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McLean Brothers & Rigg Ltd., later Angus and Robertsons, 107-113 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
McLean Brothers & Rigg Ltd., later Angus and Robertsons, 107-113 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Butler, Graeme (Name details)
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 111206
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2024:__________________________________________________DATE: 1889;ASSOCIATIONS: Robertson, George;DESIGNER: D Ebro, Charles;BUILDER: Cockram, Thomas & Co.Period: Victorian______________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryIronmongers, McLean Brothers and Rigg, occupied George Robertson's warehouse on this site together with Wills and Company's adjoining, both before and after the erection of what was described as `shops and offices' in 1888-1889. That section, reputedly built by Robertson around 1860, had been half the present building's height and width.Architect, Charles D'Ebro, the author of the former George and George facade, Collins Street also designed these extensions; Thomas Cockram and Co. being the contractors and the nominal clients, McLean Brothers and Rigg Ltd.This firm had commenced with `comparatively little capital' in 1872, but had issued shares worth one million pounds, barely 15 years later, when it became a public company. Adelaide and Sydney branches existed by 1884 and, together with Melbourne, they held stock worth near half a million pounds. Referring to their premises as `too circumscribed' in 1888, they were then in the process of... `extending them by additions in course of erection next door and when completed this year the emporium will be second to none in Victoria...' Their store and iron yard lay in Bourke Street West (now Hudson's Stores).The ground floor held cutlery, brush and tinware together with builders' and contractors' tools and heavy ironmongery; one section was especially devoted to the celebrated Davis sewing machines. Plate ware, vases, `American sample chairs' and a... `special line of opera chairs' which the firm had invented for use in the Bijou and Royal Theatres, were all in the first floor showroom. Many mangling machines, travelling trunks, multitudinus mantel-pieces and `cooking utensils of all kinds'... were on the floor above.George Robertson's book-selling business eventually occupied the building around 1910 and, later, as Angus & Robertson. Prior to this, in the 1890s, he sold books wholesale and retail, published, provided stationery, sold rulers and account books. He bound books and did lithography. His warehouse was 305-307 Flinders Lane, his factory in McKillop Street and his branches in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane by 1900. More recently the firm had a nominal declared capital of over two and a half million dollars and a Sydney head office.DescriptionD'Ebro's design is similar to his contemporary former George and George's facade, Collins Street (qv) and the Edwardian Brook's Building to the south (qv). Designed generally after the Italian Renaissance, the facade's cement mouldings differentiate each storey's fenestration as does the diminishing height of each window. English Queen Anne, D'Ebro's forte, is also expressed by the pedimented openings, particularly the scrolled pediments at the second upper level. A foliated pediment, centred on an attic level, is secondary to a raised, arched entablature (with shell), above it. Balustrading stretches from here to pedimented piers at the sides of the parapet.Given the relatively unaltered facade the design compares favourably with D'Ebro's other more acknowledged design of George and George's.External IntegrityThe ground level has been re-built and a canopy added. Minor alterations have been made to openings and air units added.StreetscapeRelates to the scale, siting, period ornament and the range of finishes in the adjoining streetscape.SignificanceFor some 80 years associated directly with the growth of a prominent book selling firm and, prior to that, indirectly by ownership. Also built for the important hardware merchant McLean Brothers and Rigg, as lessor and successfully designed by one of Melbourne's more innovative commercial architects in the uncommon English Queen Anne revival style.__________________
Related material link:
107-113 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (Butler13628\\)97-99, 101-103, 105, 107-113 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (Butler13704\\)
Names:
City of MelbourneD'Ebro, Charles Abraham, 1850-1920
Topics:
Central Activities District Conservation Study 1985Conservation studiesMid-late Victorian period (1875-1900)OfficesRetail tradeBookshopsNotable Building Citations (Melbourne Planning Scheme)1880-1889
Places:
Melbourne (Vic.)
Form/Genre:
Building Identification Forms (BIFs)
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1266786
Bookmark link:
https://librarysearch.melbourne.vic.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/OPAC/ARCENQ?SETLVL=&RNI=1266786
TypeReference No.ExtentStatus/Desc
Original1112061 PDF : 1,238 KB ; A4Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced)
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