Author: Asa Letourneau
Online Engagement Officer
The Times They Are a-Changin'
In 1964, Bob Dylan belted out a track that was to capture the world’s imagination like so many more to follow. Since the first prehistoric human watched the first sunrise, we have been keeping track of the days as they pass and recording our collective journey, marking off the days to give meaning to this thing we call life. So the humble calendar has come to hold a pivotal place in our lives. Leading up to Christmas after a trying year counting off days extraordinarily closely we offer you a gift from the archives; a PROV calendar we hope will bring some joy to your days. We also take a look back at some of the calendars in our collection:
Style isn’t timeless
While fashion may be timeless, think the little black dress, calendar design and styles are by no means static objects. As you will see from the sample below from the archives, these calendars closely reflect the culture and style of the day. The first few come from the incredibly rich State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202. You can read more about this fascinating series here.
So join us as we revisit a bunch of calendars ranging from the picturesque 1880s to the utilitarian pocket calendars of the 1890s all the way up to the decidedly twee and garish 1980s culminating in 90s minimalism.
SBV 1886 Calendar Front View
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1886 Calendar Back View
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1891 Calendar Pocket Front View
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1891 Calendar Middle Pages View
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1891 Calendar Pocket Back View
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1986 Calendar
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1987 Calendar
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1988 Calendar
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1989 Calendar
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
SBV 1990 Calendar
State Bank Archives - Ephemera Collection VPRS 8936/P1, Units 201 & 202
But wait there’s more!
We end our journey around the sun and moon with a final calendar from the archives. This time from the indisputably significant series VPRS 12903 Photographic Negatives: Railways: Box Systems in which so many of our treasured photographs reside.
VICTORIAN RAILWAYS CALENDAR 1900 B/W RAILWAY
VPRS 12903 Photographic Negatives Railways Box Systems 684_45
This final example constitutes a surprising combination of quality draughtsmanship and outrageously dense data.
The 2021 PROV calendar
Download and print your 2021 calendar here.
Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting
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