bottle was made by a defunct company in a style no longer in use.A bottle made of brown glass, with a brown paper label on the front side. The plastic lid is damaged, with only half of the screw cap remaining. Inside the bottle is a dry powder, likely the dried remains of the finishing ink. The label is degraded with block spots and faded text.Front Label: "ASCOT / HOME / REPAIRERS / Finishing / INK / TAN / BRILLIANT / FINISH" Right Label: "ROCKE TOMPSITT & CO. LTD / MELBOURNE / MX 3493"clothes, domestic life