Special Stationery in Library Stairwell

In the late 19th to mid-20th century elaborate, decorative letterheads were used by large and small businesses alike to promote their business or products. A frieze made from a selection of letterheads in the University Archives is installed in the circular stairwell of the Baillieu Library. The frieze recalls schema for wall decoration in Victorian and Edwardian times and features plumbing, printing, undergarments, machinery, factories and a union, grocers, a fishmonger and biscuit makers, purveyors of household goods, musical instruments and bicycles from Melbourne and regional Victoria. Most of the businesses and their products are long gone, along with this style of letterhead. Selected for their visual appeal and reproduced in an unexpected format, the letterhead frieze demonstrates that archival collections are rich resources for a wide range of purposes.

The frieze was installed to enhance the exhibition ‘Primary Sources: 50 stories from 50 years of the Archives’ (December 2010 – February 2011), however the frieze has proved so popular that it has been retained in the Library for this year.