After a quiet period, interest in bookplates in Australia began to increase in the early 1970s, This example was commissioned from Andrew Thomas a Ballarat photographer and designer by Michael Taffe owner of Hymettus at Ballarat in the 1990s and is a computer assisted design. It incorporates the generational family home, Hymettus and the family coat of arms with the owner's signature.Bookplate from Hymettus Cottage and Garden, first open to the public in 1917 as champion garden City of Ballaarat. the bookmark indicates the book it is affixed to was part of the family library in the house and represents four generations from 19th, 20th and 21st centuries a rare phenomenon in urban Australia.Bookplate depicts "Hymettus", a weatherboard cottage behind a paling fence with cottage name above image and family crest below.Signature of M. J. Taffe.ballarat, bookplate, hymettus, taaffe, taffe, andrew thomas

Hymettus won the Caulfield Cup in 1898 and the owners built this house, near Lake Wendouree, with the winnings. It won the title of Ballarat's Champion Cottage from 1915-18. The cottage contains many of the original furnishings and fittings and has beautiful gardens. Two digital images of Ballarat's hymettus Cottage. .1) The garden as it was before the 1980s drought. .2) The Cottagehymettus, hymettus cottage, garden, flower, taffe

Ballarat's Hymettus Cottage boasts a lovely formal private garden featuring geometric flower arrangements. The house was built in 1900 from monies gained when the owner laid a successful bet on 'Hymettus' in the Caulfield Cup.Cream bookplate relating to Hymettus Cottage in Ballarat. A black and white representation of the cottage is depicted on the bookplate, along with the latin 'in hoc signo spes mea' (this is a sign of hope).hymettus, hymettus cottage, taffe, michael taffe, bookplate, ballarat

Colour image of Hymettus Cottage, Ballarat. architecture, garden, hymettus cottage

Colour photographs of the formal garden at Hymettus Cottage in Ballarat.hymettus cottage, garden, horticulture, taffe

Colour image of the interior entrance of Hymettus Cottage, Ballarat. architecture, hymettus cottage

Colour image of the repousse name plaque on Hymettus Cottage, Ballarat. architecture, garden, hymettus cottage, repousse

Colour image of a stained glass window at Hymettus Cottage, Ballarat. architecture, hymettus cottage, stained glass window

Colour image of a stained glass window at Hymettus Cottage, Ballarat. architecture, hymettus cottage, stained glass window

Postcards produced for visitors to Ballarat and Hymettus as souvenirs and for posting. These postcards were produced as promotional material for the then Heritage listed house and garden's centenary in 1998.Following receipt of Government Grant for restoration of this historic cottage and garden in 1998-99 the postcard was produced to mark the centenary of the family's purchase of the property and continuous domicile for a century.souvenir, postcard, ballarat, hymettus, heritage listing,

Photograph of Hymettus Cardigan Street Ballarat. Awarded Mayoral trophy for Champion Cottage Garden City of Ballaarat 1915 - 1918 in a city renowned as The Garden City.hymettus, ballarat, champion, garden city.

Photograph taken by Michael Taffe of Hymettus, family property at Ballarat since 1899 on the centenary of it being awarded "Champion Cottage Garden" for the City of Ballarat in 1918.

Hymettus Historic Garden and its cottage museum were opened to the public in 1985 after two years of garden restoration work. The interpretive work was undertaken by Mr and a team from Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens and the Taffe family. Plans were drawn up by Peter Lumley and Michael Looker of the Royal Botanical Gardens and the work of restoration undertaken by the family with financial assistance from Heritage Victoria and The City of Ballaarat. historic garden, ballarat, hymettus, postcard, royal botanical gardens melbourne, restoration, city of ballaarat.

This simple rear cottage door at Hymettus built 1900-1901 has been the back door since the early 1900s. Photos in the family collection however, reveal that it was originally the return front verandah door to the dining-room and the transition seems to have occurred about 1910 when a new door was installed for the front verandah to complement the art-nouveau lead light transom and surrounds to the main front entrance. A similar simple glass and two panel cottage door closes off the passage from main passageway to the kitchen and service end of the home so that the home presents as more simple in the service area fittings with more decorative features to the more important front rooms of the home reflecting the progression of style as the family had more money to spend on the home.

After a quiet period, interest in bookplates in Australia began to increase in the early 1970s, Entrepreneurial art and book collectors such as Edwin Jewell and others commissioned multiple Bookplate designs from a range of well known fine artists. At a 1997 meeting in Melbourne of the Ephemera Society of Australia Edwin Jewell and others announced the formation of the Australian Bookplate Society. The society was instrumental in promoting the art of the bookplate through establishment of the Australian Bookplate Design competition. The competition includes a design award for secondary schools students.Bookplate depicts a weatherboard cottage behind a paling fence.Signature incorporated within platebookplate, printmaking, hymettus cottage, ballarat, michael taffe

This example of a late 1920s valance retained in the front parlour at Hymettus is a part of the period decoration and still fills its purpose of over a century ago in concealing the curtain rails. of the room. Although the house was built 1900 -1901 the room was redecorated in the late 1920s.A rare surviving example of a silk patterned and machine embroidered valance in situ since the 1920s.valance, window, parlour, hymettus, ballarat

A small group of lace bookmarks handmade for sale through the craft shop at Numurkah in Victoria and purchased in April 2025 for the collection at Hymettus, at the time, the largest collection of bookmarks in Australia. Example of the quality of craft work being made in Victoria, 2025. Made by Shona Thomas of Numurkah in teaching herself tatting. Tatting is a form of knotted lace making using thread and a small shuttle. Twisted threads are tied around or through small, pointed shuttles producing a stable, strong lace using simple knots to make rings and chains embellished with picots.a sleeve containing four handmade cotton bookmarks.N/Acraft, numurkah, tatting, cotton, dyes, hymettus, bookmarks, lace

One of many items found in the garden and around the property at Hymettus during restoration works in the 1980s. Hymettus has been in the tenure of the same family since 1898-99.ceramics, pottery, writing

Journal of the Australian Horticultural Industry for November - December 1991 front cover image of Michael Taffe (III) in the garden at Hymettus Ballarat. Feature article on the restoration of Hymettus Historic Garden Ballarat by Nancy Brewer.hymettus, historic garden ballarat, horticulture, magazine, hournal, nancy brewer.gardening, floral.

Michael and Patrick Taffe in their father's prizewinning garden at Hymettus, Ballarat circa 1920s.

fictionredemptorist monastery wendouree, ballarat, library stamp, art nouveau

A page from the Hymettus First Day Cover philatelic collection featuring Australian Steam Locomotives issued in 1979. First Day Cover carrying four stamps representing four different steam locomotives. Postmarked 'Townsville. Qld 16 May 1979'. At upper right corner, The first day cover carries artwork top left, of a signalman changing levers in a signal box. The album page also has both mint and used stamps of the series including a block with colour separation bars.First day cover postmarked Townsville.postal, philately, first day cover, steam engines, railways

Produced as a family memorial card at Julia's death in 1927 and retained in the family ever since in her beloved home 'Hymettus'.Julia Taffe was born Julia Berkery at Bungaree in 1868 of pioneering Irish couple Patrick and Mary Berkery who arrived and settled in the district in1853. Proud of her pioneering family and close to her uncle, Daniel Brophy, Shire President of Bungaree, MLA and Mayor of Ballarat she requested the family home remain as such. Hymettus has been kept in accordance to her wishes.ballarat, bungaree, pioneer

ceiling paper, wallpaper, ballarat, hymettus,

Originally purchased for the Catholic Bishop's House or Palace at Ballarat it was purchased to replace the original cabinet of similar proportions that was sold from Hymettus in the 1940s.A large example of a parlour cabinet from the late nineteenth century. This mahogany cabinet is an example of ebonised chinoiserie decoration and while its label has been lost it was labelled as being French. bishop's house, palace, ballarat, parlour cabinet, display cabinet

One of a series of gilt bookmarks in the large bookmark collection at Hymettus Cottage dating from the late twentieth or early twenty-first century.Bookmarks created more for the tourist market than for the bibliophile.small stamped out framed and gilt figure of Japanese lady with umbrella.bookmark, metal, gold, souvenir items, japan

Found in old retaining wall during restoration work in 1980s together with some original earthenware chimney pots that are now restored to chimneys at Hymettus. The presence of such items discarded in garden areas and fill, indicates that these imported bottles were a common utensil in the area. Bourne's Denby pottery was a prolific producer of such items in the nineteenth century and Denby remained a notable British pottery into the late twentieth century.damage to top from spade otherwise undamaged with glaze to all sides.Impress stamp lower side of bottle.denby, vicrorian, ballarat

Small book press with rectangular pressing surface driven by worm wheel thread and turning handle. This press is still used in the Hymettus library for book repairs.ballarat, books, book repair, covers, hymettus cottage, library.