Donald Fish archive of design, 1945-2000

PXD 1044
PXX 90
SLIDES 162
R 1034
MLMSS 7890/Box 1
MLMSS 7890/Box 2X

fonds

1945-2000

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Design Drawings, Ephemera, Photographs, Posters, Objects

852910

102 photographic prints (1 box, 2 folders and 1 outsize folder)
22 slides
4 objects
0.90 metres of textual material (1 box and 1 outsize box)

Donald Fish is a designer, illustrator, writer and cartoonist. He was born in Australia in 1929.

His work includes logotypes, packaging, illustrations and TV commercials and poster design and has appeared in international design publications such as Graphis and Modern Publicity. His clients have included Commonwealth Bank, British Airways, Qantas, Johnson & Johnson, Peek Freans, Tooth’s Beer, AWA, NSW Tourism and Harry M Miller. Fish shared a studio with renowned Australian sculptor Robert Klippel, with whom he also collaborated on various industrial and packaging design ventures. In 1957, Gordon Andrews commissioned Fish to design two large murals for the Australian Department of Trade’s Food Fair in Köln, Germany. Fish and Andrews also formed part of the group of designers and architects who inaugurated the Sydney chapter of the Industrial Design Institute of Australia in 1958. By 1970, Fish was Creative Director (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide) for the US agency, Compton International, winning a Bronze Lion at the Venice Film Festival for client British Airways with writer, John Flanagan. In 1976, Fish created standout poster campaigns for Harry M Miller’s productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show which was also awarded Poster of the Year by the Outdoor Advertising Association of Australia.

In 1976 he joined the advertising agency Fountain Huie Fish as partner where he created an international campaign for TIME magazine in 1981 that utilised its iconic front cover. Other FHF clients included Club Med and Lufthansa Airlines. Upon the sale of the agency to Clemenger’s in 1987, Fish went on to design for Northwest Airlines (US), Pirelli and Citroën until his retirement in 2005.

His most recent contribution was a long running series of over 100 cartoons on the subject of classical music 'Moment Musical' published for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 24 Hours magazine

Reference:
Design Hub http://www.dhub.org/ (accessed July 21, 2008)

PHOTOGRAPHS - PERSONAL
PXD 1044/Items 1-11
1-7. Paris scenes including the Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Arch of Triumph, all taken during Fish's visit to Paris in 1953 when studying poster design. Designer in photograph.
8. Don Fish in his studio on the corner of Phillip Street and Martin Place (building since demolished), approx. 1957, taken by Geoffrey Lee.
9-11. Don Fish portraits, n.d. but later than 1950s

PHOTOGRAPHS - KALEIDOSCOPE
PXD 1044/Items 12-21
12-14. Don Fish, Vicky Fish and Grant Roberts in their shop Kaleidoscope, on the corner of John Street and Moncur Street, Woollahra. The shop opened in the late 1960s and closed in the mid 1980s. They sold objects having visual appeal or which were definitive in design terms
15. Unidentified woman posing inside Kaleidoscope (David Mist photograph)
16. Proof sheet of Kaleidoscope interiors
17. Proof sheet of Don & Vicky Fish working in Lloyd's coffee shop
18-19. Liza Minnelli at Kaleidoscope, which was chosen as one of the venues for her television show when in Australia in the late 1960s
20. Proof sheet - one of the many openings attended by many well known personalities of the era
21. Kaleidoscope interior, colour

PHOTOGRAPHS - ADVERTISEMENTS & GRAPHIC DESIGN SAMPLES
PXD 1044/Items 22-44
22. Radiola - sparkling clarity ... brilliant tone, the maximum in reliability, 1957-8
23. For tone it stands alone ... STC Radio, 1957-8
24. ETA Super Spread margarine
25. Peek Frean's biscuits. So fresh, so good, 1956
26. Resch's Special Export Pilsener ... thirst things first, 1955
27. Don't forget your K.B.! 1955 [beer]
28. Project Public (Commonwealth Bank staff training project)
29. [Pattern]
30. Fancy tin "Buccaneer" (See R 1034b)
31. Fancy tin "Flight" (See R 1034a)
32. [Butterfly patterned tin]
33. Nestle's Distinction milk chocolates box, 1955
34. Nestle's Choc Bits cooking chocolate box, 1955
35. Nestle's Rumba chocolate block wrap, 1955
36. QANTAS advertisement still (David Mist photograph)
37. Young "Pop" magazine proof sheet (girl on couch used on television)
38. TV and print campaign for E.B. magazine, 1960s
39. Sheaf Stout. You can feel it doing you good ...
40. Schweppes Bitter Lemon. Curiously refreshing ...
41. TOTAL [fuel]
42. Fly BOAC to Britain for the changing of the leaves, 1972
43. Kayser Vamp "It" Kit for look again legs
44. Go P&O to Britain via Suez

MOMENT MUSICAL CARTOONS
PXD 1044/Items 45-56
45. Three piano pieces by Debussy
46. Schubert's Unfinished Strudel
47. Audition today. Mozart Horn Concerto
48. Bach's bad-tempered Clavier
49. Untitled [Conductor intimidating double bass player]
50. "We'll start with the Von Suppe, followed by barcarolles in Satie sauce, and finish with an appassionata for me and a Planet's Suite for my friend"
51. "Gotterdammerung!"
52. "I'm thinking of taking piano lessons"
53. "Give him a CD he's not mad about and it's the same thing every time"
54. "It's no good Bixby. Everytime I switch him on, he switches himself off"
55. Untitled [Pianist plays despite hostile cleaning woman]
56. "After all Brother John, 'Sumer is icumen in'"

PORTFOLIO
PXD 1044/Item 57
Album of Country Club mens' shirts advertising campaign sheets (designed and illustrated by Don Fish)


POSTERS & MOUNTS - ADVERTISEMENTS & GRAPHIC DESIGN SAMPLES
PXX 90/Folder 1/Items 58-74
58. Pesticides (for Department of Primary Industry)
59. DPI/Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry logo sample (corporate image)
60a-d. Stuart crystal
61. "Where am I?" cover for children's book written & designed by Fish
62-3. Mould designs for Russet's restaurant
64. Project Public (Commonwealth Bank staff training project)
65. Get the B.F. Goodrich 660 Extra [tyres]
66. TOTAL [fuel]
67. Lufthansa 747
68. Now for a Tooths KB Lager, 1955
69-74. QANTAS

PXX 90/Folder 2/Items 75-98
75-82. QANTAS
83. Lufthansa 747s to Europe City
84. New E.B. Magazine
85. Lysaght Zincalume steel roofing; designed by Don Fish, illustrated by Alan Pucket
86-87. NBN-3 Newcastle
88. Bradford Insulation takes the heat off you
89-90. Ca Va sports & leisure wear
91. Club Med
92. Resch's Special Export Pilsener ... thirst things first, 1955
93. New South Wales ... they flock there for contrasts
94. Jesus Christ Superstar, 1975
95. The Rocky Horror Show, Regent Palace [red]
96. The Rocky Horror Show, Regent Palace [green]
97. Don't forget your K.B., 1955
98. Australiens Fischindustrie; mural for Australian food fair exhibiiton at Koln

PXX 90/Folder 3/Items 99-102 (Outsize folder)
99. So hard to keep your eyes off NBN-3
100. Help Deaf & Blind Children's Centre
101-102. Johnson's baby powder


PHOTOGRAPHIC SLIDES
SLIDES 162
1-3. Green double decker buses featuring Fish designed ads for Band Aids, Tek toothbrushes and Johnson's Baby Powder
4-5. ETA Super Spread margarine
6. Marville margarine
7-8. Peek Frean's biscuits, 1956
9-10. K.B., 1955
11. Resch's Special Export Pilsener, 1955
12. Sheaf Stout
13. AWA Radiola, 1957-8
14. STC Radio, 1957-8
15. National Benzole Mixture [fuel]
16. BOAC, 1972
17. QANTAS
18. Johnson & Johnson Tan Fast suntan oil
19. Johnsons baby powder
20. Nestle's Variety chocolate box
21. Kayser Nova
22. Portrait of Donald Fish, in his studio next to a mural designed by him (corner Bent and Phillip Street)


REALIA
R 1034/Item a
Fancy tin "Flight" originally containing 1 lb. of Nestle's High Class Chocolate Assortment prepared in Australia by Nestle's Food Specialities (Australia) Ltd. Sydney. No. 419, 1957

R 1034/Item b
Fancy tin "Buccaneer" originally containing 1 lb. of Nestle's High Class Chocolate Assortment prepared in Australia by Nestle's Food Specialities (Australia) Ltd. Sydney. No. 437, 1957

R 1034/Item c
Wristwatch, base metal bezel, stainless steel back, assembled in Taiwan with flexible metal mesh strap. Face features Time Magazine design. Engraved on back "With love Julie", 1982.

R 1034/Item d
Matchbox with 15 matches, Jesus Christ Superstar design, 1976


EPHEMERA & PRINTED
MLMSS 7890/Box 1
Stickers, small posters, brochures, leaflets, record covers & other samples of Fish's advertising work including newscuttings and magazine cuttings. Firms and products include QANTAS, Wedgwood, Lufthansa, Club Med, Northwest Airlines, Mersyndol, International Car Travel P/L, Pirelli, Pantene, Australian Quarantine Service, HQ magazine, Coty, ASTA, Butler's Premium Bitter, Schweppes, Art Gallery of NSW, Coty, Roche, Sydney Opera House, Newcastle Brewing Company, BOAC, 2CH, Nestle, Beefeater Gin, Fairey Hydraulics, Suncrush, Time magazine, NBN. Personal award certificates, designs for a gold coin to celebrate Perestroika & Glasnost for Gorbachev, typescript drafts of small essays/articles written by Fish for publication in magazines. Some ephemera and newscuttings related to Kaleidoscope shop.

PUBLICATIONS
MLMSS 7890/Box 2X
Annual reports, industry journals and other publications that refer to Fish's work or in which his work appears. Includes a copy of the book A place called Paddington by Rob Hillier, which features a chapter on Kaleidoscope and a copy of Man's World from 1969 with an article on Kaleidoscope

By format and size

Access via appointment - Applies to R 1034 and SLIDES 162

Copyright status:: In copyright - Life of photographer plus 70 years
Copyright status:: In copyright - Life of artist plus 70 years (drawings)

Photograph captions supplied by Creator

PXX 90/58-102 transferred from PXD 1044/58-102, 21 November 2023

Some posters treated (flattening) by Preservation, May 2009