Made to order: George Thwaites and sons, colonial cabinet makers

Author: Robert La Nauze
Price: $59.99
Publisher: NewSouth Publishing in association with State Library Victoria
Available to read in the Library

During the three decades that followed the discovery of gold in the 1850s, Melbourne saw the construction of elaborate Gothic Revival public and commercial buildings and mansions built on a grand scale.

Foremost in furnishing these buildings was the cabinet manufactory of Geo Thwaites & Son. This book illuminates the lives of not only the company's owners but the artisans, whose contribution to the fabric of colonial and Victorian society has been largely overlooked.

Made to order provides a fascinating insight into colonial Melbourne and features an extraordinary range of furniture that is testament to the quality of the Thwaites' workmanship.

Robert La Nauze is an exhibiting artist, and has had a distinguished career in research and technology management for the Australian energy and extractive mining industries. He has held senior positions in CSIRO and in industry.

Robert's previous book, Engineer to Marvellous Melbourne (2011), a biography of George Thwaites' grandson, William, was shortlisted for the Victorian Community History Award in 2012.