SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES , AUSTRALIA – Cushion Cover
PLACE REPRESENTED: Sydney. New South Wales , Australia
ITEM: Cushion Cover
NOTES: The sites of Sydney in all its gaudy colour and splendour. This is vivid.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown DIMENSIONS: 48cm x 48cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Athens (specifically the Temple of Zeus) Greece
ITEM: Wall ornament
NOTES: A vividly coloured plate depicting (what’s left of) the Temple of Zeus in Athens … it is 2000+ years old. The Acropolis and Parthenon are in the background. http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-excursions/athens-olympian-zeus.htm
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: porcelain
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 21.5cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Trieste , Italy
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: An elaborate (as you would expect from the Italians) wall ornament depicting Miramare castle 8 km north-west of Trieste (or Trst as it is known to Croatians, well, it was an Illyrian settlement a long, long time ago). Castello di Miramare (or the Castle of Miramare), located about 8 km north-west of Trieste, with a commanding presence over the Gulf of Trieste, is a majestic castle (with a surrounding park, the Park of Miramare) built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte (the Austrian Habsburgs controlled the early 1500s until after World War 1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miramare_Castle
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: steel , ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 29cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Innsbruck , Austria
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: The famous town of Innsbruck in Austria dates back to the 4th century. Depicted is the Goldenes Dachl building (which dates back to 1500) in the old town of Innsbruck. A perfect plate to capture the Alpine nature of the town. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenes_Dachl
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Austria probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Mackay, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Pin Cushion
NOTES: A most unusual pin cushion and quite a good one. I’m not sure is this locally made as I’m not sure Mackay is famous for its shells given it’s located on a river (the Pioneer river) though it is a jumping off point for the nearby Great Barrier Reef, and the Whitsunday Islands. Still, I would be happy to put my pin in this cushion.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: shell
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 7.5cm long x 5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Grindelwald , Switzerland
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: A suitably rustic wall hanging declaring Grindelwald, a village in Switzerland’s Bernese Alps in the south which had a population of about 3300 in the 1960s at the time of this souvenir (and about 4000 now). I’m no expert but the flowers could be the Mountain Avens (or maybe Edelweiss), perhaps a Dissecta and maybe an Alpine Forget-me-not (the “King of the Alps”). This is simple and pretty.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Switzerland probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 20cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Grand Canyon, Arizona , USA
ITEM: Oven Mitt Holder
NOTES: How many oven mitt holders do you come across? This stylish piece of timber has room for the keys in the half urn whilst your mitts can hang from below. How do I know it as oven mitt holder? By the writing, “Take a holder from this hook, save your fingers when you cook”. The “Grand Canyon Nat’l Park” in a different font and writing indicates this may have been a “insert place name here” souvenir. Still, an oven mitt holder!
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm wide x 14cm long x 5.5cm deep.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Queensland (specifically North Queensland) , Australia
ITEM: Fan
NOTES: Beautifully kitsch plastic souvenir fans from the 60s or early 70s. The fans fold in on themselves or open up.
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 (when folded up) 25cm when opened up
PLACE REPRESENTED: Nambour (specifically the Sunshine Plantation), Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fan
NOTES: Beautifully kitsch plastic souvenir fans from the 60s or early 70s. The fans fold in on themselves or open up.
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 (when folded up) 25cm when opened up.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Tasmania (specifically the Batman Bridge) , Australia
ITEM: Small Dish NOTES: A small nic nac dish celebrating Tasmania’s Batman bridge which crosses the Tamar River. The image and design of this is quite 1960s, which makes sense as the bridge was built between 1966 and 1968 and was the first cable stayed bridge in Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Bridge
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: china
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Westminster
DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm x 10cm
