Inside the Collection

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum

Elephants in the Colony

August 4, 2009

Erika Taylor
The new baby elephant at Taronga Zoo has had me 'oooing' and 'ahhhing' all week, it also reminded me of a letter we have in our collection written in 1805 by William Charles Wentworth (of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth fame).
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Ties with tradition

July 31, 2009

Lindie Ward
Apron made in Mislesevo-Vevcani, Struga, Macedonia, 1985, lent by Radmilla Karamacoska It was love at first sight when I saw the aprons I was to be working on for an upcoming exhibition here at the Museum.
Collection items stored in compactus

We’ve got a Bleriot too!

July 28, 2009

Margaret Simpson
In view of the media interest in the re-enactment of the first flight across the English Channel in a Bleriot XI monoplane last week, I thought our blog readers would like to know that the Powerhouse has one too.
Bosdyk Dollhouse showing miniature rooms and figures within

The Bosdyk Dolls House- part one

July 24, 2009

Erika Taylor
Fallen in love with this dolls house yet? Just wait, you will! Let me introduce you to one of the latest objects to join the Powerhouse Museum collection, the Bosdyk Dolls House, a unique example of the art of the miniature.
Apollo 40 years graphic

Apollo at 40: celebrating the first Moon landing

July 20, 2009

Kerrie Dougherty
Photo courtesy of NASA Forty years ago, on July 21, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 Moon mission, became the first person to set foot on another world. This historic spaceflight marked the culmination of the so-called “Space Race”, one of the major Cold War propaganda battles between the United States and the USSR, which began in 1957, when the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching the first satellite, Sputnik 1.
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Meet the curator- Melanie Pitkin

July 17, 2009

Melanie Pitkin
Name Melanie Pitkin What is your speciality area? My academic background is in Ancient History and Egyptology so my main specialty area is actually Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period history.
Collection items stored in compactus

‘Be the Change’ Inauguration Poster

July 17, 2009

Melanie Pitkin
In April, I made a visit to the Design Museum in London to see the 2009 Brit Insurance Design Awards. You see, the winning design was Shepard Fairey’s ‘Progress’ poster which became the driving force behind the 2008 Barack Obama Presidential Election campaign, and shortly before leaving Sydney, I had assisted my colleague Anne-Marie Van de Ven on the acquisition documentation for Fairey’s ‘Be the Change’ Inauguration poster for our collection.
Collection items stored in compactus

Happy Birthday Wedgwood!

July 14, 2009

Eva Czernis-Ryl
Did you know that Josiah Wedgwood was born on 12th of July 1730? It was his birthday on Sunday so we thought that this would be a good opportunity to illustrate our fabulous ‘Venus in her chariot’ vase, a highlight of our significant Wedgwood collection.
Collection items stored in compactus

Full steam ahead – the 3265

July 10, 2009

Erika Taylor
Under the supervision of the Museum’s Engineering conservator, Ross Goodman, and a dedicated group of volunteers, Steam Locomotive 3265 has been extensively rebuilt and once again will be fully operational and carrying passengers.
Collection items stored in compactus

Chanel at the Powerhouse

July 6, 2009

Melanie Pitkin
The recent release of the new Coco Avant Chanel film inspired me to revisit the Museum's very own collection of Chanel fashion to see just how much we hold which dates before the designer's death in 1971.
Microphone used at the opening of the Harbour Bridge in 1932

Speak Up- the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

July 1, 2009

Erika Taylor
What is this block of marble? a geiger counter? what does it have to do with the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Well, it is in fact a microphone! and the very same microphone used at the official opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 19 March 1932.
Cover of Michael Jackson Thriller album

Michael Jackson- death of a pop icon

June 26, 2009

Erika Taylor
Everyone at the Powerhouse Museum was saddened to hear of the death of Michael Jackson this morning. He was an unmistakable icon of pop culture. Who can forget the 1982 album “Thriller” , which was one of the world’s highest selling records, and its video film clip which revolutionised the pop music film clip industry.