Summary

This didactic exhibition label from the Museum of Applied Science / Institute of Applied Science presents one of the major impacts on citrus fruit in Victoria; Bryobia Mite.
Dating from the1960s era of the Applied Science arm of what later became Museums Victoria, this label employs a standard approach for Applied Science. It illustrates the etiology, how the pest presents on the leaf and the accompanying exhibit utilized wax fruit and pest models from the collection capturing various stages of infection. And finally, it offers the best known control to be applied.

Physical Description

Single-sided, typewritten print with handwritten title on white (aged) card with green border, mounted on thick cardboard, back has evidence of where stand once was - a small square shape and slight wear around the edges. Has some handwritten black and red pen marks circling the title and word "Apple" in a circle on top right corner. Some text hand circled in pencil.

Significance

The Historic Exhibition Labels Collection illustrates the changing styles in didactic interpretation, aesthetics and approaches to audiences engagment throughout the history of Museums Victoria. From the earliest days of the National Museum of Victoria in the mid 1800s, through the various incarnations of the Applied Sciences collection, to the amalgamation of all the branches into Museums Victoria, the labels chart a course through the changes in audience needs and desires. There are beautiful examples of hand-written Ninteenth Century labels, some examples of extremely long didactic panels from the early twentieth century, and rare and unusal fonts in the mid twentieth century. The collection also illustrates the transition from hand-written and painted labels to the use of typewriters, then Letraset, and ultimately printed labels, culminating in the large format digital print room being introduced at Melbourne Museum in 2000.

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