Studio portrait of a man in costume as Mephistopheles. Melbourne, c.1867.

Albumen print photograph with hand colouring, cabinet card format, 163 x 108 mm (mount); recto imprinted ‘A. McDonald, St. George’s Hall’; verso blank; both the print and the mount are in excellent condition.

We believe the sitter is likely to be John Lawrence Hall in stage costume for his role as Mephistopheles in a popular burlesque adaptation of Faust that was staged at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne in June 1867. Hall’s acclaimed performance was noted for its artistic, satiric, and “weirdly grotesque” portrayal of the character. Alexander McDonald’s studio was located in St. George’s Hall on the north side of Bourke Street – right next door to the Theatre Royal – between 1864 and 1869.

An alternative interpretation is that the sitter was perhaps photographed in his choice of costume for a fancy dress ball – possibly the Corporation Fancy Dress Ball that was held in honour of the visiting Duke of Edinburgh at the Old Exhibition Building in William Street, on 23 December 1867.