Photographs - Ethnography

# 15836

RIEMER, Gustav Adolph, 1842-1899

Tagebuchs-Auszug betreffend die Reise S.M.S. “Hertha” nach Ost-Asien und den Sudsee-Inseln, 1874-1877.

A great photographic rarity, Gustav Riemer’s self-published album of original photographs from the voyage of the SMS Hertha to the Far East, the Pacific and Australia includes many important ethnographic images, among them a series of portraits of Aboriginal groups taken at King George Sound, Western Australia in 1877. Teplitz : G. Riemer, 1878. Folio, original embossed …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 15063

KERRY, Charles (1857-1928)

Aboriginal warrior, Bellinger River.

Albumen print photograph, 200 x 150 mm, unmounted; manuscript caption in the negative ‘2017. Aboriginal warrior, Bellinger River. Kerry Photo’; blindstamped lower left ‘Kerry & Co. Photo. 508 Geo. St. Sydney Copyright’; a strong print but extensive foxing. The Bellinger River is located on the mid north coast of New South Wales, between Nambucca Heads …

# 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.

# 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 …

# 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.

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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, …

# 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.

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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, …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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 …

# 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.

# 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 …

# 9339

WEED, C.L.

[CIRCUS HISTORY] Fiji cannibals

Circa 1875. Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 106 x 65 mm, recto of mount with printed caption in lower margin Fiji Cannibals, verso with imprint of C.L. Weed, Photographer, 120 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Mich.; both the albumen print and mount are in good condition.  A commercially produced carte de visite which shows two …