Tool
Maker & role
Ridgel
Production date
circa 1950
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Object detail
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 6 x W: 3cm (H: 60 x W: 30mm)
Signature & marks
'RIDGEL' on metal collar. 'RIDGEL/MADE IN ENGLAND' near metal wheel head.
Credit line
Gift, Max Fry, 2007
Hyde Park Barracks Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Hyde Park Barracks Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Paperhanger roller with wooden handle and wooden wheel head used by Max Fry during refurbishment of the Hyde Park Barracks, circa 1950
Description
In 1952, during the refurbishment of a room on the second floor of Hyde Park Barracks, Max Fry, paperhanger, traced the outline of his paperhanging shears and wrote his name on the wall behind office furniture. In 1990, when air conditioning ducts were removed, his shears were again revealed.Max Fry arrived in Australia from the UK aboard the 'SS Moreton Bay' on 15 May 1949. It was during his early training in England that Max learned the tradition of tracing around his paperhanging shears and adding his name and date within the blade's outline.As one of about 150 painters and decorators with the Public Works Department, Max worked mainly around the Macquarie Street area and the Phillip Street Courts. In 1959 Max left the Public Works Department and the trade to pursue a career and apply his practical expertise in the protective coating industry with 'Balm Paints', later known as 'Dulux'.This roller was used to attempt to hide the sharp edges of wallpaper both whilst wet and when the paper was dry. The skill of a paperhanger was often gauged by the elimination of the joints visible on the completed surface. This was not always possible due to the varying paper thickness and the uneven surface of the wall substrate. So when necessary the edges of the paper were rolled using the very edge or corner of the roller.
Accession number
HPB2007/1-1
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