Notable collections
The Caroline Simpson Library holds many collections relating to the history of houses, interiors and gardens. Explore a selection of some of our favourites
Richard Clough Collection
Professor Richard Clough AM (1921–2014) was a significant Australian architect, landscape architect and educator. Throughout his professional life, he amassed a remarkable collection of books relating to garden history, landscape design, botany and Australian flora
![Archive of design drawings, sketches and photographs associated with Emmerich Révész later known as Emery Thomas Reeves / Emmerich Révész [personal papers]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/d9189fda16bf24d5f27f4575cedfaa73e7777293-2000x1538.jpg?auto=format&fit=max&q=90&w=520)
Emmerich Révész [Emery Thomas Reeves] papers
Archive of design drawings, sketches and photographs associated with Emmerich Révész later known as Emery Thomas Reeves / Emmerich Révész. Designs reflect Révész’s career in Austria and Australia
Bridgwater Collection of World War I Ephemera
Bridgwater Collection of World War I ephemera, 1914-1930, particularly related to fund-raising campaigns for the war effort and in support of returned soldiers and their families
Helen Jean Burgess Collection
Arts and crafts teacher Helen Jean Burgess undertook a diploma in design and crafts at Sydney Technical College, East Sydney, from 1943 to 1947. This collection of design, drawings, workbooks and photographs relates to her work during the five-year course
![Set of 16 architectural drawings relating to the proposed restoration and adaption to headquarters for the Australian College of Private Practitioners, 43 Lower Fort Street, Dawes Point, Sydney / Morton Herman F.R.A.I.A. [architectural drawing]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/346185c31cb1f27ed7bb2b3d680f73f7c786268d-2000x1534.jpg?auto=format&fit=max&q=90&w=522)
Morton Herman drawings and sketches
This collection of sketches and drawings by architect, historian and author Morton Herman dates from 1952 to 1978. It includes drawings and sketches of colonial buildings, churches and residences, and restoration work to historic bridges
Hugo Stossel Collection
Trained as an architect in Rome and Vienna, Hugo Stossel arrived in Sydney as a refugee from Nazism in 1939. After the war, he designed several small modernist houses for fellow émigrés, as well as notable apartment blocks and commercial buildings
![Alexander Mackintosh Archive :
architectural plans and specifications, 1901-1924: E. R. Orchard, architect : architectural plans and specifications, 1913-1915 / Edwin R. Orchard [architectural drawings]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mhnsw.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2025%2F03%2Fc51525c85e59456e97c46a50d10f6352.jpg&w=1920&h=400&fit=inside&format=webp)
Alexander Mackintosh Archive
The Alexander Mackintosh Archive comprises around 270 architectural drawings and many specification documents relating to the largely domestic building work carried out by building contractor Alexander Mackintosh in Sydney between 1900 and 1924
Richard Rouse and Rouse family papers
Collection of early documents - memoranda, notebooks, receipts, legal papers - relating to Richard Rouse (1774-1852), builder of Rouse Hill House
F. W. Tod & Co., Sydney: Design drawings for ecclesiastical furniture
Archive of design drawings for ecclesiastical furniture: fonts, font covers, lecterns, honour rolls, chancel chairs, clergy seats, Glastonbury chairs, Presbyterian chairs, elders chairs, sanctuary or minister's chairs, clergy stalls, Bishop's stalls, memorial stalls, altar candlesticks made by F. W. Tod & Co., designers & ecclesiastical craftsmen
Minute books and correspondence of Vaucluse Park Trust, Nielsen-Vaucluse Park Trust and Trustees of the Vaucluse House Historic Site, 1911-1980
A complete set minute books kept by the Trusts associated with Vaucluse House detailing the creation and management of the Vaucluse House museum, its grounds and collections over a period of 70 years
Joseph Sainty (1863-1953): builder and landlord
Architectural drawings, plans and photographs relating to building projects of Joseph Sainty (1863-1953), orchardist, builder and landlord of Warrawee
![Walford, 7 Knox Street, Double Bay, December 1967 [photographer unknown]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.slm.com.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2023%2F03%2Fb30998a24a074fedaa86a1a5d2ac8cab.jpg&w=1920&h=400&fit=inside&format=webp)
Leslie Walford archive
For nearly 50 years, Leslie Walford AM (1927–2012) was one of Sydney’s most successful interior designers – the decorator of choice for the city’s social elite, and a leading figure in the Society of Interior Designers of Australia (SIDA)
The Paul Kafka (Vienna) Archive
The collection consists of over 700 furniture design drawings by various Central European designers dating from between about 1920 and 1939. It originates from Vienna, Austria, where Paul Kafka worked for his father’s furniture business before emigrating to Australia
Alan Spearman Evans Collection
The Alan Spearman Evans Collection comprises over 2000 photographic images of houses, house interiors, garden landscapes and industrial workplaces in NSW
Marion Hall Best Collection
Marion Hall Best was one of Australia’s most influential 20th-century interior designers, and a founding member of the Society of Interior Designers of Australia. This collection includes papers, plans, photographs, wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings relating to her illustrious career
![Marion Best Pty Ltd: 'A room for Mr. Peter Sculthorpe' by designers Marion Hall Best and Deirdre Broughton, [Rooms on View 1971]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.slm.com.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2023%2F02%2F62763ef4ccea407ab49734fd3b7795b5.jpg&w=1920&h=400&fit=inside&format=webp)
Finding aid: SIDA collection
The Society of Interior Designers of Australia (SIDA) was a professional body, founded in 1951, to represent the interests of interior designers in Australia. It promoted interior design to the general public and also set standards of practice for the profession
Ikon Studio Archive
The Ikon Studio archive of candid street photography is a documentation of everyday life on one busy Sydney city street recorded over several days in 1950
Augusto Lorenzini Collection
An archive relating to the career of painter and decorator Augusto Lorenzini, who emigrated to Australia from Rome in 1883. The archive features designs and cartoons for decorative schemes carried out in Sydney and Melbourne in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
George N Surtees Archive
Archive including elements of George Surtees work as an employee of Paul Kafka and independent interior designer. Surtees emigrated to Australia in 1951. The archive covers photographs, documents and drawings from the 1960s to 2013.
Diana Luxton Messara Archive
Diana Luxton Messara’s career as an interior designer spanned private practice, major public commissions, and senior roles within the NSW Department of Public Works from the 1960s to the 1990s. This archive relates to her involvement in designing the interiors at the Sydney Opera House and other public buildings across NSW.
