Bruny NORTH presents the extraordinary story of one collector’s nine-year search for Tasmania

A remarkable collection of more than 150 Tasmanian maps, globes and objects assembled by Melbourne collector and dealer Philip Graham will be presented in MAP TAS at bruny NORTH – 18 Bruny Island Main Rd, Dennes Point.

It began with a map in a shed.

In the first week after Melbourne collector and decorative arts dealer Philip Graham and his partner bought a house on Bruny Island, Graham remarked that they needed a beautiful map of Tasmania for the house.

Later that same day, while exploring one of the property’s sheds, he noticed a large rolled-up object that appeared to be a blind.

It was, in fact, an approximately 80-year-old map of Tasmania, measuring around five feet by three feet.

Graham hung it beside the fireplace in the house’s winter room.

Nine years later, that single discovery has grown into a collection of more than 150 maps and related objects.

Now, under the title MAP TAS, Graham is releasing the majority of the collection to new custodians.

“I never set out to collect 150 maps. I don’t think I ever really set out to collect maps at all. I simply kept finding them.”

The collection has been assembled over nine years from antique shops, dealers and fellow collectors in Tasmania and Victoria.

Among the finds was a group of maps discovered in the drawers of an antique centre in Launceston. Another significant group came from a Victorian collector whom Graham met through a mutual friend — a man who had himself been collecting maps for most of his life.

Together, the pieces reveal a fascinating visual history of Tasmania: how the island has been mapped, represented and understood across different periods.

But MAP TAS is not simply an exhibition of maps.

As the collection developed, Graham became increasingly interested in the way Tasmania’s distinctive shape appears beyond cartography – embedded in decorative objects and other unexpected forms.

The exhibition therefore extends from maps into objects that contain, depict or reference Tasmania, accompanied by a selection of world globes.

The globes provide a counterpoint to the maps: Tasmania viewed not in isolation, but as part of a much larger world.

For Graham, this expansion reflects the instinctive way in which collecting happens.

“One object leads to another,” he says.

“I am a collector first. Once I come across something I really like, it often inspires me to expand upon it and begin collecting other examples of the same object.”

THE OBJECT FINDS YOU

Graham’s career as a dealer began in Melbourne in the mid-1990s.

In 1997 he opened The White Elephant in St Kilda, specialising in second-hand furniture, objects and lighting, with a particular focus on twentieth-century design.

At the time, Melbourne had only a small number of shops specialising in twentieth-century design, and this was before the internet transformed the way collectors discovered objects and dealers reached audiences.

The White Elephant developed a reputation as a destination for design and decorative arts, receiving coverage in The Age and various magazines. Among the material Graham has retained from that period is a 2001 article titled The Cool Hunter.

In 2004 he opened Tarlo & Graham in Windsor with William Tarlo. A second shop followed on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy.

For fourteen years, Tarlo & Graham became known for its highly curated and eclectic combination of furniture, objects and design drawn from different periods and movements.

Following the closure of Tarlo & Graham, Graham returned to private dealing from his Melbourne home, working directly with clients and collectors.

The story of MAP TAS, however, is less about the dealer than the collector.

Because collecting, for Graham, has always been about curiosity.

About the thrill of the unexpected find.

About following one object towards another.

And about accepting that eventually even the collector has to let go.

“I never intended to sell them,” Graham says.

“Yet now the collection is quite vast, I have decided to let most of them go. Keeping a few favourites to live with for a little longer.”

There is a final irony to the story.

The collection began with an object Graham discovered by chance.

But Graham doesn’t believe it was luck.

“Luck has nothing to do with it, if the truth be known.”

“The object finds you.”

After nine years, the maps are ready to find someone else.

ABOUT MAP TAS

MAP TAS presents a collection of more than 150 maps of Tasmania alongside globes and other objects incorporating the shape and idea of Tasmania.

Assembled over nine years by Melbourne collector and decorative arts dealer Philip Graham, the collection brings together objects discovered through antique shops, dealers and fellow collectors across Tasmania and Victoria.

The collection will be offered largely to new custodians, with Graham retaining a small number of personal favourites.

ABOUT PHILIP GRAHAM

Philip Graham is a Melbourne-based decorative arts dealer and lifelong collector. He began dealing professionally in the mid-1990s and opened The White Elephant in St Kilda in 1997.

In 2004 he established Tarlo & Graham with William Tarlo, subsequently opening a second location in Fitzroy. The business became known for its eclectic and highly curated approach to twentieth-century design and decorative arts.

Today Graham deals privately from Melbourne, working directly with clients and collectors. He lives between Tasmania and Victoria.

Instagram: Philip Graham Home @philip.graham.home
bruny NORTH: @brunynorth

Location: bruny NORTH, 18 Bruny Island Main Rd, Dennes Point, Bruny Island

Dates: 2nd October – 15th November 2026