Caroline Simpson Library

Illustration The dining room Mrs Loftie

19th Century Domestic Advice Manuals

The role of the domestic advice manual was to educate and provide guidance and information

Barry Little in white suit leading a group from the Society of Interior Designers of Australia on a visit to the Philippines

A Little archive that tells a big story

The recent donation of an archive of material related to the career of interior designer Barry Little enriches our understanding of Australian design and style in the second half of the 20th century

Hand painted title showing the middle section of reclining figure in landscape

A global design story

Their original owner and use remain a mystery, but these striking tiles hold an intriguing connection to a significant international design story

Book plate dated 1809
25 October, 2pm
Tour

A matter of taste

Explore 250 years of discussion about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste in the home in this tour of rare book treasures

A window to the past

The private collection of photographer Alan Spearman Evans reveals an exceptional photographic record of an average middle-class couple celebrating their life in suburban Sydney in the early to mid 20th century

Light fittings

A world of designs

Trade catalogues, published to illustrate the products for sale from a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, reveal the surprising wealth of choice available to Australian consumers in the 19th century

Sylvia Evans reading in her bedroom at Alwyn, Arncliffe, around 1927 / Alan Evans

Alan Spearman Evans Collection

The Alan Spearman Evans Collection comprises over 2000 photographic images of houses, house interiors, garden landscapes and industrial workplaces in NSW

A chair with curved timber arms that bend to become legs with a white abolstered seat.

An extraordinary collection

The Caroline Simpson Collection has become Australia’s leading source of information on the history of houses, interiors, furnishings, gardens and domestic life