Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection
Latest at the CSL&RC
Library Display
New Library DisplaysMonday 30 October 2017
Two stunning new displays in the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection showcase a presentation silk by Marion Mahoney Griffin, and the works of an interior design student in 1940s Sydney.
Library Chat
The colourful world of Marion Hall BestTuesday 12 September 2017
Michael Lech, CSL&RC curator, visits Radio National to discuss the colourful world of Marion Hall Best, whose four decade career is currently highlighted in an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney
Collections
Marion Hall Best ArchiveWednesday 9 August 2017
If you’ve been inspired by the Museum of Sydney’s current exhibition, why not dig deeper in the Marion Hall Best Archive.
Research
Dulux Award for Antarctic Colour SchemeThursday 6 July 2017
The CSL&RC has been assisting the Antarctic Heritage Trust in recreating a 1950s colour palette for Hillary’s Hut. The colour design has won the International category at the 2017 Dulux Colour Awards.
Library Display
New Library DisplaysThursday 1 June 2017
Two new displays in the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection explore the life and career of interior designer Leslie Walford AM (1927-2012), whose archive of personal and business papers is now held by the library.
Library Catalogue
Search the Library Catalogue for printed books, periodicals and other documentary material, including reports relating to Sydney Living Museums’ properties as well as pictures, manuscripts and personal papers.
Pictures catalogue
Search the Pictures Catalogue for paintings, drawings and photographs from the collections of all Sydney Living Museums’ properties, including the forensic photography archive at the Justice & Police Museum.
Collections catalogue
Four material formats can currently be searched through the Collections Catalogue: Floor coverings including carpets, felt, matting, oilcloth, linoleum, felt base and vinyl; Garden Ornament including fountains, urns, planters, sundials and edging tiles; Hardware, also known as builders hardware or ironmongery, including door knobs and knockers, locks, fingerplates and escutcheons; Wall coverings including wallpaper in various formats such as sample books, rolls and fragments. The items in the catalogue come primarily from the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection with a selection of items from the house museums within the portfolio of Sydney Living Museums.
Colonial plants database
The Colonial Plants Database includes more than 11,000 listings of plants known to be available in the colony of NSW prior to the 1870s. The database is compiled from several sources, including Botanic Gardens records, nursery catalogues and manuscript plant lists created by early colonists such as colonial secretary Alexander Macleay.
Digital trade catalogues
A number of trade catalogues related to architectural ironwork, architectural papier-mâche, art metalwork, furniture and furnishings, hardware, household goods, joinery, lighting, linoleum, stained glass, terracotta, tiles and wallpaper have been digitised and can be accessed via our Digital Trade Catalogues page on Internet Archive.
Domestic sheet music and manuscripts
A selection of domestic sheet music and music manuscripts from the collections of Sydney Living Museums’ historic house museums and Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection have been digitised and are now available through our page on Internet Archive.
Alan Spearman Evans Collection
Alan Spearman Evans (1902-1963) was a Sydney-based amateur photographer who spent much of his life recording his houses, gardens and workplaces as well as those of his family and friends. Many of the houses photographed by Evans have survived and a number have been heritage listed. The collection includes over 2000 photographic images taken by Evans between 1924 and 1957.
Marion Hall Best Collection
Marion Hall Best was one of Australia's most important and influential 20th-century interior designers. She was an outstanding figure in the dissemination of the ideas of international modernism in relation to interiors in Australia. The Marion Hall Best collection includes papers, plans, photographs, wallpapers, fabrics and other furnishings related to her career.
Post-war Sydney Home Plans, 1945 - 1959
For architects and prospective homeowners alike, the most seductive promise of the immediate postwar years was the prospect of a clean slate, an opportunity to build new, light-filled, houses appropriate to Australian conditions.
Recorded for the future: documenting NSW homes
How do we better understand the history of the homes we live in?
The Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection (CSL&RC) has answered this question by commissioning photographs of present-day houses and gardens in New South Wales. Since 1989, a wide range of homes have been recorded - from those designed by well-known architects to simple suburban cottages. Click on the link to see some of these homes.
Current displays
New
Sekers Fabrics: ‘Australian Artists Originals’
New
Frank Rowland Chapman's student work
Modern Baroque
Past
Interior design training in Sydney in the 1940s
Past
Marion Mahony Griffin Presentation Silk
Past