The World - This exclusively licenced reproduction is of the original wall map “The World:
Mercator’s Projection”. Compiled and published by H.E.C. Robinson in Sydney in the 1940´s,
it shows the global political divisions of the time. Price $329. Stockist: www.erstwhile.co
Tell us a little bit about your business
The Idea behind Erstwhile is to reproduce vintage goods
with exquisite care and accuracy, to preserve the beautiful
aged look of wear-and-tear from years of use. At the
moment we publish exclusively licensed reproductions
of mid century wall maps and rare vintage botanical and
zoological wall charts. We are planning on introducing
other products over time where we can apply the same
philosophy.
Tell us about yourself
I am originally from Germany but lived in New Zealand
for a few years where I met my partner Lillie. This was
followed by a stint in the UK, and then Sydney which
we’ve called home for almost 5 years. I have been
working in quite a few different professions so far, I am
a plumber by trade, ventured into furniture design for a
while, worked as photographer, graphic designer and
now at Erstwhile it feels like all comes together. It is
refreshing to actually do something tangible and see a
finished product at the end of the day.
What inspired you to recreate the old maps? I have
been in love with old maps for a very long time. I realised
there are less and less great vintage roll maps available
and if they are available they are quite damaged or not
showing the area you want.
Where do you source your beautiful homewares
products? And what is important to you when
selecting these amazing products?
There are two main avenues for sourcing our artworks.
One would be to hunt out interesting maps or charts in
vintage or antique stores on our travels around the globe.
Usually the artworks have some clues of the publisher
on them so we just follow the bread crumbs to find the
copyright owner and see if we can find an arrangement to
republish the artworks. The second one would be going
to libraries, rolling up our sleeves and trawling through
their archives. We have great relationships with The
British Library, German National Library, Library of NSW
and the Library of the University of Miami.
Can you give us some hot tips for styling and
selecting furniture?
I like to mix and match, but try to keep it to an overall
colour theme. For furniture the same applies, I think its
all in the mix. Perfect if you can find those great vintage
statement pieces and mix with something from Ikea.
Where do you shop for your homewares?
The best shopping is done while traveling, so each
piece has its own story. Unmatched are the European
flea markets I absolutely loved the markets in Prague,
Berlin and Leipzig (my hometown). In Sydney; Doug up
on Bourke, Koskela, Mitchell Road Auctions and Rozelle
Markets are high up our list.