Swinburne Law School's Associate Professor Amanda Scardamaglia has taken out the 2020 Victorian Premier's History Award for writing the first book that documents the visual history of print advertising in Australia.
Amanda's book focuses on the work of Charles Troedel - the man behind the production of most of Australia's early advertising posters and labels - to tell a story of nineteenth century Melbourne culture and the transformation of Australia's advertising landscape.
"Charles Troedel was an award-winning printer and lithographer (the technique of printing on stone), who brought colour to the lives and homes of Melbournians during the nineteenth century," says Amanda.
As a researcher and lecturer in trade mark law, branding and advertising histories, Amanda's interest in Troedel's catalogue of work was sparked because of the role it played in shaping how print advertising was protected by the law, and the way advertising came to be regulated.
"But I also wanted to make this topic accessible and appeal to a broad readership," says Amanda.
"The images also tell a story about Melbourne, its people, its culture, about its history. It's a story for everyone."
Amanda's vision has come to life in her award-winning book published this year, Printed on Stone: the Lithographs of Charles Troedel.
The intersection of law, technology, art and advertising
Five years ago, Amanda stumbled across an archive of Troedel's lithographs in the State Library of Victoria, and says from that moment she knew the images and the stories behind them needed to be shared.
