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Reviews
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Elizabeth on Nov 30, 2020
5 out of 5 starsGreat images! I had a little trouble getting it to print the way I wanted it to because it's a PDF. That is my bad though because I should have to checked to see how old the PDF version I have is .... it's very old.
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hudsonkelly72 on Sep 19, 2020
5 out of 5 starsI really loved all of the images! They were all amazing!
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Cait on Sep 3, 2020
5 out of 5 starsAbsolutely beautiful quality scan, and will come in handy for inspiration in planning out my next sewing adventures. Will definitely be back for more.
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Kayla on Aug 8, 2020
5 out of 5 starsGreat inspiration! Easy to access, I'll most likely be back for more
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trish on Jul 1, 2020
5 out of 5 starsBooks like these always leave me wishing for a more simpler times. Regards Trish Hall
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About LyrebirdVintage
Crazy about vintage sewing
There's something incredible about clothing designs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Stuff you can't really find in clothing or sewing patterns anymore. Pizzazz, uniqueness, creativity, call it what you want, I'm crazy about it.
A few years ago, I started collecting Australian Home Journals, a local magazine produced from the early 1900's that went out of business decades ago, and I recognised that I had found something really special. They were no McCalls, Butterick or Simplicity, they were simply magical.
I have a huge collection of the magazines at home but in my personal opinion, the catalogs are where it's at. I am proud to boast I have one of the largest AHJ catalog collection in the country, with almost every edition from 1941 to 1965 (and I'm not done yet!). These catalogs captured my imagination as a seamstress, with their never-before-seen designs and gorgeous, colourful illustrations evocative of those times.
This shop was a long time in the making, and it took me years to fill my collection to the degree where I'd be happy to start selling their digital reproductions to the world. As rare as they are, I don't think it's fair that only a few people in one country get to see them, so here we are.
That being said, I do have a lot of original sewing patterns, catalogs (not necessarily Home Journal), and sewing or fashion magazines in storage as well that I will be sorting through and selling as well, so keep an eye out for those in the future as LyreBird vintage expands!
Shop members
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Demi Spehar
Owner
G'day from Australia, and welcome to my little shop! As you might have guessed by my name, I have a passion for vintage collectables, especially sewing patterns and magazines from mid-century Australia.
Shop policies
Shipping
Digital downloads
Payment options
Returns & exchanges
I gladly accept returns
I don't accept exchanges or cancellations
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
- Custom or personalized orders
- Perishable products (like food or flowers)
- Digital downloads
- Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)
I accept returns I do not accept returns
I accept exchanges I do not accept exchanges
I accept cancellations I do not accept cancellations
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Privacy policy
More information
Frequently asked questions
I bought two PDFs from you and they share a couple of pages, what gives?
Sometimes, as a cost-saving measure, the publishers would duplicate entire pages from publication to publication (usually not more than 2 or 3, and almost never women's patterns). Generally, this is more common with men's, babies' or children's clothes. If a woman's sewing pattern was very popular and appeared in more than one magazine, they would usually redraw the outfit in a different pose instead of just duplicating entire pages.
How are the pages divided between ladies', men's and children's fashion?
In a typical Australian Home Journal catalog, you'll find that approximately half of all the pages are women's fashion. The remainder are split between teen, children, baby and men. They're usually very uniform (give or take a couple pages) in structure. First half is ladies', latter half is children's fashion (usually with some ladies and men peppered in).
There will always be more ladies' fashion pages than children's.