Girl in rabbit costume · 1922

Charmian Bernays in a rabbit costume in front of her family home in Toowoomba, 1922 | src State Library of Queensland

[Detail] Charmian Bernays poses dressed in a rabbit costume in front of her family home in Toowoomba (Queensland), age 8, 1922 | src State Library of Queensland

The White Cat · Ballets Russes

‘The White Cat’ in ‘Le Mariage d’Aurore’ (Aurora’s Wedding), Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 (detail from original photograph) © Australian Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne

In 1936 Australian audiences witnessed firsthand the spectacle of the Ballets Russes, with the arrival of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. This company, lead by Colonel Wassily de Basil, was one of a number of Ballets Russes companies that were formed in the wake of the dissolution of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes following his death in 1929. This first tour concluded in 1937 and was followed by two more tours by de Basil’s Ballets Russes companies, the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 1938-1939 and Original Ballet Russe in 1939-1940.

‘The White Cat’ in ‘Le Mariage d’Aurore’ (Aurora’s Wedding), Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 © Australian Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne

‘The White Cat’ in ‘Le Mariage d’Aurore’, Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 © Australian Performing Arts Collection
Image kindly provided by Arts Centre Melbourne | Wurundjeri Country

Of Platypus and other species

**Henry James Burrell** (1873-1945) ~ Young Platypus, ca. 1914. Glass negative | src Australian museum

**Henry James Burrell** (1873-1945) ~ Young Platypus, ca. 1914. Glass negative | src Australian museum blog

Harry J. Burrell developed an interest in natural history after he settled in Manilla, northern NSW with his wife Susan Emily Naegueli in 1901. As a naturalist, Burrell is most famous for being the first person to successfully keep platypuses in captivity. To do this he invented the ‘platypusary’, a storage tank which enabled him to both study and exhibit live platypuses. The platypusary was used for the first time in 1910 to show live platypuses at the Moore Park Zoo in Sydney. In 1922 he assisted Ellis Stanley Joseph with successfully transporting the first ever live platypus beyond Australian shores. The sole surviving platypus of the original 5 platypuses’ arduous journey died within a few weeks of being exhibited at the Bronx Zoo, New York.

**Henry James Burrell** (1873-1945) ~ Echidna rolled up. Glass negative | src Australian museum

**Henry James Burrell** (1873-1945) ~ Green snake eating a frog. Glass negative | src Australian museum

Davey family photos · 1890s

Davey girls at play on bar. ca. 1894. Photo: F. J. Davey | src Tweed museum on ehive

Nellie Davey, daughter of F. J. Davey, seated in chair, 1896 | src Tweed Regional Museum

Katie Davey, daughter of F. J. Davey, kneeling with cat, 1895 | src Tweed Regional Museum

The pet koala · 1890s

Pet koala owned by the Davey family, Terranora Lakes eating out of a spoon and cup. ca. 1890. Photo: F. J. Davey. | src Tweed Regional Museum

Pet koala (sitting on a chair) owned by the Davey family, ca. 1890. Photo F. J. Davey | src Tweed Regional Museum

Kauffmann · Tall grass

**John Kauffmann** (1864 – 1942) :: *Tall grass on the bank of a river*, Melbourne (?), ca.1910 (?), toned carbon print. | src AGSA

Kauffmann · on flowers

**John Kauffmann** (1864 – 1942) ~ Clematis, Melbourne, Australia, 1930s, gelatin-silver photograph. | Art Gallery of South Australia

**John Kauffmann** (1864 – 1942) ~ Waterlily, Nymphaea Alba, ca. 1930 | src NGA (National gallery of Australia)

**John Kauffmann** (1864 – 1942) ~ Snowflakes, ca. 1930, gelatin-silver photograph. | AGSA ~ Art Gallery of South Australia

Corset Rock by Tilbrook, 1898

**H. H. Tilbrook** (Australia, 1848 – 1937) :: Corset Rock, 1898, Bungaloo Bay, South Australia, gelatin-silver photograph. AGSA Collection

**H.H. Tilbrook** (Australia, 1848 – 1937) :: Corset Rock, Bungaloo Bay, South Australia, 1898; gelatin-silver photograph; in Album of photographs by H.H. Tilbrook. | src AGSA (Art Gallery Soth Australia) Collection

On the edge of the cliff

Photograph of a person on the edge of a cliff in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1900-1940. | src USC Digital Library

Photograph of a person on the edge of a cliff in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1900-1940. A steep and tall cliff can be seen from center towards the right. Trees and boulders are visible on the flat top of the cliff, as well as a person standing at the edge at center. The sides of the cliff are composed of smooth rock, while other canyons and mountains can be seen in the left background.

Photograph of a person on the edge of a cliff in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1900-1940. [detail] From the USC Digital Library

Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library