Australian artworks in Louise Hanson-Dyer's visitors' book

Louise Hanson-Dyer's opulent Visitors' Book is a feature of the Editions de l'Oiseau-Lyre archive (EOLA VISI). It was handmade in Sydney in 1926 by Walter Taylor to a moroccan-influenced design. The leather cover features four inlaid turquoises and gold blocking and there is an intricate gold for-edge. The endpapers are covered with silk. Scattered throughout are nine artworks by well-know Australian and expatriate artists. The autographs within the book document those who attended many (though not all) of the social events Louse Hanson-Dyer organised, mostly those that took place in Paris. Some are straightforward signatures, giving a good sense of her social circle: musicians and artists feature heavily. Some of the autographs include a few bars of music, or, in James Joyce's case, verses from one his poems. Max Ernst chooses a fresh page and his small signature appears alone. The Visitors' Book is a remarkable research tool as well as a beautiful item to display.

The binding was conserved at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation by Peter Mitchelson in 2017-- the image shows some of the damage before it was restored. The following year Reetika Khanna prepared an online exhibit of these artworks while she was a University of Melbourne student intern. Her online exhibit includes a reproduction of each artwork, with a commentary on each.

Jen Hill
Curator, Rare Music Collection, Archives and Special Collections
University of Melbourne