That's One Cool Cat

This smiling cat was viewed out of a sixth floor window in the Myer Bourke Street building. It came as an unexpected and pleasant surprise. I did some research and found out that it was originally an advertisement for Mazda light globes and lamps, and that the other half of the ad was painted over during renovations on the Beehive Building (92-94 Elizabeth Street). I couldn't find a date for it, but judging from the colour pallet I would guess it was painted in the 1940s or 1950s. Here is a link to a picture of what the ad looked like before it was painted over.

Love
Mosey x

Newman's Jewellers

Alstons Corner Building (1913), Collins and Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

I found another painted sign while walking around the city. When I took the photo I was unsure of the actual date, but the colour pallet and fading of the paint as well as the typesetting of the sign to me indicated it had some age to it. With a little bit of research I uncovered part of the story of the Newman's Jewellers sign.

Hand painted Newman's Jewellers sign, side of Alstons Corner

If you look really closely you can see there are two layers to the Newman's Jewellers sign. The link to this black and white photo shows you the original sign, which proudly reads Newman's Jewellers. Unfortunately I could not find a date for this photo but I assume it was taken not long after the sign was painted. If you look closely at the photo I took you can see the original type in red paint, and then a second layer on top which is indicating that they have relocated. Something like this is so easily missed or forgotten about, which in many ways is sad as Newman's Jewellers was a significant business during it's time.

Newman's Jewellers was founded in 1852. To put this into a historical perspective, this is one year after the beginning of the Victorian Gold Rush. It highlights how the city of Melbourne was built on the proceeds of gold, and that people flocked to the city to set up businesses and take advantage of this new found wealth. Obviously Newman's Jewellers was a solid business and was well regarded and trusted in the community as it was around for a long time. They moved from their location at Elizabeth street, where the sign is, to a location in Collins Street some time in 1930.

If you are interested here is a link to a digitised newspaper article from the 27th of June 1931, which makes reference to the Newman's business and explains it's standing and important place as a jewellery company in Melbourne.

It would be curious to see if any academic research has been done on this sign. Conservation research could uncover interesting things like the type of paint that was used and how many times it was repainted. But isn't it incredible that something of this age which has been exposed to the elements and left unprotected is still with us today?!?!

Love
Mosey x

Painted Signs

Here are two pictures of painted signs I came across when I was wandering around the city. 

The first painted sign is on the corner of Lonsdale and Russell Street. I had seen it a few weeks ago but I didn't have my camera with me. When I went back construction on the site had begun, and the scaffolding was obstructing the view of the sign. However I still think it was worthy of recording.

The second painted sign is down Bourke Street. The blue and yellow is still rich in colour, making the sign stand out against the side of the inter-war period building.

Love 

Mosey x

Sign on the corner of Lonsdale and Russell Street

Sign located down Bourke Street

The spark of inspiration

When a building was recently demolished at the Union Road shops in Surrey Hills, what was revealed to the world was such a pleasant surprise it was worthy of recording. This is what inspired me to start this blog.

These pictures are from the two exposed walls on either side of the demolished building. These types of hand painted signs and posters were common place during this time. Luckily for us, these particular signs were somewhat protected from UV light and the elements as the building in between was built very close to, but not attached to the neighbouring buildings. 

The colours, composition, fonts, and general aesthetics of the painted signs were what caught my eye. They hark back to an almost forgotten time.

Love

Mosey x

Exposed signage from left side of demolished building.

Bushells sign located on the right side of demolished building.

Detail of paper poster located next to Bushells sign. Can you see the two wine glasses?