Summary

This didactic exhibition label from the Industrial and Technological Museum presents the 'Natural Enemies' means of pest control.
Dating from the 1920s 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, in this instance using aphis as an example, and the accompanying exhibit utilized models from the collection to further illustrate it.

Physical Description

Museum label for Natural elements. Single-sided, typewritten print with handwritten title on sepia (aged) card mounted on thick dark brown cardboard, back has evidence of adhesive. Slight tear on label.

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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