Photographs - Ethnography
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# 15021
LINGWOOD SMITH, William Thomas, 1860-1933
An important archive of photographs of Aboriginal subjects by police photographer W.T. Lingwood Smith, South Australia and Central Australia, circa 1900.
William Thomas Lingwood Smith was a Detective Photographer in the South Australian Police Force from 1888 until his retirement in 1922. As early as 1894 he also pioneered fingerprinting in Australia, becoming an expert in the Criminal Investigation Branch of the South Australian Police Department. The quality of his little-known, non-commercial photographic portraits of indigenous people …
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# 15333
[BREWER & CO.]
Views of Hong Kong : 12 real photographs for your snap-shot album
[Hong Kong] : [Brewer & Co.], [c.1920]. “Series 1.” Twelve silver gelatin photographs, in format 60 x 85 mm, no photographer’s imprint, most with handwritten captions in the negative, versos blank; contained loose within their original printed card mailing envelope, 70 x 90 mm, with a George V Hong Kong four cent postage stamp placed in the …
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# 15695
Photographer unknown.
Gold digger and Aborigine, Port Darwin, September 1875
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 105 x 67 mm, no photographer’s imprint; verso with a contemporary inscription in ink: ‘Costume of the diggers in P.D. All the gentlemen dress just like they do in Melbourne. Mr. Solomon’, and dated in pencil in the same hand ‘September 19th 1875’; the albumen print has lost some contrast …
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# 15746
CAIRE, Nicholas James (1837-1918)
[ABORIGINES] Group of natives, Victoria
Circa 1895. Photographic glass magic lantern slide with hand colouring, 82 x 82 mm, original printed label affixed to one of the paper borders, ‘Group of Natives, Victoria’; in good condition. An exterior portrait of an Aboriginal group in European clothing at Lake Tyers Mission, in far eastern Victoria. The image was taken by the photographer …
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# 15479
DAILY MAIL NEWSPAPER (Staff photographer)
Aborigines watching the arrival of Amy Johnson’s aeroplane at Darwin, May 24 1930.
Press photograph, printing out paper, glossy print, 215 x 165 mm, verso with a Daily Mail (U.K.) journalist’s typed description of the photograph pasted down, accompanied by what are evidently contemporary annotations made by an unidentified American newspaper’s editorial staff, including the word ‘Negroes’, and the newspaper’s date stamp of ‘Jun 21 1930’; the print has a light …
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# 15650
McCOOK, Winifred (1923-2015)
Photograph of a group of Papuan children, inscribed in Tok Pisin
[Highlands Region, Papua New Guinea, c.1965]. Black and white photograph on glossy paper, 75 x 105 mm; verso inscribed in Tok Pisin by one of the boys in the portrait, for the photographer, Australian anthropogist and lawyer Winifred McCook: ‘Mi laikim sampela pato bilong papa na mama na susa brata bilom yu tu. Mi gat lupela …
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# 15035
MÜLLER, Henry (Heinrich) (attributed)
Photographic portraits of a young Aboriginal woman, Toowoomba, 1868-69
Two albumen print photographs in carte de viste format, each 103 x 65 mm (mount); no photographer’s imprint (versos blank); some mild spotting, mostly confined to the peripheries of the prints and the mounts themselves. A pair of superb studio portraits of the same young woman, one a full length portrait of her holding a …
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# 15048
[HOGG, John J., attributed]
Photographic portrait of an Aboriginal youth holding a sword club, Queensland, circa 1895
Albumen print photograph, 150 x mm, unmounted; no photographer’s imprint; some corner creasing at upper right corner, otherwise in good condition. The young subject is holding a sword club from the Queensland rainforest region; the other studio props are a Queensland Gulmari shield and a fighting boomerang. The photographer was possibly John Hogg, who produced …
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# 15038
KERRY, Charles (1857-1928)
“Warryne”. Aboriginal, Yass district, N.S.W.
Albumen print photograph, 200 x 150 mm, unmounted; manuscript caption in the negative ‘1954. “Warryne”. Aboriginal, Yass district, N.S.W. Kerry Photo. Sydney’; blindstamped lower left ‘Kerry & Co. Photo. 508 Geo. St. Sydney Copyright’; a strong print with good tonal range, light foxing and mild creasing at the corners. A compelling portrait by Charles Kerry …
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# 15036
Photographer unknown.
Aboriginal men dressed for ceremony, Central Australia, 1900-1910
Gelatin silver photograph, 88 x 142 mm, manuscript caption in the negative ‘Group of natives at Alice Springs’, verso with contemporary inscription in ink ‘Wild blacks in paints ready for Corroboree, Central Aust.’; mild vertical creases at left and right edges, otherwise very good.
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# 15037
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT PHOTOGRAPHER
Photographic portrait of an Aboriginal elder, Murray River, South Australia, circa 1920
Gelatin silver photograph, 150 x 103 mm, verso with contemporary inscription in pencil ‘River Murray Tribe. Govt. Photog.’; in fine condition (the tiny white scratch in the upper section is in the negative).
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# 14996
HOARE, Susan
Photographic portrait of a young Tahitian woman, Papeete, circa 1875
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 106 x 64 mm (77 x 52 mm oval image); recto of mount imprinted ‘Mrs S. Hoare, Papeete, Tahiti’; in fine condition.
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# 15240
LINGWOOD SMITH, William Thomas (1860-1933)
A group of photographs of Aboriginal subjects by police photographer W.T. Lingwood Smith, South Australia and Central Australia, circa 1900.
Five photographs on early printing out paper, each approximately 100 x 145 mm, unmounted; all are outdoor shots of Aboriginal subjects (four with the photographer’s pencilled caption verso); sourced with a group of Lingwood Smith portrait photographs of South and Central Australian Aborigines in identical format, inscribed in the same hand and bearing contemporary captions in ink ‘South …
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# 15012
WHITE, Samuel Albert (1870-1954)
Photographs of the Everard and Musgrave Ranges Expedition, South Australia, June-September 1914
A highly important record of early European contact with the Yankunytjatjara people. Eight gelatin silver print photographs, each 100 x 127 mm, unmounted; versos with the photographer's pencilled captions and sequence numbers; all of the prints are in fine condition. Although principally an ornithologist, by the early 1900s Adelaide-born Samuel White 'had earned a reputation …
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# 14735
Photographer unknown.
A group of Aborigines in ceremonial decoration, Central Australia, circa 1900
Gelatin silver print, 153 x 104 mm; unmounted; a little wear at top left corner and some very faint creasing, otherwise fine. Two men and a woman pose for the camera, with their dog and a traditional shelter immediately behind them. A white canvas tent belonging to an interloper – most likely the anonymous photographer …
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# 14407
[HOARE, Susan, attributed]
Photographic portrait of a young Tahitian man, circa 1870
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format with arched top edge, 93 x 60 mm, laid down on section of its original nineteenth century album leaf with decorative border in pencil; in good condition.
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# 14408
[HOARE, Susan, attributed]
Photographic portrait of a three young Tahitian women, circa 1870
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format with arched top edge, 93 x 60 mm, laid down on section of its original nineteenth century album leaf with decorative border in pencil; in good condition.
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# 14235
Photographer unknown.
Photographic portraits of native men, Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, circa 1910
Three large format photographic magic lantern glass slides, each 120 x 90 mm, the mounts with paper labels bearing the same contemporary manuscript caption in German Admiralitätsinseln (Admiralty Islands) and the imprint of the Bavarian magic lantern firm Lichtbild-Anstalt G. Bachschmid, Kempten-Allgäu; all three slides are in superb condition. These powerful portrait photographs were taken not …
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# 14236
Photographer unknown.
Photographic portraits of Germans and natives, Neu-Mecklenburg, Bismarck Archipelago, circa 1910
Two large format photographic magic lantern glass slides, each 90 x 120 mm, the mounts with paper labels bearing the same contemporary manuscript caption in German Neu-Mecklenburg (the German name for New Ireland) and the imprint of the Bavarian magic lantern firm Lichtbild-Anstalt G. Bachschmid, Kempten-Allgäu; both slides are in superb condition. These intimate portrait …
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# 14186
GROUP SERIES
[BLACK AMERICANA] Future Rulers of Florida
[U.S.A.] : “Group Series”, [between 1890 and 1900]. Stereoscopic albumen print photograph, 77 x 145 mm, mount 90 x 170 mm, captioned in negative Future Rulers of Florida; the mount imprinted “Group Series”; verso blank; the print is in good condition with slight loss of contrast to the left side; note that the print is …
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# 13724
Photographer unknown.
Photographic portrait of King Tidy, Brisbane, circa 1868
[Title from engraved breastplate worn by the subject]. Albumen print, carte de visite format, 90 x 60 mm, on mount 104 x 65 mm; numeral “9” inscribed in ink in contemporary hand at lower margin recto of mount; verso blank; the albumen print in fine condition with rich tonal range. We can locate only two …
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# 13728
KERRY, Charles, 1857-1928; [MESTON, Archibald, 1851-1924]
Aborigines from Meston’s Wild Australia troupe performing a staged corroboree, Sydney, 1893
Albumen print photograph, 155 x 205 mm, laid down on its original album page, blind stamped lower left Kerry & Co. Photo 308 Geo. St. Sydney; the albumen print is in fine condition. A rare and important image taken on a theatre stage with an elaborately painted backdrop of exotic tropical scenery. The men are part …
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# 13729
COURRET HERMANOS, CALLAO; [DUESBURY, Samuel, attributed]
Group of Aboriginal women and breastfeeding infant, Brisbane, circa 1868
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 90 x 56 mm, mount 103 x 67 mm; recto with red printed border, lower margin with imprint of Courret Hermanos, 36 Calle de la Constitucion, Callao in red, and a contemporary inscription in ink Indians – Eastern Peru and a faint pencilled inscription in the same hand Indios de …
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# 13855
MARQUIS, Daniel
Two studio photographs of Aborigines, Brisbane, late 1860s
Albumen print photographs, carte de visite format, each 101 x 64 mm, versos with imprint of Marquis, Photographer, George Street, Brisbane; both of the albumen prints are in very good condition, the mounts with some pale foxing. Marquis opened his studio at 82 George Street in 1866. These elaborately composed portraits – a tableau of an …
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# 14022
HARDING, William James
Studio portrait of four young Māori women, circa 1867
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 91 x 62 mm, mount 105 x 63 mm, blind stamped W.J. Harding at lower right margin; verso with contemporary inscription 'Group of Maorie Ladies For Mr. J. Allison'; both the albumen print and mount are in very good condition. A fine studio portrait by the early Whanganui photographer, …
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# 13991
Photographer unknown.
Portrait of a Māori with facial tattooing, moko
Circa 1870. Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 78 x 55 mm (image), 104 x 63 mm (mount), no photographer's imprint; verso with early pencilled inscription Paull Haks; both the albumen print and mount are in very good condition. A fine studio portrait of a Māori man with facial tattooing, moko, wearing European clothing.
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# 14021
HARDING, William James; [TAYLOR, Richard, Rev. 1805-1873]
Chair carved by Putiki Māori and presented to Reverend Richard Taylor as a personal gift
[Whanganui : William James Harding, probably between 1860 and 1870]. Albumen print photograph, 205 x 130 mm, on its original nineteenth century album page, contemporary inscription above image '2. Calabash & Maorie chair with arms, box & idol'; the albumen print has lost some contrast, and has a short tear at the lower right edge …
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# 13717
LINDT, J.W. 1845-1926 (attributed)
Flute players, Ambrym, New Hebrides, circa 1890
Silver albumen print, cabinet card format, 105 x 165 mm, inscribed in the negative “No. 59 Ambrym, New Hebrides”; recto of mount embossed in gilt “Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”; verso blank; the albumen print is in fine condition with excellent tonal range. A rare image capturing a performance by …
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# 13453
BAER, Karl Ernst von (1792-1876)
Types principaux des différentes races humaines dans les cinq parties du monde,
modelés sous la direction du Pr. Baer de St. Petersbourg. St. Petersburg : s.n., [1862]. Portfolio, 500 x 330 mm, original embossed boards with title to front, original silk ties, inner front board with early collection inscription in German; containing [12] albumen print photographs, [7] in format 225 x 165 mm, being the complete first …
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# 4923
DAMMANN, Carl; DAMMANN, F.W.
[ABORIGINES] Ethnological photographic gallery of the various races of men
Cover title: Races of mankind. London : Trübner & Co., [1876]. First English edition. Oblong folio, green embossed cloth, upper board with gilt lettering (boards with a little discoloration), silk endpapers, all edges gilt, title page and 24 pages of plates comprised of 167 albumen print photographs mounted recto and verso of 12 leaves of card, …
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# 13061
Photographer unknown.
Wedding portrait of an Aboriginal couple, Koonibba Mission, west coast South Australia, circa 1925
Private [i.e. non-commercial] photograph on Velox paper, 101 x 75 mm; verso with paper adhesions from an old album page, but with the violet wet stamp “Velox” still visible; in fine condition. The plaque on the stone building behind the unidentified couple is the foundation stone of the Lutheran Children's Home, Koonibba, which was opened …
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# 12239
BURTON BROS.
Muster of “labour”, Mango, Fiji.
Albumen print photograph,145 x 195 mm, numbered and captioned in negative 2601. Muster of “labour” – Mango – Fiji, laid down on original board mount with photographer's imprint of Burton, Dunedin at lower right and printed title The Camera in the Coral Islands at lower left; foxing around the edges of the mount (not affecting …
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# 12144
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD (publishers)
Aboriginal men with boomerangs, baskets and spear. Coranderrk, near Healesville, Victoria, circa 1905
Stereoscopic albumen print photograph, each image 80 x 80 mm, mount 87 x 177 mm, recto with printed caption Sons of Australia's aboriginal huntsmen and warriors, with their boomerangs, publishers' sequence numbers and imprint of Underwood & Underwood, Publishers, New York, London etc.; verso with printed information about the Australian Aborigines, including mention that the …
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# 11209
CHASE, H.L., attrib. & WILLIAMS, J.J., attrib.
Group of eleven photographs of Hawaii, 1870-1883
Twelve albumen print photographs mounted recto and verso of [7] pages removed from a nineteenth century travel album, all in format 175 x 235 mm, contemporary captions in French and English in ink beneath each image, the prints attached to the leaves with the original double-sided adhesive tape at each corner, occasional foxing and mild …
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# 11990
BURTON BROS.
Native village – near Suva, Fiji.
Albumen print photograph,150 x 210 mm, numbered and captioned in negative 2522. Native village – near Suva, Fiji, laid down on original board mount with photographer's imprint of Burton, Dunedin at lower right and printed title The Camera in the Coral Islands at lower left, mild foxingaround the edges of mount (not affecting image), otherwise …
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# 11959
ILES, A.J. (Arthur James), 1870-1943
Views and Maori studies of Rotorua, New Zealand’s wonderland
Rotorua, N.Z. : A.J. Iles, photographer, [c.195]. Oblong quarto, original brown card covers, front with lettering in white and pictorial onlay of children performing the “haka for a penny” (contemporary inscription at top corner), original ties, containing [12] leaves, the recto of each with a sepia tone permanent carbonette process photographic print tipped-in, a fine, …
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# 11954
Album of New Zealand views
Wellington, N.Z. : S. & W. Mackay, (Triad Office), n.d. [c.1900]. Oblong octavo, original decorative stiff wrappers and ties, [35] leaves with photographic illustrations printed recto only, including one folding panorama of Wellington, a near fine copy. The views are from all parts of both the North and South Island and include Christchurch, Napier, Whanganui …
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# 11437
McNICOLL'S NEWS AGENCY.
Murray River Aboriginals, Corowa, N.S.W.
Corowa, N.S.W. : McNicoll, [c.1904]. Photogravure process postcard, recto with printed caption and short handwritten message to margin, postally used from Corowa to the U.K., postmarked December 6 1904, with the personal wet stamp of the sender, George Wiburd of Corowa; verso with pale foxing, otherwise in very good condition.
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# 11350
[FRANCOIS, Philippe, 1859-1908] CAIRE, Nicholas; BAYLISS, Charles; KERRY, Charles
[PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM] Australie. Ph. François 1888
Nineteenth century photograph album, oblong folio (270 x 380 mm), original half dark green morocco over green pebbled cloth, the upper board lettered in gilt Australie. Ph. François 1888 and both boards with double gilt rule, spine with raised bands and gilt ornament, marbled endpapers, with [51] albumen print photographs by various Australian commercial photographers …
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# 11405
CAIRE, Nicholas John (1837-1918)
Aborigine at Lake Tyers, Gippsland, Victoria
Circa 1900. Photographic magic lantern glass slide, 82 x 82 mm, with original printed label 21. Male native of Lake Tyres (sic), Victoria; fine condition. This image of a male Aborigine in Western clothing, posing with a boomerang and hunting spear in front of a mia-mia, was one of a series taken by Nicholas Caire …
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# 11430
STAR PHOTO CO.
Aboriginal, N.S.W.
[Sydney] : Star Photo. Co., [circa 1904]. Photogravure process postcard, 136 x 89 mm, contemporary annotation to front 'Sydney 4/12/04', postally used and postmarked December 5 1904; in fine condition. The images published by the Star Photo. Co. in its series of postcards of Aboriginal subjects are the epitome of Australian racist kitsch of the …
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# 10939
HOOD, John 1839-1924
Photographic portrait of an Aboriginal boy, Adelaide, circa 1880
Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 104 x 62 mm, recto with imprint of 'John Hood. Glenelg'; verso with contemporary inscription in ink Native Boy; the albumen print with a few light marks to the margins, otherwise both the print and mount are in very good condition.
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# 5972
Photographer unknown.
[TORRES STRAIT] Muralag man, Prince of Wales Island
Circa 1900. Photographic glass magic lantern slide, 82 x 100 mm, no photographer’s imprint, remnants of a contemporary label inscribed ‘Warrior, Prince of Wales [Island] Pacific costume’; in fine condition. The subject wears a headdress of the type known as dari, and poses with his bow and arrow – a weapon used in Melanesian cultures but …
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# 8520
Photographer unknown.
[ABORIGINES] Blacks Camp at Sandgate, circa 1900
Two photographic glass magic lantern slides, each 80 x 80 mm, contemporary handwritten captions to the mounts: 'Blacks Camp. Sandgate 1.' and 'Blacks Camp. Sandgate 2.'; the slides are in fine condition. These important images show members of the Aboriginal community at Cabbage Tree Creek, Sandgate, Brisbane, around the turn of last century.
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# 6346
Photographer unknown.
[TORRES STRAIT] Men dressed for ceremony, Thursday Island, circa 1920
Gelatin silver photograph printed on card stock, 90 x 140 mm, recto with contemporary pencilled inscription to lower margin 'Thursday Is.', verso printed 'Post Card', no written message, fine condition. A scarce private photograph taken by an anonymous photographer showing a group of Torres Strait Islander men dressed for ceremony, all wearing the traditional headdress …
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# 10337
Photographer unknown.
Group of men, Waria River, southeast New Guinea, circa 1920
Gelatin silver print photograph, 80 x 115 mm, verso with contemporary pencilled inscription in German 'N.G. 8 Leute von Waria'; fine. The source of the Waria River, which flows through Oro and Morobe provinces, was discovered in 1910 by the Australian anthropologist Ernest Chinnery. This group portrait of 24 men – most likely Zia speakers …
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# 10401
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, LONDON; AUSTRALIA. DEPT. OF INFORMATION]
An albino Trobriand Islander, Papua New Guinea
London : Associated Press, [1948?]. Press photograph, black and white print on glossy printing out paper, 150 x 205 mm, verso with typed label: 'Contrast : An albino sits with dark skinned fellow natives at a milamala feast in the Trobriand archipelago, coral islands 100 miles east of the New Guinea mainland. Fellow villagers take …
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# 8111
Photographer unknown.
[NEW CALEDONIA] Kanak woman holding her child
Circa 1911. Photographic glass magic lantern slde with hand colouring, 82 x 102 mm, the mount with a contemporary manuscript label '916/11'; a short crack to the lower corner of one of the sheets of covering glass, not affecting the image; otherwise in fine condition.
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# 8055
KING, Henry (1855-1900); [ANDREW, Thomas]
King Mata’afa of Samoa.
Circa 1890. Photographic glass magic lantern slide, 82 x 82 mm, contemporary manuscript inscriptions to the mount, 'Samoan Chief' / 'H. King Sydney', in very good condition. A fine portrait of the Samoan paramount chief, Mata'afa Iosefa (1832-1912). Although this image was sold commercially by the Sydney photographer Henry King, it was in fact taken …
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# 8026
Photographer unknown.
Photographic portrait of a Maori woman, Mina Maukaki, wearing a flax cloak
Circa 1880. Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 90 x 58 mm, on plain card mount without photographer's imprint, recto with contemporary inscription to lower margin Mina Maukaki; the print with some slight fading along the right edge, otherwise fine and with very good detail, the mount clean.
