Sunday 17 August 2008

found words


paying a visit to the Carer's Garage sale (a shed full of treasures) in the Barossa Valley yesterday i found (to my joy) that an old metal trunk that had been originally set aside for someone else was available for sale again due to lack of collection (and associated exchange of funds).

so i bought it.

and when i opened my pirate chest at home, i discovered that the newspaper (The Adelaide Advertiser) lining the inside was dated September 14th, 1938. here are some snippets from Alexander von Humboldt's birthday nearly 70 years ago.
the opening lines of the article about the Spanish Civil War (since when has war been civil? que?) are somewhat chilling...that reference to the 'strategists and students of war'. nasty. but on to a lighter moment below

followed by one (of only two) references to the worsening political situation in Europe

the area described below, once home to almonds, sheep and dairies; is now a housing estate.
but to end on a highlight...a delicious design for a cocktail bar from Woods, Bagot, Laybourne-Smith and Irwin; architects. Laybourne-Smith's name now adorns the School of Architecture at the University of South Australia, Woods Bagot is still in business...and the last Irwin I knew practising architecture went off to Harvard University in 1983 and hasn't been heard of (well, not by me) since...


7 comments:

  1. A waterfall bar? Now I ask you!, was theis the inspiration for all those waterfall houses in the 60's?

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  2. How mean of you to link to that tafta page of textile books. OMG, I want every one. At least I know I will be receiving your Eco Colour soon. I hope it will be soon. I'm getting antsy! Seriously, the tafta page is a wonderful resource. I've bookmarked it, and "slowly but surely" I may get to own some of the others on the list. :)

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  3. Tafta not only sells lovely books, but Janet de Boer (editor of Textile Forum Magazine) also organises amazing events she calls Forums...a week of wild partying and fun while learning a textile skill AND dressing up everday in the sort of fantastic clothes that most people would be too chicken to wear to the shops...well worth flying in from goodness-knows-where to attend...

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  5. What a finding! Once a bought an old sewing machine which I repurposed and use as my writing desk (I love to move my bare feet back and forth on the treadle as I write), and inside those small drawers I found all sorts of treasures from odd scissors, to packs of needles and other items going back as far as the 1930's. Delicious treasures!

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  6. stories inside a box... the good, the bad, and the ugly...
    it takes an inquisitive eye not just to notice newsprint.... but actual life events..

    I found the Austrian refugees story chilling.. what they all must have endured and how terrifying it must have been, now that we all know what happened before the war ...

    having spent last weekend at a crazy huge flea market.. I know the thrill of the hunt... and the capture...

    congrats on your find.. I managed to snag an old book press/nipping press

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  7. yes Gwen...the refugee story was just a tad close to the bone for our family.,,and think of the complete shock of arriving in Darwin, which in those days was about as far removed from Vienna as one could imagine
    ...and well done you, finding a nipping press...

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