The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. These include artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).Wallpaper sample of a Morris & Co., dado border design. Monochrome, repeat pattern frieze of flowers in an urn with an alternating design including a facing fox and flamingo in black on a red ground. Sample is a later Morris-style wallpaper block reproduction from the 1970s. decorative arts & design, wallpapers -- morris & co, wall coverings – history, wallpapers – history, interior decoration – history, wallpapers -- dado borders

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. These include artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).Wallpaper sample of a Morris & Co design. Monochrome, repeat pattern of fleur de lys and acanthus leaves in green on a paler green ground. Sample is a later Morris-style wallpaper block reproduction from the 1970s. decorative arts & design, wallpapers -- morris & co, wall coverings – history, wallpapers – history, interior decoration – history

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. These include artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).Wallpaper sample of a Morris & Co., pattern. Polychrome, repeat pattern of a flowering tree among meadow flowers with scrolling green and blue acanthus leaves. Sample is a later Morris-style wallpaper block reproduction by Sanderson & Co from the 1970s. decorative arts & design, wallpapers -- morris & co, wall coverings – history, wallpapers – history, interior decoration – history

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. These include artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).Part of a group of curtain furnishings which includes a curtain with original fittings, fringe and braid unpicked from other curtains, and these six curtain tie backs. The six curtain tie backs are identical, though one pair is shorter. The tie backs comprise a length of soft, loose (floss) silk cord, made of two thick strands twisted together (cable cord). An elaborate tassel is attached to the middle of each cord, to weight the tie back in an elegant loop, with the loose ends attached to hooks or pins on the window frame. Each tassel is formed of a turned wooden mould, covered with floss silk thread, and further decorated with knotted netting, applied braid, and glass beads. The end of the mould has a large flattened shape, from which hangs a ring of long, bullion metal fringe. This may be silver-gilt: untarnished parts are still true gold colour, while the majority of the fringing is tarnished black. These curtain decorations are truly luxurious; the original suite of curtains would have been very expensive, an eloquent item of conspicuous consumption of luxury goods.Attached handwritten note : "VA Th 7/6/2012 Ric Freeman (Nat Trust member) & Julie Freeman / re soft furnishings, tassels, trimmings, braid set / Jessie, Terry (and Chris St) to view, collect"decorative arts & design, interior decoration - history, curtain accessories, tassels

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. The Museum's Decorative Arts & Design collection includes artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).‘Oak Tree’ pattern. Sample of original Morris & Co wallpaper, designed circa 1896 by John Henry Dearle (1859–1932). Oakleaf and acorns in pale blue on cream ground. Sample manufactured ca.1920–ca.1930. Printed border : OAK TREE / MORRIS & COdecorative arts & design, wallpapers -- morris & co, john henry dearle, wall coverings – history, wallpapers – history, interior decoration – history

The Villa Alba Museum is cultural institution committed to the collection, study and display of 19th century interior decorative finishes, and the components of 19th and 20th century interior decoration. The Museum's Decorative Arts & Design collection includes artefacts (wallpapers, textiles, carpet samples), furnishings, printed materials (catalogues, books, periodicals), and pictures (photographs).Wallpaper sample: ‘Chrysanthemum’ pattern. Original pattern created 1876–1877 by William Morris (1834-1896). Sample is a later Morris-style wallpaper block reproduction from the 1970s. decorative arts & design, wallpapers -- morris & co, wall coverings – history, wallpapers – history, interior decoration – history

Colour enlargement of a photograph (slide) of Southesk (formerly Ordsall) in Cotham Road, Kew (demolished 1970).The ceilings of and architraves of Ordsall were painted by artists employed by the decorating company, Cullis Hill & Co. The frescos, of which fragments survive, were some of the most important murals used as elements of interior decoration in Melbourne during the Boom Period of the 1880s. These photographs were taken immediately prior to the demolition of the house, and are the best examples of the murals.The most significant decorative aspects of Southesk (formerly ‘Ordsall’) were the murals in the front two rooms. An article in the Melbourne Argus in 1882 records that Mr Vandenbrandt and Signor Rizzi created these under the supervision of Cullis Hill. This fresco from the ceiling of the ballroom is believed to depict two of the Seasons. Signor Rizzi was a renowned painter of flowers. He is credited with painting these parts of the murals. Examples of his floral paintings can still be seen at Villa Alba in Walmer Street.david carnegie, john halfey, southesk - cotham road - kew (vic), ordsall - cotham road - kew (vic)

The gouache was presented to Cr Jill O'Brien, Mayor of Kew in 1983-4, who was instrumental in the purchase of the window. The same Kewriosity article, referred to in the physical description, states that the window was originally commissioned from the artist by a Kew timber merchant, and following ownership by successive owners found its way back to Kew. The framed photograph is part of the Jill O'Brien collection which was gifted to the Kew Historical Society following her death in July 2016. The collection includes important primary sources relating to a number of areas in which Jill O'Brien made a significant contribution including the establishment of the Villa Alba Museum, local government, the Kew Historical Society, the Yarra Bend Trust, and the arts.Framed gouache on paper of the design by the artist Alan Sumner for his window, The Four Seasons. The window, now in Kew Library was purchased to commemorate Kew's 125th Anniversary. An article in a contemporary issue of Kewriosity states: The window is approximately three metres in diameter and divided into one central and four outer panels. Clockwise from the top is Autumn with sinuous lines in yellow and brown, then winter in cool blues and mauves with lines and circles suggesting rain, snow and hail. Spring follows in the bottom left quadrant with organic ovaloid shapes richly coloured and lines evoking growth. Then to the top where summer explodes with the colours of fire and blue of the sky at the height of summer. The centre panel has a powerful image of sun, moon and stars which links the surrounding panels".jill o’brien, public art - kew (vic), stained glass - kew (vic), alan sumner - the four seasons, kew library, public art

Born in Bendigo and trained as a nurse in the 1950s, Sonia Jill O’Brien devoted a lifetime to social and environmental issues at both the state and local level. From her work in the 1960s with the Family Planning Association of Victoria, of which she was a founding member, through to the 1990s as a member of the Ethics Committee of the Department of Health, she supported efforts to improve women’s health and reproductive rights. At the local level she was most active on committees that worked to save the natural and built environment. The Power-line Action Group, the Studley Park Conservation Society, and the Yarra Bend Park Trust all benefitted from her indefatigable endeavours as well her vision. In 1980, Jill O’Brien successfully stood for the Kew City Council and served as Mayor in 1983 and 1984. With an eye to preserving the past as well as guarding the future, she had the Mayoral robes restored and in 1980 and 1981 was president of the Kew Historical Society. The preservation and restoration of Villa Alba in Walmer Street owes much to her determined efforts throughout the 1980s. On Council, she chaired a number of committees involved in the saving of the Kew River Parklands from the proposed transmission line of the SEC. To this end, she was the Council representative on the Merri Yarra Municipal Protection Committee.Rare colour photograph, used as the official mayoral portrait of Cr Jill O'Brien.Formal civic portrait of Cr Jill O'Brien in red mayoral robes wearing lace jabot and cuffs. The portrait is part of the larger Jill O'Brien Collection donated by her daughters.cr jill o'brien, city of kew -- mayors, mayoral portraits -- city of kew

Open House 2022: "Like many Melburnians, Ying-Lan Dann has long been fascinated by the Mission to Seafarers, in Docklands. When she was invited to create a work in response to a building as part of this year’s Open House Melbourne, she knew immediately which it would be. Taking a peek behind the closed doors of some of Melbourne’s finest and most interesting buildings is a core premise of the weekend event, now in its 15th year. During that time, the program has grown from half a dozen buildings to a 200-plus strong list that extends to Ballarat and Bendigo. “[It’s] much more expansive and citizen-led,” says Fleur Watson, Open House Melbourne’s executive director. “As a public festival, it has always had a spirit of generosity, this gesture of opening up and allowing visitors to come and look and experience things.” Swinging open their doors at the end of the month will be some of the city’s finest mansions, including Villa Alba in Kew and Brighton’s Billilla, the Cairo flats in Fitzroy, the newly renovated Jewish Museum designed by Kerstin Thompson, the Melbourne Quakers Centre, the Albanian Mosque in Carlton North and many more. Considering how to approach the event this year, held remotely for the past two, Watson decided to explore beyond the traditional, with associate professor and director of curatorial practice at Monash University Tara McDowell. The two have co-curated an exhibition of works to run concurrently with the Open House program, called Take Hold of the Clouds. That’s where Dann’s work, Circular Temporalities, comes in, one of seven commissions around town in which local and international artists respond to chosen buildings or sites. A lecturer in interior design at RMIT as well as an artist, she is interested in time and finding different mediums to show things in flux and, having grown up on Phillip Island, she often uses water as a theme. When she started spending time at the Mission, Dann found there was an oculus at the top of the dome, known as the Norla Dome. She thought about how that small but significant opening related to where sailors spent so many months of the year, the sky being the only thing they would see much of the time, stars guiding the way in times gone by, and of the recent stories she’d heard about sailors being trapped at sea during COVID. Built in the Arts and Craft style between 1916 and 1919 and designed by architect Walter Butler, the Mission includes a chapel, clubroom, Chaplain’s house, a small cottage and the Norla Dome, which was apparently inspired by the Pantheon. The Mission was funded by the government and the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild, who Dann was also intrigued by. “One of the things those women identified is that life at sea is very dangerous [and they] wanted to give them a space of sanctuary and support,” she says, adding that for many years, the dome was used as a gymnasium. Her work inside the dome includes a 35-minute loop film, recorded from the ferry during the crossing from Queenscliff to Sorrento. The horizon takes up about a third of the shot and moves as the waves rise and fall, mirroring the journeys made by the sailors who found refuge at the mission over the years; it will be projected onto a gauze-like fabric, allowing glimpses of the building behind. Dann also plans to activate the site over the course of the weekend and will read a poem by Justin Clemens.The articles gives an insight of the création of the artwork by Ying-Lan Dann. digital copy of an article with photographs published in the Ageopen house melbourne, 2022, ying-lan dann, take hold of the clouds, norla dome, exhibition, the age, cultural events

non-fictionConservation Resources Centre Series. Exhibition catalogue published 1995 by Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. 36 pages : colour illustrations ; 30 x 15 cm.wallpapers - history, interior decoration - history, wall coverings - history, elizabeth bay house -- exhibitions

non-fictionThe decorated wall : eighty years of wallpaper in Australia, c. 1850-1930 / compiled by Phyllis Murphy ; for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales [for an exhibition held in March 1981 at the Elizabeth Bay House]wallpapers - history, interior decoration - history, wall coverings - history, elizabeth bay house -- exhibitions

non-fictionThe papered wall : the history patterns and techniques of wallpaper / by Lesley Hoskins. Abrams (N.Y.) 1994, A history of wallpaper from its beginnings around 1500 to the present day. Hundreds of illustrations, not only of the papers themselves but also their settings in paintings and on the walls of contemporary rooms, offer a visual record of patterns for different uses, markets and tastes.wallpapers - history, interior decoration - history, wall coverings - history

non-fictionDecorating with wallpaper c.1840–1914 : a guide to assist in the conservation and restoration of buildings. National Trust of Australia (Victoria, 1987. Chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. Mid-nineteenth century; 3. Halls, stairs and passages; 4. 1870s period; 5. 1880s period; 6. 1890s period; 7. Early Twentieth Century; 8. Towards World War I; 9. Ceilings; 10. Colour notes; 11. Conservation noteswallpapers - history, interior decoration - history, wall coverings - history

non-fictionWilliam Morris : décor and design. Elizabeth Wildhide (ed.) Harry N. Abrams, 1991. 192 pages. Information on pattern-matching, wall and window treatments, floor coverings, tiles and furnishingswallpapers - history, interior decoration - history, wall coverings - history

Board wrapped w c.17m of heavy bullion fringe in several pieces, evidently unpicked from curtains (qv), and/or possibly furniture items. The fringe is composed of metallic thread tightly wound over a cotton thread, attached to a narrow header braid with an ornamental design worked in metallic gimp cord. The colour was originally gold, now tarnished on all parts exposed to air, but sections of the fringe under the top layers retain the luxurious gold finish.

This is the same gimp as on the curtains. Probably saved because it was beautiful and expensive, but inherently decontextualised from its original historic use.Length of decorative upholstery gimp, unpicked from original curtains and wound onto a piece of card for storage. Gimp is a type of upholstery trim. a flat tape made up of threads or fine cords forming a wave or chain design, held in place by another wavy cord to produce an openwork, geometric braid. In this item, the cords are respectively light blue and metallic gold (much of it tarnished to silvery colour). The gimp is en suite with the set of curtains and their ornaments (qv) - another luxurious trimming for expensive furnishings.upholstery trimmings