Collectables Trader 104 Teaser

JUNE – JULY 2012

EDITION 104

trader A u s t r a l a s i a ’s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n e

CRUISE LINER KEEPSAKES

THE KING’S CAR

MOVEABLE BOOKS

COLLECTING TRENDS

Originally a holiday souvenir now a record of maritime history

From royalty to much loved family vehicle and the envy of vintage car enthusiasts everywhere

Did you know pop-up books were used in ancient Persia? Hailed as engineering marvels

What the market says about numismatics

contents FEATURE ARTICLES

PRIZED COLLECTIONS SHARED 12

Chemist’s magic kept alive Karen Hunt

6

TRAVEL FEATURE

Collect pop-up books –

62

works of ingenious engineering Melody Amsel-Arieli

26 34

side for antiques, collectables and

George VI’s Daimler in Australia Margaret McNiven

Brisbane’s north

20

weekend markets Bricks, mortar and heritage

says Margaret McNiven

Rob Ditessa Souvenir life rings: Maritime history

46

More on collecting trowels:

through

A special letter

keepsakes

to the editor

KNOWLEDGE BASE 55

Early Australian pioneering furniture

42

Collecting animation art

50

Ancient Egyptian scarabs Melody Amsel-Arieli

68

New titles for your library

NUMISMATICS 16

Affordable prize-winning medals to collect Peter Lane

30

Following collecting trends: Review of a prized collection

66

under the hammer

Shell art:

Peter Lane

Prized artworks in museum collections

On the shelf:

58

Coinworks reviews coins of the Commonwealth (1910-1964)

REGULAR FEATURES 39 41 65 70 72 78 80

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3

Collector profile

ALLAN HACKETT AND HIS COLLECTION OF BRICKS There is so much more to bricks and mortar as Rob Ditessa finds in a collection that adds an exciting and fresh dimension to understanding Australia’s colonial past

A

llan Hackett proudly explains that one purpose of his brick collection

is to highlight the work of Australia’s early brick-makers. Theirs was an important contribution, which remains somewhat unrecognised, to the establishment of the early colony and the development of its buildings and architecture. ‘Their bricks built our nation, all those buildings around Sydney. I have the bricks they made. The architect gets a mention but the brickmaker never does.’

In the 40 years since he began collecting bricks, Hackett has sought to preserve the work of as many brick-makers as possible, and he has garnered a vast store of

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they visit him to view the collection. He adds intriguingly that the conclusion from his current research will challenge some details of the accepted historical archaeological record about bricks and cause it to be re-written, but that it is a story for another time.

Making bricks in 1800s: a hand-made process His focus is primarily on hand-made sand stock bricks made in the 1800s, and especially in the years of the early colony.

Hackett explains that clay was weathered, then worked into the right condition, and dusted in sand. The clay was forced into a

information and knowledge about how

mould that was also dusted with sand,

bricks were made, how to identify their

forming the brick.

makers, and about the brick-makers

Parramatta bricks, English size, 21.5 x 10 cm, arrow markings made possibly with protruding nail heads in the stock

Hackett also shares his passion and knowledge with groups of enthusiasts when

A wet and smooth strip of timber, a

themselves. In 2009, he published

strike, was used to level it out. The bottom

Turn of the First Clay to help other

panel sometimes had a small protrusion to

collectors, archaeologists and history

leave the small hollow on the brick, known

buffs identify bricks.

as the ‘frog’ which takes in mortar, helping

take a

PEEK inside this

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1

ed m e h t n a i r Antiquang with a focus collecti GNED I S E D S BOOKO VE TO M lars, for scho vehicle oveable Once a m of k e thin today w realm, a child’s ed books as y design sl ou ni readers the inge lighting de s up pops neration of all ge

6

Arieli AmselMelody that

C KEPT hemist’s ma gic ALIVE B Y COLL ECTO A R Pharm aceutic al colle Nick Sh ctor, ailer

Collod ium, Ip ecac, Hogw tinctu arts po re of S tion b anguin ut Har and B ry Pott etanap er wou htol – ld cert not qu ainly fe ite the el at h ingred ome in ients o Karen Nick S fa Hunt hailer’ s shed

g to the y datin A histor orld ng, w te printi s preda ancient

books books are al or oveable mension three-di gineered feature iously en , ingen rts e and pa le ors, glu moveab of sciss n tio rylines mbina their sto by a co ate str illu per, to stiff pa epts. or conc

M

ble book re st mova to prepa The fir Persia of hand ancient means used in arts by r parts; mical ch le pape astrono moveab d an ate maps to illustr ed coloured us were ia they in Arab s. treatise medical

F

er blesTrad Collecta

Egyptian SCARABS Ammo nia cleaner bottles sh ow was ma nufac where the tured

12

Collect able

sTrader The Egyptians revered all kinds of animals seeing in each a telling manifestation of the spiritual world.

The beetle they held sacred was the dung beetle

Melody Amsel-Arieli

Deciphering scarabs Most scarabs were carved from green or

carabs are beetle-shaped amulets

S

blue-glazed steatite (soapstone). Others

that were held sacred by Egyptians

were fashioned laboriously from bone,

from the time of the Old Kingdom (2686

ivory, faience, glass, gemstones, precious

BCE) through to the beginning of Roman

metals or rarely, hard stone.

rule (30 BC - 641 CE).

Because scarab beetles (Scarabaeus

carved in the shape of the scarab beetle,

their source of food, they symbolised the

complete with mandibles, eyes, antennae

god Khepri, the creator of the universe.

and striated wing cases. Instead of

Egyptians believed that after Khepri

portraying beetles, still others feature

rolled the sun across the sky and into the

stylised falcons, fish or frogs with bulging

horizon, it underwent a mysterious

eyes and legs poised to leap. These

transformation before reappearing the

variations are called scaraboids.

following morning.

Top: Steatite scarab, New Kingdom (c. 1550-712 BCE), 1.1 cm. Underside decorated with triple lotus blossom motif and a child, likely referring to the myth of the sun-god emerging from a lotus at the beginning of creation Bottom: Steatite scarab, Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1550-712 BCE), 1.5 cm. Underside decorated with a delicate design of intertwined lotus stems and blossoms

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Some scarabs are simple ovals with little or no decoration. Others were

sacer) roll oversized spheres of dung,

Many scarabs feature flat, reverse

Many Egyptian scarabs typically

abdomens incised with combinations of

measure under two centimetres long,

tiny hieroglyphics and images. Portrayals

about the size of the beetles themselves.

of deities, eyes of Horus, spirals, falcon-

Yet these tiny charms were earthly

headed sphinxes, falcons, crocodile-

symbols of heavenly power. Indeed, the

headed figures, serpents and sun disks

beetle hieroglyphic represents sounds

were popular. So were stylised figurals,

that can be translated as ‘come into

gaming boards or nefers, hieroglyphics

existence.’ They are found widely across

that resemble hearts and trachea.

the eastern Mediterranean, carried by

Portrayals of natural motifs familiar to

war, trade or diplomacy.

Egyptians, such as lions, ibises, jackals,

or 40 away years, from the the To has be wnsvill custome idea wh en quiet e colle rs so the at he or of the ly putti ctor y have she is largest ng tog those da no doing,’ private ether ys with pharma he says one collecti the sm ceutica . ‘Back and the on ell of the s l of in jars, pr chemist the co ingred oducts untry. rig ht up ients in powders Packed and too front of glass-fr ls in in a mo tightly them po onted measuri rtar an in rows unding cabinets d pestl ng and and bottles e or are hu mixing and pa smelling ndreds up these ckets co and sh of nc of oft octions every en foul ape. have tho possibl – custo ught the e size mers co Porcela y’d stu uld easil magician in inhale mbled y ’s lair.’ measur rs, pres into a ing jar ses an s line d more su the sh ited to elves Fascin lookin a medie than a g at va io respec l tortur n with table To e cham Nick’s shop. ph be armaceu wnsvill fascin r The co ation wi e chem llection ticals began ist century, th phar spans when maceuti from the almos he acqu cals chemist ta 1870s time wh ired his rounds to the en chem first lot , comp 1950s, labels of ists did dispens lete wi a , and ha more tha e pills. th origina s conti n just sales, l nued thr ‘In the and fos ough ga early da sickin rubbish rage g trips ys when many dumps doctors to the there and bu local around weren’t These chemist ilding , peop days he sites. with the le went sa pla ir prob to the ys the ‘He ma ce to loc lems,’ interne de up ate an Nick ex t is the whate any ne d rese would ver re plains arch the w addit fix you.’ medy . ion. ‘If history he tho somethi it’s a lit ught of ‘Pharma ng loc tle pie cies the al, I’ll ce of came try to environ se days fro find ou m and ments are qu t wher what wa , with ite ste like tha e it the ch rile s it us t. If it’s emist ed for, a comp hidden interne thi ngs any, I t to se look on e if the there,’ the re’s so he says me inf . ormatio n

irky From qtuream to mains

TING C E L L CO ART N O I T ANIMA s, rly 1970 l the ea by Up unti d, reused ye ro st ay either de rown aw s were mply th celluloid ios or si ion stud at im an the

42

1. RS V Op Duch hir, portrait ess of of Co 1901 tour of rnwall, Austr alia

bden Van Em Andrew la e Pante rg eo G and loids

llu ring ce dios, sto ation o the stu the anim used in sted already and wa pensive lluloids was ex ce ss se ce pro t the fact tha cartoon e Th ed paint space. tifully au torically be d once his containe were at of art in rs that pieces characte ble lua va tial. nt and sequen on inc importa was n right, their ow e bin from th a small Rescued than 40 years since w more siasts in It is no g enthu to project terprisin e en iqu of un a group rks rked on erful wo a emba se wond Californi ators serve the and anim and pre collect yal fans s Lo bin y. ste on histor from wa of carto d ‘cels’ s remove sometime c mises. dio pre ch classi stu su m de outsi cels fro , arbera ntstones Hanna-B The Fli ons as regularly animati ar would cartoon Be uld gi wo – as t, and Yo backlot Top Ca l after Burbank in the ning ce appear rs obtai collecto scenes id st rep be the the int some of picting cel, de s. cartoon from TV

T

MARI TI THEM ME COLL ECTINED G sou KEEP

SAKE

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venir li fe rings FOR

CRU

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Wheth er a m emento holiday of a gr souven and vo ir, min sough yage o iature t after r a spec life rin collecta ial gs rem ble by ain a shippin g enth usiasts Initiall y

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2. RS portrait V Ophir, of Du ke of Co rnwall, 1901 to of Austr ur alia

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ade in various styles mater and ials, m rings ost m were cu iniatur stomise e life passen d to se gers as ll to ke epsake various s. They ly know n as a are ring, lif lifebuo esaver, y, life life pr kisby eserve ring or r, lifeb Perry elt, for a flo buoy – tation all term device. s

34

Collect ablesTra der

they co purcha uld on sed in ly be the sh and we ip’s ba re main rber sh Austra ly mad op There e in pl lian co are su astic. rvi nnecti Photos vin taken g phot of pass on in the ograph engers ba s produc rber’s White or a sh ed by shop on Star lin ip were local ph the er, Olym studios eye-ca otogra to be pic sh tching phic framed owing life rin life rin hangin in g gs m so . Alfre iniatur g arou uvenirs d Dufty e nd the 1924 early so ), (1858walls. a mar uvenir Amon ine lan photog rings g dscape contain rapher are th ed tin ose th located Street ted ph at or origi in Ersk , Sydn otos of nal pa in ey e th so e ship photog ld pain intings raphs, Look fo tings, . postcar r later mariti ds and made from wo me so rings uvenirs od. Th carved especia and cu ese we by the lly for re pain rios deckha the so would ted nds an uv en surrept take a ir trade d sold itiously photo . He image and de to pass the de which velop engers cks. An was pl the small walking aced in advant wooden these side age wa could lif ebuoys then so s that be easil . Thes with tra ld on y pe e th rsonalis were vellers’ at parti the sh ed cular names ip’s pu details ship by rser. and ot of the Note: her voyage Made . expres Australi sly for an coas the tal servi highly ce, the prized se are by colle ctors.

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MOVEABLE BOOKS

COLLECTING TRENDS

Originally a holiday souvenir now a record of maritime history

From royalty to much loved family vehicle and the envy of vintage car enthusiasts everywhere

Did you know pop-up books were used in ancient Persia? Hailed as engineering marvels

What the market says about numismatics

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EDITION 103

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MEMENTOS FROM THE WAR

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MECHANICAL MUSICAL MARVELS

A jeep in Sydney A cross in Changi

Windsors: England’s most successful seating design

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