PLACE REPRESENTED: Sydney, New South Wales , Australia
ITEM: Ceramic Cup
NOTES: A souvenir cup of Sydney with a montage mural, vividly coloured, of all the main attractions of Sydney at the time. It looks quite inviting.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: glass
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 7cm diameter x 10cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hervey Bay, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fan
NOTES: Beautifully kitsch plastic souvenir fan from the 60s (or early 70s). The fans fold in on themselves or open up and depict local sights.
Here they have thrown in some scenery from Fraser Island, across the channel.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: Hong Kong (it’s written on the red bit at the bottom)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm tall , 3.5cm wide (18cm tall x 3.5cm wide (when folded in) or 25cm when open up)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Airlie Beach, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Wooden Ornament
NOTES: A small wooden (bamboo naturally) ornamental boat which is, Vietnamese or South East Asian in appearance despite “Airlie Beach” being printed on the paddle. Aaaahhhh, overstock.
Perhaps it was a comment on the waves (sic) of boat people who came to Australia from Vietnam in the late 1970s. It is simple but wonderfully detailed.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm long , 6cm high , 5cm wide (at its widest point)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran , Croatia
ITEM: Ornamental Minature
NOTES: A ornamental minature wine barrel with traditional handpainted design from Lovran on the Istrian peninsula.
Barrels, grapes (and drinking wine) are all well loved pursuits in the region … maybe that’s why there is a heart on the barrel.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia (then Yugoslavia)
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 10cm high , 10cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Chile
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A nice hand crafted (partially) wall ornament from Chile, in copper, naturally enough. Copper mining was (is) one of the biggest industries in Chile.
“Recuerdo de Chile” means “A Remembrance of Chile”.
Simple, effective and stylish.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: Copper
MADE IN: unknown (probably Chile)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 13cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Canada
ITEM: Mug
NOTES: Mug with Canadian flag and bear.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2005
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Snowcap Trading Co.
DIMENSIONS: 10.5cm high , 11.5cm from edge to edge of handle.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Bangladesh
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: A ornament that is both hand crafted and machine made which shows the Bangladeshi flag at full mast, a relief of Bangladesh, and all of its 64 districts named.
This is very handy if you want to quickly find out where the, say, Barguna district is, and you don’t have the internet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_of_Bangladesh
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Bangladesh (probably)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18.5cm across X 22.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Melbourne, Victoria , Australia
ITEM: Ceramic clog
NOTES: As far as I know the Melbournians are not famous for clogs and the Dutch did not settle Melbourne (even Dutch explorer Abel Tasman didn’t make it to Melbourne) so, I assume, the ceramic clog factory was looking to move a few ceramic clogs and contacted the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia’s second most populous city, and said, “We can do you a deal on some souvenir clogs” …
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1930s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Germany
MANUFACTURER: Victoria
DIMENSIONS: 9cm long x 4cm high x 4cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Tasmania , Australia
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: Abstract Tasmania (and its ever famous apple) in green, red and black. I like this.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: resin plastic
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 5cm x 5cm (at its widest)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Cairns, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Simple and effective. Barramundi fish plus Australia equals Cairns. Cairns is, rightly so, famous for its barramundi fishing but this trinket could also have had “Darwin” substituted for Cairns (who knows maybe it was in the Darwin market) which also has its fair share of barramundi. In Australia, barramundi is an iconic eating fish revered as a quintessential Australian brand. But, far from being only native to Australia, barramundi are found in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Arabian Gulf to China, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood , steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 20cm diameter across x 16cm top to bottom (at its longest)