Catalogue 63 New Century Antiquarian Books Late Spring 2012

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[36] URE SMITH, Sydney and Leon GELLERT (editors). The Home Annual 1932 – 1941 [all published]. Sydney, Art in Australia [later John Fairfax and Sons], 1932 – 1941. Ten issues, large quarto, with illustrations in colour, sepia, and black & white throughout; original pictorial wrappers with light general use but an excellent set. [together with] The Home: An Australian Quarterly. Vol. 3, No. 2 – Vol. 23, No. 3. Comprising issues for June 1922, Sep 1924, Aug 1925, June 1926, Sep 1928, July 1930, Dec 1931, Sep 1933, Sep 1934, Dec 1934, Sep 1935, Nov 1935, May 1937, Aug 1937, Dec 1937, Jan 1938, Jan 1939, May 1939, Aug 1939, Oct 1939, Dec 1939, and Mar 1942. Sydney, Art in Australia [and John Fairfax and Sons], 1922 – 1942. 22 issues, large quarto, with illustrations in colour, sepia, and black & white throughout; original highly decorative pictorial wrappers with general use (some more severe than others) but a very good set. $4400 Uncommon: a rare complete set of The Home Annual, an exceptional record of the outlook and interests of well-to-do Australians in the important ten-year period from the Depression through prosperity to the depths of war. Together with a very good selection of 22 issues over the life of the periodical from 1922 to 1942. “The Home reflects the modern spirit in Australia… [It] is the one authority in Australia in matters of good taste and has come to be recognized as one of the finest journals in the world today. It is in a state of continual warfare with the commonplace and drab. Subscribe now and keep your mind in the mood of the moment and make your home a fit setting for the interesting and brilliant life of this century. A subscriber to The Home can never be old-fashioned or ordinary” * The Home: An Australian Quarterly began publication in February 1920. Published in Sydney by Art in Australia Ltd and originally produced by a team of editors, notably Sydney Ure Smith, Bertram Stevens, and Julia Lister, it was established in an effort to help finance the magazine Art in Australia and other art press projects. Despite early losses, it did eventually provide financial stability for the publisher. One of the most sophisticated and stylish design journals and Australian ‘lifestyle’ publications of the 1920s and 1930s, its audience was predominantly well-off middle-class women. Dedicated to the ‘modern lifestyle’, as lived by the socially fortunate, the magazine documented the
social concerns of the day through feature articles and photography with a focus on travel, home decorating, fashion, cosmetics, cultural events, and other amusements of the independent and ‘modern’ woman. Its excellence in content and printing propelled it into the league of the international magazines that inspired it, such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, distinguishing it from all other Australian publications. Notably, The Home captured the spirit of the inter-war years and promoted women in a modern context, with cover art most commonly giving particular emphasis to the female subject as both poised and intelligent. While similar imagery is seen frequently in contemporary magazines, The Home was a pioneer here in Australia in embracing a social revolution which saw many women striving to become increasingly active and independent. While there is a great diversity of style in the magazine’s graphic cover designs, the very definite feminine framework was reflected in the lavish cover illustrations by Thea Proctor, Hera Roberts, Douglas Annand, Adrian Feint and others, which featured glamorous women living active modern lives. From a more cynical angle, Ure Smith and the others most closely associated with the magazine were proficient advertising professionals who made it their business to know exactly what their audience wanted. Perhaps, the fact that the magazine’s leading lights were not social ‘activists’ or ‘progressives’ but professionals skilled at mirroring their public’s self-perceptions and ambitions might make The Home an even more valuable and valid social document. Recognised for its promotion of graphic art and advertising in Australian magazines, particularly through the influence of its magazine covers, its articles and artwork reflected the dawn of modernism in Australia. Artists and photographers commissioned by Sydney Ure Smith, included Thea Proctor, Margaret Preston, Frank Hinder, Douglas Annand, Hera Roberts, Adrian Feint, Harold Cazneaux (appointed official house photographer in 1920), and Max Dupain. Through these cover designs, articles, advertisements, and photography, one can trace the influence of international art and design movements on Australian practice and on the taste and social aspirations of Australia’s increasingly affluent urban middle class. The Home proclaimed itself to be ‘modern’, which in Australian terms it was, although it ignored movements such as futurism, cubism, and surrealism. But ‘modern’ in inter-war Sydney meant not much more than to be stylish and well-connected. The côterie of cultural élites that gathered
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Page 17 and 18: [17] SOUTER, D.H. and Sidney BEAUMO
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Page 21 and 22: [20] AUSTRAL WIRE FENCE AND GATE Co
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Page 25 and 26: [23] BRITISH GENERAL ELECTRIC Compa
Page 27 and 28: [26] DANKS, John & Sons Pty Ltd. Ca
Page 29 and 30: [28] G.E. FULTON and Co. Illustrate
Page 31 and 32: [29] GRACE Bros. Grace Bros.’ Gen
Page 33 and 34: [31] GEO. P. HARRIS, SCARFE & Co.,
Page 35 and 36: [33] HOMECRAFTS Pty Ltd. Radio and
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Page 41 and 42: [37] ARTHUR J. VEALL Pty Ltd. Veall
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Catalogue 63 New Century Antiquarian Books Late Spring 2012

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