Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Day 34 Greeting card from the 1940's

When we went home to Tasmania at Easter to clear out my Aunties house I found this old greeting card from around the 1940's. It is blank inside (although there was a handwritten "Best wishes" ) The picture on the front is by B. E. Minns of an aboriginal lady. The card actually says "Native, Macleay River, N.S.W" and is of a watercolour done by the artist in 1895. I did a little research on him and he did a lot of drawings for newspapers and magazines like the Sydney Mail and the Bulletin. 
He was the founder of the Australian Water-Colour Institute in Sydney in 1924. He was best known for his water colour landscapes of Sydney and his paintings of the Aborigines and their way of life. I like this card and so decided to bring it home with me and maybe I will frame it. I think I was surprised to see an image of an aboriginal on a card from that era - just not what I expected!



2 comments:

  1. That's a very interesting find. Treasure.

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  2. This is a wonderful find Dawn. What a lovely face this lady has. We visited Bruny Island last year and found out a little about Truganini who is definitely NOT the last indigenous person from Tasmania. Apparently there are many indigenous people still living in our Apple Isle although probably much mingled with European bloodlines.

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