Item #113500 His Majesty's Ministers of State for the Commonwealth of Australia request the honour of the presence of [blank] in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne, on Thursday, 9th May, 1901, to witness the Opening of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. Federation.

[Federation]

His Majesty's Ministers of State for the Commonwealth of Australia request the honour of the presence of [blank] in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne, on Thursday, 9th May, 1901, to witness the Opening of the Parliament of the Commonwealth ...

Melbourne, Sands & McDougall Limited, 1901.

An attractive blank invitation card (310 × 368 mm) featuring a large chromolithographic illustration by cartoonist Tom Carrington. His 'design shows Young Australia, fresh from battle, approaching Britannia for honour and acceptance. Toscin, a radical newspaper, disapproved: "The spirit of blatant jingoism ... has burst out in full vulgar virulence ... It is a clumsy, tawdry picture ... inspired by Kipling's drivel on the Old Queen and the Young Queen''. The original watercolour on which this invitation was based is held in the Wordsworth Collection, Perth' (Museum Victoria). Apart from a few marks to the blank margins and light bumps or blemishes to the edges of the card, it is in excellent condition.