Curio

State Library of New South Wales
J.H. Osborne, painter & signwriter, Gulgong

J.H. Osborne, painter & signwriter, Gulgong

1872
Glass photonegative

JH Osborne, painter and signwriter of Gulgong, also supplied decorative wallpaper. It seems he painted faux marble headstones as well. Osborne’s bark-clad establishment was located at 2 Medley Street, at the sparsely populated northern end of town, which explains the conspicuous display of his sign-writing skill.

From Anthony Trollope, Australia and New Zealand, Vol 1

“Gullgong was certainly a rough place when I visited it, but not quite so rough as I had expected... The fronts of the shops were covered with large advertisements—the names and praises of the traders—as is customary now with all new-fangled marts; but the place looked more like a fair than a town...” [Anthony Trollope, Australia and New Zealand, Vol 1, p67]