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. The postcard is one of many currently on display in the Caroline Simpson Library.
This postcard, depicting two dapper tabbies enjoying tea, was illustrated by well-known cat artist Louis Wain. Wain specialised in depictions of anthropomorphised cats and kittens, and credited this passion to his own pet cat Peter. Wain would become one of the most popular commercial illustrators of his day, producing artworks for books and advertisements as well as postcards.
The postcard is undated and bears no stamp, but it must have been delivered around 1904, when Vera was living in Albury, NSW, during her father’s time as police superintendent of the town. Vera was an enthusiastic collector of postcards, and this one no doubt gave her much pleasure, especially as it had been personalised by her friend. Viley also collected postcards, and the two corresponded frequently via this inexpensive medium, much as text messages are exchanged between friends today. In one postcard to Vera, Viley boasts that she has 164 postcards in her collection and asks how many Vera has. She also writes, ‘I don’t think you have this one in your collection. Have you?’ It seems likely from Vera’s vast collection of more than 1,000, now in the Caroline Simpson Library, that she out-collected Viley.
View more from the Bell family papers.
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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.
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A Passion for Postcards: The Postcard Collection of Miss Vera Bell
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