Ceiling panel
Maker & role
Unknown, Maker
Production date
circa 1915
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Object detail
Production place
Measurements
H: 95 x W: 121cm (H: 950 x W: 1210mm)
Credit line
Gift, Marianne Levin, 2013
Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Hand stencilled and painted plywood ceiling panel with medallion depicting the Three Sisters, Katoomba, 1915
Description
This timber ceiling panel dates to around 1915. It is one of the corner panels from the original living room ceiling of 'Nell-ily', View St, in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba, NSW. The panel is made from plywood and has been decorated with a hand stencilled and painted design. The border pattern of parallel lines and stylised fruit and foliage motif is in the Art Nouveau style and surrounds a medallion depicting local bushland. The rock feature depicted is known as The Three Sisters and is located at Echo Point, Katoomba. The panel is one of three currently held by the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, along with a fragment of original wallpaper. Hand-written to the reverse of one of the panels: "Goldsmith Bros / Katoomba".
Nell-ily is a timber cottage built 1915-16 for Mr. W. Miles, after he purchased lot 17 of the Sunrise Estate development, Katoomba in 1912. The property changed ownership and was remodelled in the 1940s. The original timber ceilings in the bedroom and living room were covered with lath and plaster until uncovered during renovation works undertaken by the current owner in 2014.
Plywood panels are often used for insulation, soundproofing and acoustics. Three-ply sheets first appeard in Australia in the 1890s and were imported from the USA by William Flemming, Clarence St, Sydney. Laminated wood fibre boards known as 'Adamo' were produced in Australia around 1909 and 'Celotex', made from sugar cane waste, were imported from Canada. These products were widely used in domestic and commercial applications and were promoted as 'self-finishing wall and ceiling linings'.
There were a number of industry periodicals available to interior decorators in the early to mid-20th century. These advertised trade related products and suppliers and provided methods, tips and notes on the application of decoartion. They also included information regarding trade related schools and associations.The 'Australasian Decorator & Painter' ran from 1906 into the 1960s and in the early decades, provided stencils and designs for walls and ceilings. It is possible the motifs used on the View St ceiling panels were sourced from this type of publication.
The plywood panels used at View St, Katoomba were supplied by timber and hardware merchants Goldsmith’s Bros. Pty Ltd , Katoomba. George Goldsmith [1881-1958] founded the Bent St saw and moulding mills and joinery works in 1909, which supplied local building trades into the second half of the century. Goldsmith's transported both imported and local timber and materials to the Blue Mountains by rail and delivered from the mill via horse and dray teams and a jinker [2 horse for long lengths]. A siding was built at the Katoomba railway station to facilitate the handling of long and heavy timbers to the mill. The site is currently vacant, the last remaining sheds and buildings having been demolished soon after a 2007 fire destroyed the cottage.
Nell-ily is a timber cottage built 1915-16 for Mr. W. Miles, after he purchased lot 17 of the Sunrise Estate development, Katoomba in 1912. The property changed ownership and was remodelled in the 1940s. The original timber ceilings in the bedroom and living room were covered with lath and plaster until uncovered during renovation works undertaken by the current owner in 2014.
Plywood panels are often used for insulation, soundproofing and acoustics. Three-ply sheets first appeard in Australia in the 1890s and were imported from the USA by William Flemming, Clarence St, Sydney. Laminated wood fibre boards known as 'Adamo' were produced in Australia around 1909 and 'Celotex', made from sugar cane waste, were imported from Canada. These products were widely used in domestic and commercial applications and were promoted as 'self-finishing wall and ceiling linings'.
There were a number of industry periodicals available to interior decorators in the early to mid-20th century. These advertised trade related products and suppliers and provided methods, tips and notes on the application of decoartion. They also included information regarding trade related schools and associations.The 'Australasian Decorator & Painter' ran from 1906 into the 1960s and in the early decades, provided stencils and designs for walls and ceilings. It is possible the motifs used on the View St ceiling panels were sourced from this type of publication.
The plywood panels used at View St, Katoomba were supplied by timber and hardware merchants Goldsmith’s Bros. Pty Ltd , Katoomba. George Goldsmith [1881-1958] founded the Bent St saw and moulding mills and joinery works in 1909, which supplied local building trades into the second half of the century. Goldsmith's transported both imported and local timber and materials to the Blue Mountains by rail and delivered from the mill via horse and dray teams and a jinker [2 horse for long lengths]. A siding was built at the Katoomba railway station to facilitate the handling of long and heavy timbers to the mill. The site is currently vacant, the last remaining sheds and buildings having been demolished soon after a 2007 fire destroyed the cottage.
Accession number
L2014/42-1
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