Sunday, July 15, 2012

UNUSUAL WAR FIND IN DARWIN



It is surprising the items of interest which turn up in Darwin . One of the latest acquisitions by Little Darwin is this war issue of the Australian weekly, The Sunday Mail, for May 17, 1916. The striking cover artwork is by Sydney Ure Smith who played a large part in promoting Australian art at home and overseas. Born London, 1887, he arrived in Australia the next year and became a draughtsman, etcher, watercolourist , publisher. His drawings first appeared in the Sydney Mail .

The year of the above publication he founded Art In Australia and in 1923 organised the Australian Art Exhibition at the Royal Academy , London. The weekly includes photograph of Australian troops and advertisements for Winchester shotgun cartridges, Buick, Daimler and Willys-Overland cars .Constable John Dyson swears by Dr Barrett’s Herbal Skin Oil. Blocks of land at the beautiful Ocean Wave Estate, Woy Woy, are being sacrificed due to the war , starting at an equivalent price of $25.

Women wanting to preserve a youthful appearance are offered Dr B. Allen’s (USA) Mexican Walnut Stain for grey hair. An article in a series about women’s work in the war deals with the SOCK DEPOT , started by Mrs Keith Jopp, Elizabeth Bay , Sydney, whose son was a lieutenant . At the time of the writing of the article ,16,637 pair of socks had been knitted .
Hats sporting ostrich feathers were all the rage at the time as shown by the above advertisement for Miller’s Feather Shop, Sydney. Our boys on the front in Egypt were using Rexona soap to overcome chafing, sunburn and minor abrasions. You could also sign up for a course on how to become a ventriloquist.