The Powerhouse acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the ancestral homelands upon which our museums are situated. We respect their Elders, past, present and future and recognise their continuous connection to Country.
97/132/1 Book, alphabet, hand-drawn, hand-coloured, paper / textile, made by William Harrison, Australia, 1894, used by Maggie Harrison, Twerton on Avon, Bath, England, 1894. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 3, 97/132/1 Book, alphabet, hand-drawn, hand-coloured, paper / textile, made by William Harrison, Australia, 1894, used by Maggie Harrison, Twerton on Avon, Bath, England, 1894. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 3, 97/132/1 Book, alphabet, hand-drawn, hand-coloured, paper / textile, made by William Harrison, Australia, 1894, used by Maggie Harrison, Twerton on Avon, Bath, England, 1894. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 3, 97/132/1 Book, alphabet, hand-drawn, hand-coloured, paper / textile, made by William Harrison, Australia, 1894, used by Maggie Harrison, Twerton on Avon, Bath, England, 1894. Click to enlarge

Maggie's ABC book

Made
This hand-drawn children's alphabet book features delightful pen, ink and water colour drawings and was made in 1894 by 30-year-old William Harrison. (William went on to be an Art Director and later Advertising Manager for the Australian firm of Wunderlich, famous makers of terracotta roof tiles and stamped metal ceilings).

The ABC book was made for Harrison's young niece, Maggie Harrison, who lived near Bath in England. It includes a clever combination of British and Australian images such …

Summary

Object No.

97/132/1

Object Statement

Book, alphabet, hand-drawn, hand-coloured, paper / textile, made by William Harrison, Australia, 1894, used by Maggie Harrison, Twerton on Avon, Bath, England, 1894

Physical Description

This hand-drawn and hand-coloured children's alphabet features pen and ink and water colour drawings. The book is cloth bound with the inscription on the cover : ABC Maggie Harrison 1894. Inside front cover is inscription : Miss Maggie Harrison Argyle Terrace Twerton on Avon England Bath. On facing page is globe showing England at top and Australia at bottom with ribbon with inscription : Maggie from Uncle Will 1894. British and Australian coat of arms have been drawn at opposite corners. The title page has inscription : Maggie's ABC.

Inside each page has a hand-drawn and coloured letter of the alphabet with accompanying illustration. Thus A : Apple, Ant, Australia has drawing of apple orchard and apples with tiny ants in the foreground. Australian/British themes are preserved throughout. After the alphabet comes a clock surrounded by examples of colours, numbers from 1 to 12, the alphabet in upper case, the alphabet in lower case, the months of the year and directions on a compass and finally 'Evening Prayer'. The last page illustrates a collection of children's toys including Noah's Ark, a boat and sailor doll, ball and doll.

Marks

Inscriptions, front cover, top left, hand printed black ink "ABC", front cover, bottom right, hand printed black ink "Maggie Harrison/1894", inside front cover, top left, hand printed black ink "Miss Maggie Harrison/Argyle Terrace/TWERTON on AVON/ENGLAND, BATH".

Short URL

https://ma.as/155534

Dimensions

Height

102 mm

Width

155 mm

Depth

10 mm

Production

Made

Notes

The alphabet book was drawn by William Harrison (1864-1923) when he was 30 years of age for his English niece, Maggie Harrison, of Twerton on Avon, near Bath, in the County of Avon. William Harrison was born in England in about 1864 and arrived in Australia as a young man. He began his working career with the Melbourne furniture supplier, W H Rocke & Co Ltd of 247-249 Collins Street. In 1889 the Wunderlich brothers had sold their patent rights for pressed metal ceilings to this firm only to purchase it back again in 1893. The company merged with Wunderlich in 1908 and became Wunderlich Ltd. By 1904 Harrison had been transferred to Sydney with Wunderlich. He spent the rest of his working life with the firm and rose to become an Art Director and later Advertising Manager before he died in 1923 at the age of 59 years.

History

Notes

This alphabet book was made by 30-year-old William Harrison for his niece Maggie, the daughter of his older brother, Frank Harrison, who was then living near Bath, England. Maggie came out to Australia but returned to England as a young woman and died there of influenza. Maggie's sister, Kathleen, moved to Australia and brought the book with her. When she was in her 50s or 60s Kathleen gave the book to her cousin Helena Harrison, William Harrison's daugher, who treasured and kept it. The book was presented to the Museum in 1997 by Helena Harrison of Mont Albert, Victoria.

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Miss Helena Harrison, 1997

Acquisition Date

11 May 1997

Cite this Object

Harvard

Maggie's ABC book 2022, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 4 February 2023, <https://ma.as/155534>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/155534 |title=Maggie's ABC book |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=4 February 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

We want to hear from you

I know more about this object   I have a question about this object   
Creative Commons Licence

Copyright for the above image is held by MAAS and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please contact MAAS Rights and Permissions for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives licence

  Submit an image license enquiry.