Posted 4 years ago
IronLace
(877 items)
Last Saturday I had occasion to visit the Mount Victoria Museum (for folks outside of Australia, it's a small village at the end of the Blue Mountains, the last stop before the steep descent into the valley below, & beyond to Western New South Wales).
Located in an old sandstone building next to the railway station, it has a eclectic collection of mining & farming equipment, railway items, natural history (bird, animal & insect specimens), Aboriginal artefacts, household items, vintage clothing, etc, etc.
Rambling, eccentric, oddball, spooky, & delightfully shabby, I spent an enjoyable couple of hours discovering the collection.
Just thought I'd share a few images from the day...
1. Of course, I managed to find some art glass - I coveted this green j.i.p vase immediately, but had to content myself with a selfie with it instead.
2. Some rather moth - eaten wildlife specimens.
3. This was a 19th century bedroom mock - up, but the afternoon light was more captivating in its own curious way.
4. The fire escape, made of corrugated iron sheeting. Never has such a humble building material looked so...menacing...
Love these little museums , I have fond memories of one I used to frequent as a little kid not too far from where I lived .. think I was about the only person to go there . it was cram packed with all sorts of amazing things .. sadly it disappeared ..and who knows what happened to all those weird and wonderful objects..
Many thanks, Marty! Yes, these sorts of places are far more engaging than slick, modern institutions where the collections have been rendered sanitised & "interactive" for today's short attention span world.
For this collector, the more ramshackle & random the museum, the better. Just like a good flea market or op shop, there should be a surprise in every nook & cranny, & a glorious democracy of objects, no matter how strange, battered, or beautiful.
This one also has an amazing collection of taxidermy bird specimens - in particular a case full of jewel - like hummingbirds, a winged meditation on human folly. Sadly I was unable to get any decent photos of those due to the reflective glass of the cabinets.
Fascinating taxidermy animals, the kangaroo is really wonderful & all your pix are great
Stay safe too today !!!!
Many thanks, Newfld!
Thanks also, vetraio5o - thankfully no bush fire dramas today, & luckily I am not too close to the National Park! But I certainly stayed home & worked in my studio for most of the day as it was so unpleasantly windy. Looking forward to a cooler day tomorrow...
valentino97 - my feelings exactly! I love the randomness & oddity of small museums...they tend to reflect the very particular enthusiasms of the folks who run them (this one is all managed by volunteers) which is far more interesting than the big institutions which are no doubt controlled by a vast bureaucracy...