The National Library of Australia's archives come to Flickr

✯ Day 289 of Vintage 365 ✯

As many of you know, I spend a massive lot good amount (yes, let's go with that, shall we ) of time on Flickr, often researching  images and topics to use for Chronically Vintage posts, as well as for my own personal vintage inspiration.

Having been doing so for a few years now, I've become quite familiar with many of the large vintage and antique filled photo streams, some of which I've gazed at every last wonderful image in. While I've by no means exhausted Flickr's trove of vintage photos (not by a long shot!), I absolutely adore it when a new account appears that's chocked full of interesting, lovely vintage images.

Towards the end of September, I was delighted to learn that the National Library of Australia had joined Flickr. Official national archives from countries, governments, and institutions (such as universities) can be incredible sources of vintage photos - not to mention fantastic history lessons, too.

Someone (or a team of folks) down under has been busy as beaver lately, because this new stream already boasts hundreds of photographs, many of which hail from the mid-twentieth century.

Covering topics as divers as Russian Ballet (as seen in the beautiful 1930s image below of an elegant ballerina) and rural Australian life, this is definitely a stream that Australians, history buffs, and vintage photo lovers the world over will want to add as a Flickr contact.



Like many national achieves that chose to take up residency on Flickr, these wonderful Australian photos have the added benefit of being part of the public domain, and thus free of copyright restrictions. This means that you can use them freely for everything from your own website to photo pendant jewelry, scrapbooking, cards, artwork - you name it.

I'm not Australian myself (though I have several good friends who live there), but that's no reason not to enjoy pouring through the fascinating array of yesteryear images excellent national achieves like this one have to offer. These photos are so historically important and thoroughly fun to peer at, especially since many of them include brief write-ups that explain the stories behind them.

Now, if I could only talk the National Achieves of every other country around the world into following the Aussie's lead!

Vintage 365: Super cute vintage ballerina photo album

✯ Day 52 of Vintage 365 ✯

As a youngster my bedroom (until we moved houses shortly before my ninth birthday) was decked out with marvellously girly, sweetly adorable ballerina decor. Though, interestingly enough I never actually took ballet lessons (much as I remember wanting to at the time!), my parents decided to adorn my room as if I did, and thus I grew up surrounded my pastel pink, purple and mint green ballerinas (it was the 80s after all!).

Though many years have passed since I last drifting off to sleep counting the dancing teddy bear ballerinas on the wallpaper border in my childhood bedroom, to this day whenever I see a cute ballet related item, I can't help but smile and remember the way my world looked three decades ago. Case in point, this extremely pretty photo album from home decor/beauty product seller Dolce Mia, which features five darling ballerinas on the front, each engaged in her own lovely dance related activity.

Measuring in at nine by nine inches, this terrifically lovely vintage inspired photo album holds up to 200 photos, retails for $33.96, and (if displayed, instead of tucked away on a shelf), would be the perfect ballet decor item for your own daughter's bedroom - or for that matter, your own! (Especially, if like me, you spent many of your early years surrounded by pink ballerinas.)