Portrait of Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of South Australia, circa 1875.

Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 102 x 60 mm (mount); captioned in the image ‘Sir Anthony Musgrave / Melbourne copy’; verso with the lithographed back mark of ‘C. Niesche, Photographer and Picture Frame Manufacturer, 97 Rundle St., Adelaide’; in good, clean condition; the corners of the mount have been trimmed so the carte could fit into an album window mount.

Sir Anthony Musgrave (1828-1888) served as Governor of South Australia (1873-77) and, after a term as Governor of Jamaica, he was Governor of Queensland from 1883 until his death in 1888.

According to the State Library of South Australia, this studio portrait of Musgrave sporting a spotted tie was taken by Townsend Duryea during Musgrave’s term as Governor of South Australia. This is, however, a copy print of the original, sold by the Adelaide firm of Charles Niesche. The cryptic phrase ‘Melbourne copy’ beneath the caption perhaps indicates that this image was circulated throughout the colonies shortly after Musgrave’s death in Queensland in 1888, to be sold as a commemorative carte de visite by interested picture sellers and photographic studios. Niesche was at 97A Rundle Street from 1875 right up until 1891.