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Artificial Flowers - Large Wax Spray, circa 1939-1989 Reg. No: SH 910937

Summary:: Large spray of cream-coloured wax flowers. Made or acquired for use by Miss Edith M. Barnett.

Miss Barnett was born in 1905 and lived at 558 Camberwell Road, Camberwell from around 1939. She was apprenticed as a milliner when she was about 16, first at Georgettes and later with Peggy Walsh. For many years Miss Barnett conducted her millinery business from her Camberwell home. She made headdresses for the National Ballet Company for many years, taught millinery at the YWCA and taught craft, especially millinery and the dressing of dolls, through the Country Women's Association (CWA). She also seems to have showed her work: in 1937 a Miss E. M. Barnett won first prize at the Royal Show for a lamp shade; in 1940 she received a Royal Show judges' award for two hand-made paper flowers in 'Art Crafts - Amateurs' section. In the 1930s and 1940s a Miss E.M. Barnett also won several prizes for cookery at the Show.
Description:: Large spray of cream-coloured wax flowers, on long stems of cloth-covered wire. There are wax leaves among the flowers, and some of the leaves have a green-coloured wax dot on them. There are also some round wax shapes representing seeds. The flowers are fastened to six stems, tied together with a piece of satin.
Acquisition Information:: Donation from Miss Edith Barnett, 1989

Discipline:	History
Dimensions:	4.00 cm (Height), 39.00 cm (Width), 17.00 cm (Length)

Tagged with:	trades, handcrafts, commerce, millinery
Themes this item is part of:	Working Life & Trades Collection
Primary Classification:	TRADES
Secondary Classification:	Hat Making & Millinery
Tertiary Classification:	components & trims
User:	Miss Edith Barnett, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia, 1939-1989 Date Miss Barnett thought to have worked as a milliner from her home in Camberwell.