1880 Melbourne Exhibition furniture an auction exhibit
Author: Richard Brewster | Posted: 11th May, 2015
A German bedroom suite made for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition (held at the newly constructed Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton) and subsequently owned by Melbourne’s Lord Mayor will be among a range of quality furniture with interesting provenances at Philips Auctions forthcoming Fine and Decorative Arts sale from noon on Sunday May 17 at 47 Glenferrie Road, Malvern.
The current vendor is unsure whether the furniture belonged to Melbourne’s first Lord Mayor Sir Samuel Gillott or an earlier mayor George Meares who served on the exhibition’s executive – despite having tracked down an exhibition catalogue from the time.
The furniture comprises an armoire, two marble topped bedside cabinets, dressing table, washstand, rosewood china cabinet and grand extension table.
The vendor’s collection also contains a custom made overmantel for a Dr Lowes surgery in the late 19th century.
The second lot of interesting furniture (a sideboard, table and 10 chairs) comes from Lipshut House in Kooyong Road, Toorak.
Built in 1958 for the Lipshut family, the house was designed by Edward Billson and Partners involving two generations of the family – Edward Fielder Billson (1892-1986), the eminent ‘Melbourne Prairie School’ architect and former assistant to Walter Burley Griffin, and his son the newly qualified Ted Billson, who also undertook the house’s structural engineering.
The Lipshut family were deeply involved in Melbourne’s rag trade, with wife Mary a co-founder of knitwear firm Meredith and Philip and at that time also running Elastic Webbing Pty Ltd.
Despite also designing the company premises and the previous family home in St Kilda, Billson did not become involved in the interior furnishings, so Mary engaged leading Melbourne decorator O. Noel Coulson (1905-1993) to furnish every aspect of the house.
One of Melbourne’s busiest and best-known decorators, Coulson catered for wealthy and sophisticated business clientele in Toorak and South Yarra on a scale sufficient to break sales records with suppliers.
