Trade catalogues
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/2272ad139a7c458096a142e9d331b62c.jpg)
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](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/03/2b5a111375c340a0983398e6abbd9ac3.jpg)
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
![A chair with curved timber arms that bend to become legs with a white abolstered seat.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/staging/b182ed047468cd046d494fcead30b1ff4e663e65-1366x768.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
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
![Showroom of Marion Best Pty Ltd at 153 Queen Street, Woollahra. 1968](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/01/ce7c9dbbbd3644a6948bdd3d31e0b967.jpg)
Marion Hall Best Collection
Marion Hall Best was one of Australia’s most influential 20th-century interior designers, and a founding member of the Society of Interior Designers of Australia. This collection includes papers, plans, photographs, wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings relating to her illustrious career
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/e5d82c62d73b4f65882b73c22eb1a7e9.jpg)
Sydney's home furnishing stores
Sydney's home furnishing stores, 1890-1960
This online exhibition has been inspired by the trade literature from Sydney’s furniture and furnishing retailers, with all the illustrations sourced from the Caroline Simpson Collection