Originally posted on 10th January, 2019
As part of a new initiative to more closely highlight the incredibly diverse collection the PMI holds, we are going to be discussing an individual collection item each month.
We are kicking off with the always very visually appealing Art Deco and Modernism Society journal Spirit of Progress. It’s an excellent example of the many national periodicals which feature in the PMI’s collection.
The journal covers all things relating to Art Deco and Modernism: updates on planning for Art Deco and Modernist buildings all around Australia, the history of said buildings, the Art Deco and Modernism movements more generally and much more. It is truly amazing the immense influence that the movement had.
It can also show you exactly what Art Deco and Modernism is and what falls under its umbrella. You might be very surprised to discover how much Art Deco and Modernism surrounds you in your city or town.
Spirit of Progress is a must for anyone interested in design, art or architecture. It can also be useful for other less immediately related areas of research. For example, you might want to add accurate historical colour to your historical fiction or discover the history behind a building your ancestors might have lived in.
As well as being informative, Spirit of Progress is always lovely to look at and really interesting.
For example, did you know that:
In 1934 there was a dance held at the Palais de Dance (on the site of what is now the Palais Theatre) to celebrate the end of the Centenary Air Race from London to Melbourne. The dance hall was decorated as an airport with hangars, a revolving aeroplane suspended from the ceiling and searchlights lighting model aeroplanes.
In the 1920s it wasn’t the ‘done thing’ to have too much of your dress shirt exposed under a suit, so three-piece suits with a jacket, trousers and waistcoat were a must. Trousers were held up with a belt or suspenders and were high waisted and short – often exposing a man’s socks.
Bricks, in a variety of patterns and colours, are a feature of a number of Art Deco designs and can be seen across Melbourne. This was helped by the brick yards in South Yarra and Richmond, and later Hawthorn and Camberwell, making use of Melbourne’s extensive clay pits. The most common brick in Australia was the ‘ordinary red’ and came in a variety of colours such as sun-dried and unburned.
The Wesley College Chapel on Punt Road was opened on the 3rd of March 1936 and designed by Harry Norris, who also designed the Nicholas Building in Swanston Street. The money for the chapel was given to the school by the Nicholas family who built their fortune by producing Aspro, which was a version of Aspirin they developed after the German made Aspirin was banned in Australia during WWI.
Spirit of Progress only represents a fraction of our journal collection and a fraction of the works that we hold on art, design and architecture. So, come into the library and explore, you’re sure to find something fascinating.
You can find all of Spirit of Progress from 2000 to the present in the library and indexed on our catalogue.