Sketches and Letters from George Whitelaw in Australia

The George Whitelaw archive, A fine illustrated diary with gold…
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The George Whitelaw archive, A fine illustrated diary with gold embossed title to spine, titled 'Sketches in Australia by George Whitelaw, 1857 - 1864' with parrakeet feathers affixed to pages in places and containing 24 charming and mostly detailed and annotated pen and ink sketches tipped in some with annotations on reverse. Accompanied by several original letters to Whitelaw's mother or sister and with a framed portrait photograph of Whitelaw. The sketches include 'Looking towards the North...Mount Macedon 45 miles distant...', 'Swan shooting in the swamps...', 'The Lime Burner's house. Snap[p]er Point up the bay 30 miles from Melbourne.', 'south West angle from the Benevolent Garden. Mount Alexander eailway, the Yarra river....Youyang mountains in the distance...', 'Death in the road', 'The native's House, his home a few sheets of bark and twigs...', 'General view of Melbourne....', 'Bullock dray and team returning to town for loading....', '.....Benevolent Asylum Melbourne... The letters recount George's entry as an 'inmate...in an Institution for the distressed', the Benevolent Society (in North Melbourne) and provide considerable first hand detail about the other residents and their circumstances. He writes specifically about the 94 year-old veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, who occupies the bed next to his. In his final letter he writes that he is 'close confined to my bed and feel that my time draws to a close. I am very happy and my mind is as clear as the morning....

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  • Embossed / Repousse - Embossing, also known as repousse, is the technique of decorating metal with raised designs, by pressing or beating out the design from the reverse side of the object.It is the opposite of chasing, where the decoration is applied from the front. An embossed or repoussed object may have chasing applied to finish off the design.
  • Distressed - Usually applied to describe the condition of an item of furniture, and means that the object is extremely worn and is verging on being unsuitable for its intended use, without some restoration or repairs being undertaken.

    Furniture can also be artificially distressed, by deliberate infliction of superficial damage to make it appear old. Artificial distressing can be done with the object of deceiving a purchaser, where the object is being passed off as "of the period", or can be done for aesthetic reasons so that a new object is made to appear as though it has been in use.

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