Bicycle race

Our current library display is drawn from the postcard collection of young Sydney woman Miss Vera Bell (1885–1962). The collection forms part of the Bell family papers, now housed in the Caroline Simpson Library.

Vera collected over 1,000 postcards and kept them in specially produced postcard albums. It was a popular hobby during the first years of the 20th century when postcard production was at its peak.

This postcard – titled Bicycle race – was illustrated by Gil Dod, a little-known British artist who specialised in depictions of anthropomorphised animals, typically engaged in sporting activities. While several postcards in Vera’s collection have been annotated by their senders, this is one of the most personal, with Vera herself identified as the spectating snake in a red cape. The race winner, an ostrich on a penny farthing, is denoted as Owen, one of Vera’s brothers. The sender doesn’t include their own name, but it may have been another brother, Oscar, who was a competitive cyclist. Vera must have been familiar with the handwriting and understood the message, perhaps alluding to a family joke now lost to time.

View more from the Bell family papers.

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Mel Flyte

Mel Flyte

Collections Discovery Assistant, Caroline Simpson Library

Growing up in rural NSW, Mel’s childhood was spent undertaking her own archaeological excavations in the creek bed on her family’s property. Old bottles, cow bones, and the occasional piece of rusty farm equipment were all considered exciting discoveries. School holidays were punctuated with long car trips with her mum to see blockbuster exhibitions in Canberra and Sydney, so galleries and museums always felt familiar. Studies in archaeology and art history have inspired a passion for objects and their ability to elicit emotions and tell stories. Mel curated the exhibtion On The Move and relishes the opportunity to get hands-on with the treasures in our collections.

Postcard design with photo of cows crossing a creek
Past exhibition

A Passion for Postcards: The Postcard Collection of Miss Vera Bell

Our current library display draws from the postcard collection of Miss Vera Bell, a young Sydney woman, and provides a snapshot of an era: the golden age of postcards

Stories from the Caroline Simpson Library

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Back of postcard with short text address to Miss Vera Bell

Tea and scandal

‘Come to afternoon “Tea and Scandal” tomorrow’ is the wonderfully enticing offer made via postcard by Viley and Olive, young friends of Vera Bell

Watercolour of a group of people landing ashore

Rose redacted

How Rose de Freycinet was erased from the official narrative of the 'Uranie' voyage

Wallpaper, c1888

Dick Whittington and his cat

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Vue de George’s Street a Sydney [Nouvelle Galles du Sud]

A 'musical jolt' in early colonial Sydney

Imagine that moment when you first heard your favourite piece of music - something that excited, moved or surprised you. The early musical soundscape of Sydney was teeming with just such moments