Cream coloured raw silk dress. Lower part of skirt hand-embroidered with floral design. Black and white striped silk collar and placket at front opening with 17 black decorative buttons. Two rows of thick cording insetred into casings around waist area which control the gathering in the skirt.silk, embroidery, 1910s

Through the address on the box, this dress has a local connection. Miss Mavis Hedrick operated a dress salon at 162 Liebig St Warrnambool in the 1940's. Her parents lived at various houses in Warrnambool, including Skene, Spence and Princess Sts. She married John William Freeman in 1942 and left Warrnambool some time after that date. From wedding reports of the day it doesn't seem that this is Miss Hedrick's wedding dress. It seems more likely that it was purchased from her frock salon in Liebig St Warrnambool.While the owner and original wearer of this dress has eluded us, the dress has a strong link to Warrnambool through the original box with its identifying labels. The dress is very much in the style of the era of Miss Hedrick's dress shop..This cream silk wedding dress and slip was donated in original cardboard box with the address written in large letters on the front. The dress is cream silk with gold metallic trim in two lines across the bodice.There are silk covered buttons on the front and back of the bodice and it has a high rounded V neckline.It has long lily point sleeves .There is a side opening with hook and eye fastening.The skirt is cut on the cross and a small train flows from the back of the dress. A simple A line slip accompanies the dress. It has ribbon shoulder straps and the top is edged in a fine narrow lace. The large box is rectangular and grey in colour. The addressee's name is written in large lettering in black (possibly crayon) . A label is pasted to the top right hand corner. A Victorian Railways stamp is loose with the item.On the Box : Miss Hedrick Frock Salon Warrnambool On Label in top RH corner: Mollard & Williams 238 Flinders Lane Melbourne. Stamp: Victorian Railways Parcel stamp 8d Melbournewarrnambool, 1940's wedding dress, mavis hedrick, mollard and williams, 238 flinders lane melbourne, miss hedricks frock salon

Refers to Service of 3/745787 Lieut. K. J. Mackay..1) Black wool uniform jacket. Four pockets. Four gold buttons on front centre. Top pockets - brass button each. Motif on button is a shield with a crown. Collar badges of 38 Bn Northern Victorian Regiment. Two gold pips on epaulettes. .2) Trousers black. Red stripe on leg outers. Fly shuts with black buttons. Waistline has black buttons. Two side pockets, One rear pocket, One fob pocket. .3) Shirt - cream/white. One breast pocket. Opaque plastic buttons. .4) Cap - Officers. Black with red band. Silver 38 Bn badge. .5)Tie - black silk. .6) Belt - black, wool with brass bronze..1) Written in jacket “3/745787 - K.J. Mackay”. .2) Written inside trousers - “Sgt. Mackay K.J. SP COY. 3/745787 K.J. Mackay”.38 bn, post ww2, passchendaele barracks trust

Items issued to Bertram Charles Addington. Refer to Cat No 6853.3 for B.C Addingtons service details.1) Vest, white long sleeves, WO1 metal badges of rank on arms. On collars are metal badges - Oak wreath laurels, Crown on top, crossed swords in centre. Letter “R” on epaulettes. .2) Shirt, cream/white. Long sleeved, 6 buttons on front. .3) Black bow tie, with a neck band attached. .4) Cummerbund, red silk.Written on cummerbund is = “24/01 Addington B. 1/9/72”army, formal uniform, passchendaele barracks trust

This dress is believed to have belonged to Ruby May Selina Wallace (1891-1973), who lived in the Inglewood area, Victoria. It was donated by an Emerald resident who received it from Ruby. The dress was likely worn around the 1930's and was probably made by a dressmaker. This is an example of a stylish tailor-made dress from circa 1930s.Long sleeved mid length black chiffon day dress with cream silk inset at bodice and sleeve cuffs. Ties back at the waist with applique and hand embroidered embellishment to front panel.No inscriptionsclothing, fashion, 1930s

This item is representative of formal gentlemen's dress in the latter part of the 19th century/early 20th century.Man's top hat, black velour with ribbon around base. Brown leather and cream silk inner. With cover - bright red top hat keeper.Made expressly for Robertson & Moffat. Burke St East Melb. Inside - 7 1/8 YL/021/-hat costume-men headwear top-hat

Green and gold shot silk dress. Hemline is edged with a binding of black velvet - one cm wide. Bodice lined with cream linen, sleeves lined with cream cotton, skirt lined with cream linen(?) or cotton(?). Long sleeves are shaped in a ""semi-circular'' shape at the elbow, and taper in at the wrist. Sleeves are trimmed with green fringing, and a flat green satin bow. Wrist is trimmed a 2cm wide band of cream cotton lace. Top of sleeve at shoulder is also trimmed with green and fringing encircling the sleeve top.High round neck is faced with a 1cm band, and a row of the cotton lace. Two bands of fringing give a rectangular "style'' effect on the front bodice, which is fastened at centre front with ten metal hooks, and nine hand stitched ''holes'' to fasten, and one hand stitched loop at the neckline. Fringing continues over the shoulder, into a 5-sided shape across the shoulder blades. Skirt has two pleats on RHS front and two on left hand side of back and a 7cm centre panel of tight pleating. Skirt extends into a train at back. An inside pocket is accessed from under a pleat in the RHS skirt.costume, female, victorian full length dress with train

Photograph. This is a photo-copy of 11400.751. A black and white photo mounted on cream card. It is from the Wedding of Mrs James Mitchell (nee Ella Nicholls, Bendigo). A floral head-dress holds a long veil, fingerless gloves, and a large round bouquet complement this beautiful silk and lace dress.photograph, person, copy wedding photo of mrs james mitchell, refer research notes included in clothing box 136

Very fine black and cream check silk lined in the bodice and sleeves with fine grey silk. Long sleeves are finished with a 4cm deep cuff, trimmed with a double row of cording, and a 1.5cm wide pleated frill. Two black shiny buttons trim the cuff(possibly plastic), which fastens with three press-studs. Waist is defined with one band of corded fabric. Two bands of cording outline the V neckline, which is also finished with a pleat frill. Cording, and three rows of hand - gathering outline a shaped frill at the hemline-alternately 31cm and 46cm deep. Seven black buttons fasten the front of the bodice. A placket extends into the skirt, fastened by four press-studs. Skirt has four knife pleats each side of the centre placket. Four knife pleats at each hemline, and six at centre back. These are all over-stitched with three double rows of stitching in a V shaped design. Hand stitched button holes.costume, female, black and cream silk dress

BHS CollectionLong sleeved full length dress of black synthetic silk fabric. Fabric has silken feel with a smooth satin like backing. Front has U shaped neckline with panel of cream silk lace extending from shoulder to below neckline(28cm). Back neckline faced with lace fabric. Front and back have a narrow central panel(16cm) of fabric extending from shoulders to hemline. The panels are extended at the waistline to join the front and back with loose tabs.The centre panel on the front bodice is edged with a finely pleated frill of synthetic fabric. The centre panels at front and back are also edged with finely pleated frills, from 42cms above hemline to the hem. The bodice is completed with side panels attached to the centre panel The skirt is completed with side panels attached to the centre panels. Set in sleeves have a squared extension that extends to the elbow. From the elbow the sleeves taper to narrow fitting at the wrist. The upper seam of the sleeves from the elbow to the wrist are edged with a finely pleated frill of synthetic fabric. The upper seam of each sleeve from elbow to wrist have fifteen decorative back and gold buttons stitched along the lower edge of the frill. Dress is unlinedcostume, female, black synthetic silk dress

Clothing. Child's dress - pink silk trimmed with black lace, Pink silk, lined with muslin. Waisted - skirt gathered at back, 3 small pleats at either side of front. Small band at 3 '' pin tuck '' liked rows of fabric at waist. Smalloocket inserted in one at front seams. Five 1cm pleats at each side of centre bodice front. Square neckline banded with 3 rowa of narrow black velvet ribbon, and one row of 4 cm deep black lace. These rows of ribbon and lace repeated on the short sleeves, and at the lower hemline.Back bodice has boning on either side at centre back and eyelets for lacing (No lacing present). Bodice lined with cream calico. Hand and machine stitched.costume, children's, party dress

John Box 1841 - 1914, the 4th son of George and Mary Box, was born in Withyham, Sussex England and came to Australia in 1856 with his parents. He lived and worked on his fathers market garden in East Brighton ( now Bentleigh) for several years and then rented a property in Tucker Road in 1862. John married Martha Sheldrake and they had 10 children who were all born in East Brighton ( now Ormond ). Their eldest daughter Rebecca 'Faith' Box 1863 -1950 was a member of the 1st Australian party to go to China with the Methodist Church China Inland Mission in 1890. During the Boxer Rebellion 1900-1901 Rebecca was rescued from her inland mission post by a group of traders from Shanghai. She later married Nicolas Viloudaki, a Greek Silk merchant , who was a member of the rescue party. Rebecca sent a bolt of chinese hand embroidered cream silk to Mary Closter for her wedding dress at her marriage to Alonzo Box, who was Rebecca's younger brother. This Dress has been published on the Australian Dress Register in 2015 and is on display at Box Cottage Museum Ormond. John Box is the brother of William Box who, with his wife Elizabeth Box, lived in Box Cottage . John Box was a pioneer market gardener in North Road, East Brighton now Bentleigh. He married Martha Louise Sheldrake and they had 10 children. The eldest daughter Rebecca was a Methodist Missionary in China and Alonzo, their 9th child, served in the Army WW1 at Gallipoli, France and Flanders. Rebecca sent the hand embroidered Chinese silk material for the Wedding Dress worn by Mary Closter at her marriage to Alonzo Box 1918. After Martha died John Box married Eleanor Rushall c 1900 and they had 3 children. John was well respected by the community and also a Methodist lay preacher. Box Cottage Museum, a reconstruction of an early settler hut, is named after the Box family who resided there 1865 -1913 . William Box who, with his wife Elizabeth Avis Box and 13 children, lived and farmed on the block of land in Jasper Road, East Brighton ( now McKinnon / Ormond) that was part of the Henry Dendy Special Survey 1841. Inscribed in Album “ The early photos in this album were found by Mr (Laurie) Lewis when he was demolishing the Old Box Cottage. He gave them to Mrs Avis Box Eldridge who in turn gave them to me. They were not identified. I believe they rightly belong in the Cottage. I have attempted to identify them and present them in a way they can be preserved as a historical record of the era.” A B Leigh A black and white photograph of Martha Sheldrake d1895 the 1st wife of John Box 1841-1914Photographed by J Read Brennand / 83 Chapel St. Prahran

A dress belonging to the family of George Ward Cole in the late 1800s; possibly his wife Thomas Anne Ward Cole or one of his daughters, Margaret or Agnes. George Ward Cole was an early member of the Victorian Parliament and the family featured prominently in Melbourne Society in their time. They established a substantial home known as “St Ninians” at 10 Miller Street in 1841. The family reportedly entertained Melbourne’s first Royal visitor the Duke Of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria’s second son at St Ninians in 1867. In later years St Ninians was subsequently subdivided and later demolished. A hand sewn, brown silk, evening dress, circa 1860, consisting of a bodice and skirt. The bodice features an off the shoulder neckline edged with cream lace. A chevron design of black velvet trim, passes from the shoulders to the centre front waist, then hangs loosely to the hip line. The black velvet trim on the sleeves and the skirt is edged with a black fringe. The bodice (.1) base is finished in a v-shaped front at the natural waistline. There are short puffed sleeves also feature the black velvet fringed trim and lace at the edge along with three epaulette style strips, which pass from the shoulder seam to the edge of the sleeve. Each strip finishes with a decorative bobble. The bodice lining is cream glazed silk with steel boning, cotton tabs sewn into both sides have four eyelets for lacing. The dress has a full, floor length unlined skirt (.2) which is slightly longer at the back creating a modest train. The skirt has horizontal bands of the velvet trim and finishes with a box pleated trim of the dress fabric. The dress is fastened at the back using two connecting rows of black velvet covered buttons.brighton, st ninian's, 1860s, evening dress, george ward cole, thomas anne ward cole, margaret morison ward cole, agnes bruce ward cole

The donation records indicate that this dress was worn by Georgiana Elizabeth Moore (1899-1974), who lived for most of her life in Brighton at 38 and later 40 Cochrane Street. Since the dress is of an earlier date, It is likely that it belonged to Georgiana's mother, Elizabeth Moore (1860-1950). Georgiana was born to Richard and Elizabeth Moore in Brighton in 1899. She was named after Richard's first wife, Georgiana Leake Moore (nee Paul), who had died in 1893 aged only 38. Georgiana is recorded as having been "tall with red hair". The family moved to Diamond Creek for several years, but returned to Brighton after Richard's death in 1922. Georgiana and her mother settled in Cochrane Street, where they lived for the rest of their lives. We know very little about Georgiana herself. Newspaper records indicate that she was a talented musician, graduating from the University of Melbourne with a diploma in music in 1927. BHS holds a small collection of items belonging to the Moore family. This dress was donated by Georgiana's niece, Jeannette Fraser, along with two nightgowns: a c. 1880 night dress believed to have been worn by Elizabeth and a c. 1910 night dress believed to have been worn by Georgiana's sister Amelia Henrietta Fraser (née Moore) while boarding at Merton Hall (this nightdress does also show a laundry mark of G.E. Moore and so may have been worn by both women). Georgiana herself donated a number of items to the Society in 1972, including a 1920s black and white geometric loom-beaded handbag.A good example of a princess line dress of this period in good condition and with provenance.A one-piece princess line dress, circa 1878-1882 of deep royal blue silk featuring Chinese-inspired self pattern. The neckline features a standing collar and is secured through the centre front from neck to floor with self covered buttons. At the front knee the fabric has been gathered and drawn to the back into a tiered fish-tail swag and trimmed with a matching blue knotted fringe. The swagging is created by interior tapes. The dress is backed with cream cotton.georgiana elizabeth moore, elizabeth moore, amelia henrietta fraser, brighton

This dress and bag belonged to Mrs Edith "Dot" Paroissien (nee Jackson, born 1916), who lived in Brighton with her husband David William Paroissien. The dress was purchased from Croyde, a Melbourne designer who had a small boutique shop in Collins Street near the Block Arcade, and the bag was bought for her in London by David. Dot recalled wearing the dress in the 1950s, in particular to a ball at the Royal Exhibition Buildings for Wesley College. She wore it with suede shoes with a medium heel with straps across the instep and long white kid gloves, and accessorised with a baguette choker and drop earrings.Black silk satin sleeveless full-length evening dress. The attached bodice floats over the top of the under-dress. Asymmetrical opening on bodice which features five large flat self-covered buttons. The black suede bag has chrome fittings and buttery cream coloured satin interior. .1 dress - Label, woven black on white acetate centre back: CROYDE / MELBOURNE .2 - bag - Label, printed, black on cream acetate, interior pocket: Susan / HANDBAGS / LONDON; Label, printed, copper on black metal, interior pocket: MADE IN ITALY / FOR SUSANevening dress, croyde, melbourne fashion, melbourne designers, handbag, royal exhibition building, 1950s, edith violetta paroissien, edith violetta jackson

Worn by Edna Emily Seehusen (1916-2005) when she married William Alexander McQuilten (1911-2010) in September 1947 at Brighton Congregational Church, Black Street, Brighton.Ivory satin dress with train overlaid with machine made lace. High, gathered neckline, leg-of-mutton sleeves, In-built padded hip rolls. Front of dress is decorated with wax flowers. Label, woven pink on cream silk, centre back neck: A / Dorothy Draper / Original / EXCLUSIVE TO / BALL & WELCH LTD. / MELBOURNEwedding dress, lace, ball and welch, edna emily seehusen, william alexander mcquilten, brighton congregational church, brighton

Silk blouse made by Toula Mavrokefalos, the mother of long-time Brighton resident Olga Black. Olga Maria Black was born in Melbourne in 1930, the daughter of Ithacan migrants Constantine and Toula Mavrokefalos. Constantine first emigrated to Australia in 1902, returning to Greece circa 1912-13 to serve his home country in the Balkan Wars. Toula's family had left Ithaca for Romania when she was only six months old, but she happened to be visiting the island at the very time that Constantine arrived, fresh from the war. Within three weeks they were married, and when Constantine returned to Melbourne in 1914 his new bride came with him. Constantine had trained as an accountant, but his qualifications were not recognised in Australia. Changing his surname to the Anglicised "Black", he started off working in his older brother Dionysios's cafés before going into business on his own. In 1917 he opened the Paris Residential Café at 54-56 Swanston Street, which offered both dining and accommodation. The business saw some years of success, but did not survive the Great Depression. Constantine died in 1944. Olga's mother Toula learned to sew as a child, while growing up in the Romanian village of Brila. She developed her skills making lace and embroidering items for her trousseau. Some of the linen she embroidered had been woven from flax on Ithaca by her own grandmother, Efstathia. During the Depression, when money was scarce, Toula embroidered at home, doing work for a factory in Flinders Lane. Using a cotton reel, a threepence and a sixpence she created and embroidered designs on hundreds of blouses. Olga spent her preschool days sitting at the table where her mother worked. Toula would involve Olga by allowing her to help choose the colour combinations. Toula lived with Olga in Brighton until her death in 1976. Olga inherited her mother's sewing skills. She re-invented some of Toula’s trousseau nightdresses and skilfully altered other clothing, making dresses which she wore around Brighton for many years.Cream silk short-sleeved blouse. Hand embroidered around inside of stand collar, centre front panel and sleeve edge in red, blue, black and green floral and geometric design.migration, ithaca, romania, olga black, toula mavrokefalos, toula black

This item is part of the Di Reidie collection. Diane Reidie was a much loved volunteer and President of Brighton Historical Society from 1999 until 2016. Originally from New Zealand, Di and her family lived in Male Street, Brighton for many years. A vibrant and energetic person with a zest for life and a gift for bringing people together, Di was a friend to many in the Bayside community and active in local community organisations. Her tireless work as President of BHS saw her named Bayside Citizen of the Year in 2008. As a seller and collector of vintage clothing, she was passionate about fashion history; one of her many enduring contributions to BHS was her extensive work in preserving, developing and promoting the Society's costume collection. In 2018-19, Di donated more than one hundred items from her personal vintage clothing collection to the Society. The collection, which includes clothing, hats, handbags and shoes from local and international designers, is representative of Di's wide-ranging interests, colourful personality, creativity, humour and love of fashion and travel. Di purchased this dress as a vintage item.Light brown floor-length silk evening dress featuring a band of black and bronze beading around neckling. Circular beaded buckles at either side of waist. Zip at back.Label, pale blue on cream "Exclusively Yours / Hartnell REGD / MELBOURNE" Label, black on pale grey: "Exclusive Finest / IMPORTED FABRIC".di reidie, vintage clothing, melbourne designers, hartnell of melbourne, ralph samuel

The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories.Late Victorian black silk damask outfit comprising a flared skirt and a short bodice. The high necked bodice reflects changing fashions at the turn of the 20th Century in that the silk fabric on the bosom is lightly gathered. The sleeves are pleated at the elbow. The skirt is lined with a black cotton lining. The neckline of the bodice includes a narrow band of pale cream lace. The outfit was owned by one of the donor's maternal ancestors.women's clothing, australian fashion - 1890s, mourning wear, micky ashton

Lily and William Wishart lived during this period in 'Noranook', Fernhurst grove, Kew. There are numerous contemporary accounts of the social and civic activities of Lily Wishart as mayoress of Kew. In a description of a 'Mayoral At Home' in the Kew Recreation Hall, a report in The Australasian (10 Aug 1907, p.46) described the event thus: MAYORAL AT HOME In the Kew Recreation-hall on Thursday evening the Mayor and Mrs. W. Wishart gave an at home to between two and three hundred guests. ... Prior to the musical programme, the mayor and mayoress held a reception, standing on a dais at one side of the room. Mrs. Wishart was gowned in black glace silk, trimmed with handsome lace applique, and she wore a cream Maltese lace scarf over her shoulders, and held a bouquet of cardinal carnations.' This may be the dress in the collection. Another interesting and relevant report is an account in The Argus (19 March 1907, p.6): 'WOMEN'S WORK EXHIBITION The mayoress of Kew (Mrs. W. Wishart) invited the ladies of the district to meet in the mayor's room, town-hall, Kew, at half past 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, to consider steps to be taken locally in support of the proposed Exhibition of Women's Work.'The dress is locally significant as the work of a skilled home-dressmaker in Kew, who was also a leading civic figure in the municipality. One tends to think of amateur dressmakers as women who could not afford to purchase clothes from a retailer. Clearly, 'women's work' and the skills that educated and wealthy women acquired in the period allowed them to fashion their own garments.Full length evening dress in four parts. Undergarments include two items: a basic black silk petticoat and an upper black silk slip, the latter with two bands of ruffles. The lace dress is in two parts: a bodice and a skirt. The black, high-necked bodice is constructed of silk organza to which guipure lace has been extensively applied. The bodice has long puffed sleeves, gathered on the forearm to form a wide band of lace and ribbon at the wrist. The skirt is constructed of the same black fabric with descending bands of gathered black silk ribbon, used as ornamentation. The skirt also features a long train. Apart from the donor information about its provenance, the style of the dress can confidently be dated to the period 1900-1910. The dress was made and worn to civic functions by Mrs Lily Wishart, Mayoress of Kew in 1906-7. Earlier items belonging to William and Lily Wishart entered the collection as early as 2002. The dress was donated by a descendant of a friend of Lily Wishart in 2020. The photograph of the dress and its components attached to the record needed to be digitally enhanced so that details of the dress could be viewed online, as the fabric of the dress is an intense black. A physical assessment of the dress is included in the condition report.fashion & design collection - kew historical society, australian fashion - 1900s, evening dresses, lily clara wishart, fashion design, fashion -- 1900s

"Federaton Flora" was created by thirteen members of the Geelong Handweavers and Spinners Guild Inc for the centenary of Federation in Australia. It won 1st prize in the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo, 2000.Large handmade doll featuring white felted wool with wooden disc joints and orange woollen, possibly hand spun, hair. The facial features have been formed with white stitching, eyelashes are embroidered with black cotton, the lips have been painted on. The doll is dressed in a pale green short sleeved dress, of hand spun wool, buttoned at the back and lined with pale green silk. It is embroidered at the lower front with pink heath, the floral emblem of Victoria. She is wearing a cream woollen hand knitted underwear set consisting of singlet and pantaloons. The pantaloons have a fine hand knitted edge. Her shoes are of dark green felt with red kangaroo paw decoration. A green knitted cape with red and dark green waratah decoration is tied around her neck and tied to her left arm is a small pale felted bangle. handicrafts, geelong handweavers and spinners guild inc., felting, hand spinning, hand knitting, weaving, bendigo, australian sheep and wool show, federation, flora, doll

Joseph Butterworth COOMBS (1842-1901), was an accountant who founded a successful mercantile trading company. At the time of his marriage to Caroline Mary MICHEL in 1869, Coombs had already purchased ten acres of Studley Park. The acreage included land on the west of Fenwick Street that extended along lower Stawell Street to the corner of Yarra Street, all of it connected directly to the Yarra environs. A right of way to Studley Park Road was on the title, though Coombs went on to purchase more land, some of which faced Studley Park Road. In addition to owning the Studley Park acreage, Coombs later acquired 1,201 acres of land abutting the Acheron River. While retaining the Kew property he became a Taggerty Councillor and was Shire President for a time. J.B. Coombs died at Acheron Station in 1901 (aged 59 years). A few months after, tenders were called to repair the Kew dwelling, the Fenwick Street property now appearing in records with the name ‘Hope Mansell’. Caroline Coombs remained at Hope Mansell until she died in 1924, survived by three sons and five daughters. Not long after her death, advertisements appeared for the sale of the Studley Park land. The sale seems to have been a mechanism for distribution of the Estate, as the following year the original ten acre holding was transferred to members of the family. The eldest daughter Mabel married William Younger who, with his brother Alexander, developed Younger and Mackie Courts, both south of Studley Park Road. [Research: Kerry Fairbank]In 1961, the granddaughter of Joseph and Caroline Coombs, Mabel Isola (Younger) Grattan, donated ten 19th century dresses and parasols to the Kew Historical Society. The costumes, now known as the 'Coombs Collection', are the earliest recorded items of clothing to enter the Society's collection. Each of the items in the Coombs Collection, of which this item forms a part, is historically, aesthetically and socially significant. As a collection, the costumes includes outstanding examples of morning wear, day dresses, wedding dresses, and clothing accessories, providing evidence of outstanding dressmaker skills in Victoria during the mid to late Victorian period. One of a pair of cream silk parasols, each bordered by overlapping bands of beige lace. The underlying structure and mechanism includes a bent cane handle and black metal expanding spokes. The lace borders are layered to create an overlapping fringe. The high-domed umbrellas may have been created for a bridal party. This umbrella cannot be opened due to the silk being shattered."Coombs Collection"coombs collection, clothing accessories, parasols

Joseph Butterworth COOMBS (1842-1901), was an accountant who founded a successful mercantile trading company. At the time of his marriage to Caroline Mary MICHEL in 1869, Coombs had already purchased ten acres of Studley Park. The acreage included land on the west of Fenwick Street that extended along lower Stawell Street to the corner of Yarra Street, all of it connected directly to the Yarra environs. A right of way to Studley Park Road was on the title, though Coombs went on to purchase more land, some of which faced Studley Park Road. In addition to owning the Studley Park acreage, Coombs later acquired 1,201 acres of land abutting the Acheron River. While retaining the Kew property he became a Taggerty Councillor and was Shire President for a time. J.B. Coombs died at Acheron Station in 1901 (aged 59 years). A few months after, tenders were called to repair the Kew dwelling, the Fenwick Street property now appearing in records with the name ‘Hope Mansell’. Caroline Coombs remained at Hope Mansell until she died in 1924, survived by three sons and five daughters. Not long after her death, advertisements appeared for the sale of the Studley Park land. The sale seems to have been a mechanism for distribution of the Estate, as the following year the original ten acre holding was transferred to members of the family. The eldest daughter Mabel married William Younger who, with his brother Alexander, developed Younger and Mackie Courts, both south of Studley Park Road. [Research: Kerry Fairbank]In 1961, the granddaughter of Joseph and Caroline Coombs, Mabel Isola (Younger) Grattan, donated ten 19th century dresses and parasols to the Kew Historical Society. The costumes, now known as the 'Coombs Collection', are the earliest recorded items of clothing to enter the Society's collection. Each of the items in the Coombs Collection, of which this item forms a part, is historically, aesthetically and socially significant. As a collection, the costumes includes outstanding examples of morning wear, day dresses, wedding dresses, and clothing accessories, providing evidence of outstanding dressmaker skills in Victoria during the mid to late Victorian period. One of a pair of cream silk parasols, each bordered by overlapping bands of beige lace. The underlying structure and mechanism includes a bent cane handle and black metal expanding spokes. The lace borders are layered to create an overlapping fringe. The high-domed umbrellas may have been created for a bridal party."Coombs Collection"coombs collection, clothing accessories, parasols