Studio portrait of African-American musician and actor, Hosea Easton. Melbourne, 1877-78.

Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 101 x 63 mm (mount); recto imprinted ‘T. Noble & Co. Photo. 81 Bourke St. East”; verso imprinted ‘T. Noble & Co. Photographers, Miniature Portrait Painters, 81 Bourke St. East, Melbourne. Enlarged copies from 20/-‘; the print has lost some contrast and is lightly foxed.

A rare studio portrait of banjo virtuoso, singer and actor Hosea Easton (1849-1899), one of the star performers in C. B. Hicks’ African-American minstrel troupe the Original Georgia Minstrels. It was taken in Melbourne in 1877 or 1878 during the company’s first tour of Australia and New Zealand. Easton, who was known as ‘The Prince of Banjoists’, would remain in Australia after the tour and settled in Sydney, where he continued to perform and work as a music teacher. He married an Australian woman, Isabella Young (Fletcher) in 1896, but she died the following year. When Easton himself died only two years later in Newtown, Sydney in 1899, his funeral was overseen by theatre promoter Harry Richards and attended by 2,000 mourners. Easton is buried in the Waverley Cemetery.

The following obituary for Easton appeared in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), on 24 June 1899:

‘DEATH OF A WELL-KNOWN MINSTREL. The death was reported yesterday of Mr. Hosea Easton, the colored player, who has recently been pleasing Tivoli audiences by his remarkably clever banjo solos. Mr. Easton came to this country some years ago as a member of the Hicks’ Minstrel Company, and remained in the colonies. He was an exceptionally talented comedian and a musician who was master of many instruments. Recently he became afflicted with cancer, which ultimately caused his death. Mr. Rickards has generously undertaken the funeral arrangements, for to-morrow, and it is probable that Mr. M’Adoo’s company will assist in performing the final offices for their departed compatriot.’

This portrait of Easton was taken by Timothy Noble, a professional photographer whose studio in Melbourne’s theatre district was frequently patronised by stage performers; in fact, Noble was himself an amateur thespian. Remarkably, along with Noble’s portrait of Easton in character for his role as Uncle Tom, this is one of the very few surviving photographs of him taken in an Australian studio.