Caroline Simpson Library
Catalogues of Lost Dreams
House contents have been sold at auction in Sydney for over 200 years. Discover the gossip behind these sales and view auction catalogues
Latest News
Useful and beautiful – new Caroline Simpson Library niche display
The new display in the niche just outside the Caroline Simpson Library gives visitors a chance to see an original Morris & Co chair with an Australian provenance
Carpet Manufacturers Limited
Carpet Manufacturers Limited operated one of the first Australian factories to design, dye and weave high-quality carpets locally
Tour
Copy, Paste, Profit
Discover the dark and tangled tales of Indian design woven through this historic textile collection
Thursday 20 August 3.30pm–4.30pm
![Burdekin House, Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney Mint, Old Sydney 1933-35 / [Thomas J Lawlor, photographer] [photograph album]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mhnsw.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2026%2F06%2F209e4a0ba5c7492a8076056e64557c47.jpg&w=1920&h=600&fit=inside&format=webp)
Featured display
Leaving Only Memories: The loss of Burdekin House
Our current display showcases objects and artworks related to Burdekin House, a grand colonial mansion that once stood on Macquarie Street but was demolished in 1933, a victim of Sydney’s urban development
Tuesday 7 July
Diana Luxton Messara: public interior designer
The Diana Luxton Messara Archive, generously donated by the designer herself, contains drawings, plans, textile designs, photographs, correspondence, publications, sample boards and personal papers spanning more than five decades
Latest News
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.
![J. Ratner & Co. Pty Ltd., furniture manufacturers, Newtown (NSW): Furniture design drawings, photographs, order book, Ratner family architectural plans [archive]](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mhnsw.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2026%2F05%2F450ea4cd8c904a15928a5a867f4ce893.jpg&w=1920&h=600&fit=inside&format=webp)
Original designs for furnishings
Furniture, furnishing textiles, wallpaper, leadlight windows, stained glass and painted decoration designs
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