Caroline Simpson Library
A specialised resource centre
The Caroline Simpson Library is a specialised research library open to anyone with an interest in the history of house and garden design, interior furnishings and domestic life in NSW. Its collection features a wide range of formats, including architectural pattern books, architectural fragments, wall and floor coverings, trade catalogues and sample books, garden ornaments, hardware and fittings, soft furnishings and trimmings, personal papers, manuscripts, pictures, photographs, books, periodicals and oral histories.
Featured display
A Century of Paint Colour Charts: 1880–1980
Contemporary interiors seem to reject colour in favour of ‘greige’, off-whites, and neutrals. Yet for many centuries the choice and concentration of colour for the decoration of interiors reflected wealth, status, and fashion
Caroline Simpson Library
Gadigal Country
The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000- Cafe
- Wheelchair accessible
Donors attend a special studio experience with Signature Handprints
In late May, a group of Museums of History NSW donors attended a special behind-the-scenes experience at Signature Handprints, a boutique design and print business in St Peters in Sydney’s inner west.
Stories
Fatshaudi commissioned works
We commissioned a range of musicians to create new compositions for Dream Feast in response to sheet music held in the Caroline Simpson Library Collection. One of the musicians, Fatshaudi (Brisbane-based producer Rachael Ryan), shares her experience
On a tour with palms: a botanical foray into the Caroline Simpson Library
A search for palms in the museum collections took this researcher on a journey back to a time when these plants were considered an essential addition to the tasteful home
![Walford, 7 Knox Street, Double Bay, December 1967 [photographer unknown]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mhnsw.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2026%2F05%2Fb973a68e392143138186b649ed3cb6b5.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 mysterious O.S.B.
One item in the Caroline Simpson Library Collection has been capturing our attention recently: a beautifully illustrated catalogue of electric light fittings, identified only by a mysterious insignia on the cover – the initials ‘O.S.B.’
Find out more about our collection
Annual Giving: Interpreting our Past
For the first time in more than two decades, the Justice & Police Museum is embarking on a bold transformation that reimagines how stories of justice, crime and community are told
Find out more