Marjorie Graham - papers, 1875-1994

MLMSS 6210
POSTERS 705/1-3

fonds

1875-1994

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs, Ephemera, Posters

97569

8.43 metres of textual material (52 boxes, 1 outsize item) - manuscript, printed
Clippings
Photographs
Albums
Ephemera
Posters

Marjorie Graham (1924-1994) was a pioneer collector of Australian pottery, glass and ephemera who assembled the Graham Collection, one of the most significant decorative arts collections in Australia. Graham developed an interest in 18th century English porcelain during the 1950s while she was working in the Press Clipping Services of the Country Press Association. She gradually became interested in collecting Australian items including pottery, glass, metal kitchenware, postcards, greeting cards, packaging, paper and sheet music.
Graham wrote two authoritative books in her field: Australian Pottery of the 19th and Early 20th Century (pub. David Ell / National Trust of Australia, 1979) and Australian Glass of the 19th and Early 20th Century (pub. David Ell, 1981). Her other publications include Printed Ceramics in Australia (pub. Australian Society for Historical Archaeology, 1978) and articles for a number of journals including Australian Antique Collector, Business Review Weekly and Australiana. Graham's twenty year association with Australian Antique Collector began in the mid 1970s. In 1980 she began a regular column called Patchwork and became an editorial consultant to the journal. As well as writing her column, Graham helped to write and edit a number of other articles which appeared.
Graham was involved in several exhibitions of decorative arts. In 1973 she curated The Age of Art Deco at Knox College, Wahroonga. In 1976 she displayed items from her collection in the exhibition Antiques Australia: First Fleet to Federation held at the National Trust property Lindesay. Graham also wrote the sections on pottery and glass for the booklet which accompanied the exhibition. To co-incide with the launch of her pottery book in 1979 Graham curated a very successful exhibition of her collection at David Jones' Sydney store. Many exhibitions of decorative arts held in the last twenty years have included pieces lent from the Graham Collection.
In 1954 Marjorie Graham (nee Palmer) married Donald Graham (1915-1988), an amateur singer who worked for music publisher Boosey and Hawkes. Donald Graham photographed many of the items in the Graham Collection, including those used for Marjorie Graham's two books. During the 1960s and 1970s he took about 2500 colour slides of historic buildings, mainly in Sydney and New South Wales. In 1982 he contributed an article to Australian Antique Collector about music covers in Australia.
Marjorie Graham's meticulous research is one of the hallmarks of her collection. She thoroughly researched each item before she formally added it to what she termed the Graham Collection. In recognition of her contribution to the decorative arts Graham was made an honorary associate of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1973. Graham's documentation and research notes now form this manuscript collection. In accordance with Graham's wishes, the Graham Collection of artefacts was auctioned after her death in 1994.

52 boxes and 1 outsize item

1. Catalogues of items in the Graham Collection, 1968-1993
2. Research notebooks, 1964-1988
3. Financial records, 1953-1994
4. Articles and correspondence, 1957-1994
5. Research notes and newscuttings, ca. 1875-1994
6. Exhibition catalogues, pamphlets, printed books, posters and ephemera, ca. 1879-1993
7. Family papers, ca. 1883-1967
8. Photographs and slides, ca. 1910-1915, 1960-1993

This collection comprises 8 record series. You may navigate to a more detailed description of each series from this record.