Sunday, August 23, 2015

All Hail Lord Carrington!

Illuminated Appreciation Albums


From 1885 to 1890 Lord Carrington was a popular Governor of NSW. He and his wife were held in such high regard by the people of NSW that a grand series of presentation albums was created by various community associations and districts to honour their service and bid them farewell when they returned to England at the end of their tenure. The Carrington Albums, as they have come to be known, were sent back to Australia in recent years by a Buckinghamshire (UK) library that housed the series on behalf of Lord Carrington's descendants. NSW State Records has digitised and placed online a number of the illuminated albums. The pages seen below come from volume 14 (they were the largest images from the available albums).
"This ‘most auspicious’ appointment [of Lord Carrington] attracted much ceremony in NSW and as a consequence saw the creation of highly decorative illuminated addresses and photograph albums to be officially presented to he Governor. During his time as Governor of NSW it was said Lord Carrington, aided by his wife, re-established the opulence of Government House and the grandeur of the office of Governor.

Upon conclusion of his time as Governor, Sydney gave Lord and Lady Carrington an unprecedented farewell, with thousands lining the streets and showering their carriage with flowers. In a parting speech, Carrington declared they were 'guests who found their welcome at once an adoption, and whose farewell leaves half their hearts behind’."
The illuminated addresses were produced by watercolour artists from at least one Sydney publishing firm, John Sands Ltd^. There is a definite attempt to decorate the locality-based addresses with flora associated with the particular district, but enough poetic license taken at times that we can conclude that natural history accuracy was not as important in the creative process as aesthetic qualities. Consequently, there are said to be some 'imaginary' plants visible among the known natives.


Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - a



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - b



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - c



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - d



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - e



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - f



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - g



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - h



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - i



Carrington presentation album Vol 14 - j



3 comments :

Unknown said...

The typography is stunning!

Unknown said...

These images are absolutely beautiful!!! We have a book similar to this at my library that we call "The Frackelton" after the artist who illuminated it:

http://mpl.org/hours_locations/arts_media/rare_books_room.php
(third from bottom)

Our book was also made in tribute and my colleague and I are now wondering if this was the norm back then? Also, the typography in the Carrington Albums reminds me of "gaslight style":

http://www.sheaff-ephemera.com/list/gaslight_style.html

Cheryl Ann said...

These are absolutely beautiful!

Post a Comment

Comments are all moderated so don't waste your time spamming: they will never show up.

If you include ANY links that aren't pertinent to the blog post or discussion they will be deleted and a rash will break out in your underwear.

Also: please play the ball and not the person.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

 
Creative Commons License