Summary
This is a colour postcard of the Exhibition Building showing the west side of the southern facade with the gardens, pathway and fence in the foreground, circa 1905. The postcard, which is unused, was printed in Great Britain for Valentine & Sons' Publishing Co. Ltd., Melbourne.
The Exhibition Building was built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, which opened to visitors on 1 October 1880. On 9 May 1901, it hosted the opening of the First Commonwealth Parliament of Australia. By the early 20th century, picture postcards of the Exhibition Building were a popular Melbourne souvenir.
The division of the reverse of the postcard, allowing a message to be written on one half and the address on the other, was not permitted in Australia until 1905.
Physical Description
A colour tinted photograph of the Exhibition Building with a view from south west. Shrubs and garden beds in the foreground are tinted orange. On the reverse of the card there is space to write a message, an address and to place a stamp. The card is unused.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Transfer from Trustees of the Royal Exhibition Building (REB), Sep 1991
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Publisher
Valentine Publishing Co., Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1905
The division of the reverse of the postcard, allowing a message to be written on one half and the address on the other, was not permitted in Britain until 1902 and Australia until 1905. -
Place & Date Depicted
Royal Exhibition Building (REB), Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1905
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Printer
Valentine & Sons Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, Great Britain, circa 1905
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Inscriptions
Obverse, text: EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE Reverse, text: VALENTINE'S; POST CARD; FOR COMMUNICATIONl; ADDRESS; PRINTED IN/ GREAT BRITAIN; THE VALENTINE PUBLISHING CO. PTY., LTD., MELBOURNE/ PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
138 mm (Width), 87 mm (Height)
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Keywords
Buildings, Civic Mementoes, Exterior Views, Postcards, Royal Exhibition Building, Souvenirs