About this Site

The content of this website is based on items in the collection of the State Library of Victoria. Eric Thake had a particular regard for the Library - over many years he systematically donated artworks, photographs, publications, ephemera and personal memorabilia. The Library holds the principal collection of his private papers including correspondence, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks and other writings. It also holds collections of Thake's linocut Christmas cards, bookplates and photographs.

Information about specific items can be found in the checklist, and secondary sources are listed in the bibliography. The various techniques used by Thake to produce his Christmas cards, cover illustrations and bookplates are outlined in the notes on printing techniques.

Acknowledgments

All Eric Thake images and texts are copyright the Estate of Eric Thake. The State Library of Victoria would like to thank the Estate for their kind permission to use Thake copyright material, and for other assistance in the preparation of this website.

The photographs by David Corke of Eric Thake painting the ICI House mural, and of the Eastern Market are copyright David Corke. We are grateful to Mr Corke for his kind permission to use these images.

Text and research

Gerard Hayes has worked in the Australian Manuscripts Collection of the State Library for 15 years. His original degree is in Art History from the University of Melbourne, and he worked in curatorial positions at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Melbourne University Gallery before turning to librarianship. 

 Like others before him, he discovered that the art and personality of Eric Thake's work exerts a quiet but irresistible charm upon the unsuspecting viewer. His original title for the website was How Pleasant to Know Mr Thake. He also wrote and curated the Library's Burke and Wills website Terra Incognita.