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Dr Amanda Scardamaglia is the Department Chair of the Swinburne Law School. Amanda’s area of research is intellectual property law with a special focus on empirical and historical studies in trade mark law, branding, advertising and the consumer. As guest speaker she gave us a preview of her second book, Charles Troedel: From Stone to Print, which will be published by Melbourne Books in 2019, in collaboration with the State Library of Victoria.
One notes that Charles Troedel a German-born lithographic printer prominent in Melbourne in the late 19th century bears the same surname of HRC member Bill hence the presence of many “Troedels” and friends of at the meeting. Charles was apprenticed to his father at the age 13 and at the age of 24, emigrated to Melbourne in 1860 and was the founder of a printing firm which ultimately evolved to that modern unit with which Bill was involved.
Amanda’s address quickly demonstrated the brilliant and complex artistic aspects of the early lithographic and printing business. To most in the audience it seemed so on viewing early colored posters and obvious acknowledgement that the firm at various times had employees with names such as “Streeton” and “Roberts”. Amanda described the processes involved as shown in the linked video https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/asset/video/2039
Equally interesting was Amanda’s demonstration of how these posters gave an historical picture of society at the time. Focused on advertising some product related to say leisure, fashion, medicine and food for example one saw how times have changed and yet also human behavior has not---many ads were plagiarizing and asserting/implying false facts.
