Crazy coloured photo

Glass ashtray
made in Australia 1950s

I LOVE vintage retouched photographs! They are always OTT and totally kitschy. This one is in the form of a glass astray and was made as a souvenir piece in the 50s.

I’ve collected a few of these – and even though they were originally ashtrays- the nostalgic photos of 50s Australian icons makes them so much more. And nowadays of course glass ashtrays can be used as pin dishes – with the added delight of a crazy coloured photo.

Marine Parade, Coolangatta- ashtray is for sale: $AU10
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Australia in the #40s and #50s

Australian Souvenirware,
made in Czechoslovakia, England, Australia 1940-50s

A selection of hand-coloured, photographic transfer prints of various Australian cities and landmarks made in the 40s and 50s. What a great wall feature they’d make!

Featured herein are beaches, streets, bridge and bridge approaches and traffic bridges, parks, clocks, landmarks, harbours, town halls, parliament houses and rivers [and I quote] :

• Harbour Beach, Manly
• Prince Street, Grafton
• Belmont, Lake Macquarie
• Bridge Approach, Shoalhaven River from Showground, Nowra
• Bridge, Shoalhaven River, Nowra
• Traffic Bridge, Macksville
• Machattie Park, Bathurst
• Dr Evershed Memorial Clock, Bega NSW
• Bottle Rock, Coonabarabran
• Ulladulla Harbour, NSW
• Town Hall, Rockhampton QLD
• Perth, WA
• Parliament House, Canberra
• Murray River, Corowa.

Makers are all noted on the backstamps: Victoria, IBC, Royal Grafton Bone China, Royal Stafford Bone China, Westminster China [the last, weirdly from Australia.]

All fifteen plates are in great vintage condition and provide a snapshot of important landmarks in Australia, as judged by tourists in the 40s and 50s. Or – as I mentioned – massed together they would make a fantastic wall feature.

The souvenirware plates are for sale: $AU120

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50s Australian souvenirware

Aboriginal motif souvenirware,
made in Australia 1950s

Post war arts and crafts saw a rise in the popularity of ‘Australiana’ – replacing traditional English motifs with Australian themes; invariably Aboriginal motifs. In the 1950s these appropriated [and westernised] indigenous motifs were hugely popular as souvenirware.

The beaten copper image of an Aboriginal tribesman here is laid on an indigenous timber – with a handy thermometer [still working, btw] what’s not to love?  The timber is Mulga wood – much collected and much documented on this blog. This is hugely collectible.

The Aboriginal motif sourvenirware is for sale: $AUD45

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50s church

Studio Anna pin dish
made in Australia, 1950s

Studio Anna made souvenirware for tourists to take home from Australia in the 40s and 50s- and here we have a lovely pin dish from Alice Springs inscribed ‘Flynn’s Church.’ Clearly, Flynn’s Church was a] an important institution in Alice Springs and b] in Alice Springs.

I love the bland churchy rendering of this image- it could be any of a hundred churches built in the 50s – so I suspect it was mass produced for the many- but given a hand-inscribed name for the few.

I’m a great fan of Studio Anna – hand-renderings in ceramic glaze of the 50s and 60s in Australia- a wonderful portrait of the times. I have  amassed a sizeable collection – see several posts below.

The Studio Anna pin dish ‘Flynn’s Church’ is for sale: $AUD35

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