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The Early Photographers of TOOWOOMBA, Queensland |
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Site created 18 May 2000/last updated 27 October 2008
© Marcel Safier, 2001-2008 |
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| Index of Photographers and Studios listed on this site: | Photography did not arrive in Toowoomba until some years after it had arrived in Brisbane. The one time proposed capital of Queensland was the commercial hub of the Darling Downs and it supported the farming community of the Downs and beyond but its relatively small population made it unprofitable for anyone but travelling photographers to offer their services initially. James Elsbee and William T. Bennett are the first recorded photographers to have visited the town in 1857 followed the next year by Edwin Brissenden. Their work would mainly have been portraiture in the ambrotype format although Brissenden was still offering daguerreotypes which had mostly been superseded by the ambrotype by that time. Bennett appears also to have taken landscape prints on paper (calotypes). Scotsman Robert McClelland visited the town in 1859. Thomas Mathewson, also Scottish born, whose family had settled in Toowoomba visited the town during his extensive travels as an itinerant photographer from the mid-1860s as did George Massingham but it was German emigrant Henry Muller who opened the first studio in 1868 offering carte de visite portraits but it is not known how long he remained in business. Andrew Chandler, a former partner of Albert Lomer in Sydney visited the Downs as a travelling photographer between 1869 and 1870 and he established a studio for a while in Dalby in 1870 and another in Toowoomba in partnership with Matthews some time during the 1870s. No doubt other travelling photographers serviced the area but it was not until 1874 that a long term resident photographer Martin Roggencamp set up in Toowoomba, having previously had a small operation and a hotel in Allora. His brother Christopher similarly set up a studio in Warwick. Roggencamp offered portraits in the carte de visite and later in the cabinet style. Massingham set up a studio in opposition from 1874, as did Horace A. Taylor in 1876, Metcalfe and Glaister in 1877, James Bain in 1879, George Tissington in 1880 and M. Cowie in 1882. James Bain was the second person to establish a long running studio in Toowoomba. Emil Müller was the third opening his facility in 1885 and offering quality cartes, cabinet photos and enlargements including opalotypes (these bear the initials E.M. on the lower right corner). The Elite studio operated by several owners/partners, namely Otto Friedricks, Albert Mouland and John Platt opened in 1888 and ran until 1902. Walter Perroux formerly of Mackay established a studio in Toowoomba in 1895. Albert Mouland married the sister of James Bain and they worked together from 1896. Some forty years after photography was first practiced in the town Toowoomba was supporting four studios by the turn of the century. (to be continued....) | |
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Berniece Agar
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Thomas
Mathewson
Metcalfe & Glaister Thomas Mills Albert Henry Mouland A. Morris Emil Müller Henry Muller Francis Perroux Walter Eustace Perroux J. R. Platt Rembrandt Photo Studio Walter Rodway W. R. Rogers Martin Roggenkamp William T. Schaefer & William John Deazeley William T. Schaefer Henry Stephens Stephen's Studio Horace A. Taylor George A. Tissington Toowoomba Studio Trilby Studio W. H. Turner William George Tutt H. Watts Watts Studios Frederick G. Wills William Wood |
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| EARLY PHOTOGRAPHERS/STUDIOS | |||
| STUDIO/PHOTOGRAPHERS NAME | ADDRESS OF OPERATION | DATES ACTIVE | NOTES |
| James Elsbee | traveling photographer | 1857 | Itinerant photographer who spent
four months in Ipswich before advertising he was heading for Drayton, Warwick
and Dalby.
probably ambrotypes |
| William True Bennett | traveling photographer | 1857 | A native of Michigan, USA, Bennett
worked in Brisbane from 1857 with visits to the Darling Downs, Ipswich
and the north for 20 months taking some portraits but mostly landscapes
for the Illustrated London Times and the London International Exhibition.
First to offer melainotypes (tintypes) in Queensland. Ran a studio in Queen
St, Brisbane and also the American Photographic Company in Maryborough.
Formed partnership with Daniel Metcalfe after the death of Metcalfe's other
partner, his half-brother Thomas Skelton Glaister.
probably ambrotypes, tintypes |
| Edwin Torrens Brissenden
(-1907) |
traveling photographer | 1858 | Brissenden trained in the studio
of Thomas Glaister in Sydney. He set up his own studio in Brisbane
in November 1857 and later set up in Ipswich for several months.
Brissenden then travelled to various stations on the Darling Downs and
Warwick before departing for Melbourne. His ambrotypes were marked with his name
stamped into the lower left corner of the case matte. Brissenden's Ipswich studio was taken over
by his assistant Thomas Bowdich (North Australian March 30, 1858 -
see below)
daguerreotypes, calotypes, ambrotypes |
| Thomas Bowdich | 1859 | Took over the Ipswich studio of
Edwin Brissenden. Uncertain if Bowdich took photographs in Toowoomba
but he died there in April 1859
ambrotypes |
|
| Robert McClelland | traveling photographer | 1859 | Born c.1829 in Kirkinner, Scotland.
Emigrated to Australia c.1852 and worked in Melbourne as photographer.
He later traveled to Armidale in 1859, then on to Tenterfield, Warwick
and Drayton before going to Sydney. He returned to Brisbane in September
1859 and stayed into 1860, then went to Ipswich. Set up a studio
in Newtown, Sydney from 1862-64. Traveled through Queensland in 1869
but settled in Maryborough where he died in 1872. Father of photographer
George S. McClelland.
probably ambrotypes, albumin prints |
| Thomas Mathewson
(1842-1934) |
traveling photographer | 1864-1870s | Thomas
Mathewson's family were pioneers of the Drayton region. Along with his
2 brothers and sister he was orphaned and was raised by the Cribb
family in Ipswich. He worked in Cribb and Foote stores in his teens.
Thomas learnt photography in Ipswich from Theophylus Beazely and he built
his first camera. He became a travelling photographer in 1864, initially partnered
by his brother John who perished in the river. Thomas visited many
far flung parts of Queensland, travelling periodically to Sydney for re-supplies.
He set up in Gympie
after this to capitalise on the gold-rush there and eventually set up a
studio in Brisbane with his brother Peter in 1876 in the long running firm
of Mathewson & Co in Queen St. Thomas opened a branch studio in Ipswich
in 1884 which operated two days a week. He parted company with Peter in
1893 who went on to open his own studio and Thomas continued to operate
in Queen St eventually changing the studio name to Regent Studios. Thomas
Mathewson has been described as Queensland's greatest photographer.
cartes de visite |
| Henry Muller | Ruthven St | 1868-1870s | cartes de visite |
| Andrew Chandler
(1835-1917) |
Cunningham St, Dalby | March 1870 | Chandler was
brother-in-law to photographer Albert Lomer and was in partnership with
him in Sydney. He spent times as a travelling photographer during
1869-1870, visiting Ipswich and Dalby and probably also Toowoomba. For
a short time he opened a studio in Dalby. He operated another short lived
studio in Toowoomba with Matthews in the 1870s
cartes de visite |
| George Knight | Dalby | 1872 | Listed in the unclaimed letters section of the 1872 Government Gazette. Nothing else is known. |
| Martin Roggenkamp
(1837-1912) |
Ruthven St | 1874-1912 | Roggencamp
is first listed in trade directories as a photographer at Allora in 1868
although he had lived there from at least 1864. He moved to Warwick around
1869 where his brother Chris who was also a photographer resided.
Around 1874 Martin set up a studio in Toowoomba and was one of the earliest and
the longest serving photographers there. He continued working right up until his
death at the age of 75. cartes de visite, cabinet photos |
|
George Leake Massingham
(1850-19??) |
traveling photographer | 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1874 |
George started
working in photography in Brisbane in August 1866 and became a travelling
photographer in Queensland, visiting Toowoomba frequently. He finally opened the "Italian Studios" in George
St, Sydney then a studio in Toowoomba
1874, then Bendigo until
at least 1882. He next operated in Geelong from around 1886 until 1902. He left Geelong for Bendigo around 1903, then
went on to Tamworth in 1905 and Deniliquin and Narrandera, NSW from 1912
to 1921. His daughter Margaret (Madge) Massingham became a photographer
in the 1930s in Preston, Victoria and Queenstown, Tasmania, finally working
in Melbourne after serving as a photographer during WWII. George Massingham
died 25 March 1931 in Preston.
cartes de visite |
| Ruthven St | 1874-1877 | ||
| Metcalfe & Glaister
(Daniel F. Metcalfe & Thomas Skelton Middleton Glaister) |
Ruthven St | 1877 | Branch studio of Metcalfe and Glaister's studio in Brisbane. |
| Chandler &
Matthews
(Andrew Chandler & ?) |
1870s | Andrew
Chandler was formerly in partnership with Albert Lomer in George St Sydney
and had worked as a travelling photographer in S.E. Qld. He appears to
have set up a studio for a short period.
cartes de visite |
|
| Horace Arthur Taylor (1861-1905) |
Campbell St | 1876-1878 | First appeared in Toowoomba from 1876-1878 but their is no trace of Taylor working under his own name as a photographer then until 1889 when he appears as a travelling photographer visiting Crows Nest. He had a child in Newtown, Sydney in 1889 so he may have been in New South Wales in the intervening years. He next appears opened a studio in Pittsworth in 1896, then he moved to Roma before returning to Toowoomba where he operated the Federal Co. studio (see below) that operated until his death in 1905. His brother Benjamin Hurst Taylor was a photographer in Ipswich and Laidley, operating the IXL studio. |
| Bain Studio
Trilby Studio (James Bain) |
Ruthven St | 1879-1918 | James
Bain was the second longest serving photographer in Toowoomba after Martin
Roggencamp. His sister Annie opened her own short lived studio (see
below) and another sister Jeannie married photographer Albert Henry
Mouland with whom Bain worked in partnership. Bain opened a second studio
in Brisbane from 1902-05 that Mouland operated. Bernice
Agar (b.1885 d. 1976) managed the Toowoomba studio from 1908 that was sold in 1918 to Carl
Villaume (b. 1890 d. 1944) when Agar relocated to 380 George St, Sydney. cabinet photos |
| Frisco Photographic
Co
(George A. Tissington) |
Ruthven St | 1880-1881 | Travelling
photographer who from around 1872 worked in various NSW towns such Gulgong,
Goulburn and Carcoar. A fixed studio opened in Mudgee at one point.
Set up a studio in Sydney in 1875, then Townsville in 1877, back to NSW
then opened a studio in Brisbane in 1878 trading as the Frisco Photographic
Co. Another Frisco Photo Co. studio was operated in Rockhampton by
J. H. Lundager. Tissington moved to Brisbane St, Ipswich (the premises
of Bingingee Poochee) in March 1878. He relocated to Ellenborough
St where he employed Francis Whitehead who took over the studio in 1883.
Tissington opened a short-lived studio in Toowoomba in 1880 and another
in Maryborough in 1882. Worked out of R. F. Cottell's studio
in Roma for a short time in March 1882.
cartes de visite |
| M. Cowie | Ruthven St | 1883-1884 | cartes de visite |
| Emil Müller | Neil St
Ruthven St |
1885-1897
1900-1905 |
cartes de visite, cabinet photos, opalotypes |
| Rembrandt Photo
Studio Frederick & Mouland (Otto Friedricks/Frederick & Albert Henry Mouland) |
Ruthven St | 1888 | Mouland
was a photographer in Trowbridge, England who emigrated to South Australia
and worked in Kent Town, Adelaide from 1884, then set up in Ipswich with
Ben Taylor in 1886 before opening in Toowoomba with Friedricks (anglicized to
Fredericks) . They did portrait and landscape work. He formed
his own studio Elite Co. in 1890 (see below).
cartes de visite |
| Horace Arthur Taylor | Crows Nest (travelling photographer) |
October 1889 | (see entry above) |
| Federal Co (Horace Arthur Taylor) |
1901-1905 | ||
| Elite (Platt &
Co)
(John Robert Platt) (1865-1901) |
Ruthven St | 1889-1893 | The Elite studio was somehow connected
with the operation of Albert Mouland who was also had a studio called
Elite in Toowoomba (see below). John Pratt was the son of James
Platt and Jemima Orr. At one point he was in
partnership with J..S. Wiley whose Brisbane studio was also named Elite.
Elite as a studio name was commonly used by photographers and was adopted by Wiley from the studio's previous owner Eddie
T. B. Hutchison.
cartes de visite, cabinet photos |
| Elite Co.
(Albert Henry Mouland) (-1923) |
Ruthven St | 1890-1895 | The Elite studio was somehow connected
with the operation of J. R. Platt who was also had a studio called Elite
in Toowoomba (see above). Mouland married Jeannie Bain, sister of
photographer James Bain whose studio he joined in 1896. He was resident
in Ashliegh Tce off Vulture St, South Brisbane from 1902 and managed Bain Studios branch
in Queen St, Brisbane until 1905.
cartes de visite, cabinet photos |
| George Billingham (c.1851-1929) |
1890s | Had a short lived
studio in Wickham St,Brisbane in 1883 and next noted in Roma from 1888-1891,
then from 1894-1897 in Bundaberg. A rubber stamped
carte G. Billingham, Artist, Toowwoomba noted in
Peter Marquis-Kyle
collection. cartes de visite |
|
| William Wood | 1892 | ||
| Walter Eustace
Perroux
Austral Studio |
Ruthven St
Margaret St |
1895-1899
1899-1904 |
Perroux
started in Mackay in 1894 in partnership with Bernays. He opened in Toowoomba
in 1895 but while there also operated in Bundaberg, Childers and
Roma. Perroux opened Austral studios in Toowoomba in 1899 and employed
William Schaefer (see below) as an operator. Perroux moved his business
to Rockhampton in 1905, then Winton in 1912 and Ayr in 1913.
cabinet photos, postcard photos |
| Toowoomba Studio
(Annie Bain) |
1899 | Sister of photographer James Bain (see above) | |
| Thomas Mills | Ruthven St | 18?? | Previously
worked for Lomer's Studio in Brisbane. Worked in Ipswich in 1889,
Duggandan in 1894 and Boonah from 1895-97.
cabinet photos |
| Frederick Watson Bernays | 1903-1908 | Started working for A. B. Clinton in Mackay in the 1880s then formed short lived partnerships with Tilse and Shaw and even with Walter Perroux (see above) in Mackay from 1890-1894. He then ran the Vita Studio in Bundaberg from 1895 until moving to Toowoomba. | |
| Globe Photo Studios | 1904 | Short lived studio. It is unclear who ran it. | |
| Schaefer & Deazeley
(William Theodore Schaefer & William John Deazeley) |
Margaret St | 1905-1906 | William Deazeley was the son of early Brisbane and Ipswich photographer John Deazeley. He had also previously operated studios in Ipswich and South Brisbane. Bought out Perroux's studio along with Perroux's employee William Schaefer. After the partnership dissolved he and Schaefer ran their own studios (see below) |
| Fegan Studio
(Jack William Fegan) |
Ruthven St | 1906-1907 | A branch of Jack Fegan's Brisbane studio. Fegan came from Port Pirie in South Australia, and later set up in Gympie before returning to Brisbane. |
| William Robert Rogers | Station St | 1906 | Rogers studio seemed to open for only a very short time. Worked in Townsville in 1903. Not certain if related to Frederick Rogers, a Brisbane photographer who left for the USA. |
| William John Deazeley
Deazeley Studios |
Margaret St Margaret St (branch in Dalby) |
1907
1908 |
Deazeley set up by himself after his partnership with Schaefer dissolved (see above). He is only listed at his residence in Hatton Tce, Toowoomba from 1909-1911. Later he opened a branch studio in Dalby. His daughters Trissie and Elsie eventually opened a studio in Toowoomba (see below) |
| Francis Xavier Perroux
(1882-) |
Russell St | 1907 | Son of photographer W. E. Perroux (see above). |
| Stephen's Studio
(Henry Stephens) |
1908-1913 | Stephens also ran a studio in Warwick c. 1912 | |
| Frederick Charles Wills
(-1955) |
Ruthven St | 1905-1914 | Wills made the first moving pictures in Queensland along with fellow government photographer Henry Mobsby in 1899. Their Lumiere 35mm cine camera is in the Queensland Museum. Wills set up his first studio in George St, Brisbane in 1903 with his wife Edith Emily Wills. They then moved to Toowoomba in 1905 where Fred set up a portrait studio and he also made postcards of the area (see below). Was Hon. Sec. of Toowoomba Photographic Society in 1911. He then moved to Sydney where he continued to pursue photography. See also Tony Barker's "Frederick Charles Wills. Queensland's Pioneer of Cinematography", Dept of Primary Industries, Brisbane, 2000. |
| William James Tregea (-1914) |
travelling | 1903-1914 | Tregea, the son of Richard Tregea and Alice Fugler emigrated to Australia in 1886. He was married to Williamina Black. Buried in Drayton Cemetery. |
| Watts Studio
(H. Watts) |
1909-1913 | Later
moved to Fortitude Valley. postcard photos |
|
| A. Morris | c.1910 | May not have had a fixed studio. | |
| W. H. Turner | Crows Nest | 1910-1917 | postcard photos |
| William George Tutt | Margaret St | 1912 | Only appears to have operated his studio for one year. In 1913 is listed as resident in New Farm, Brisbane but he visited Oakey, Dalby and Chinchilla over the next few years before joining Mathewson & Co in 1916. Tutt opened his own studio in Boonah in 1920. |
| Carl Villaume | Ruthven St | 1912-1944 | Villaume, the son of Alfred Waldemar Villaume and Anne Margrethe Rasmussen was of Danish descent and joined Poulsen studios in Brisbane as a teenager in 1905. He briefly worked in Ingham in 1910 then moved to Toowomba where he worked in the Bain studios (see above), which he bought in 1918. He was one of Toowoomba's longest established photographers. He was married to Elsie McGee in 1914 and died in 1944, his remains were buried in the Toowoomba Cemetery. |
| William Theodore Schaefer | Ruthven St | 1912-1913 | Previously in partnership with William J. Deazeley (see above). Opened his own studio in late 1912. |
| Oswald Rodway | Neil St
Ruthven St |
1913
1914-1919 |
Rodway operated a studio in Brisbane
from around 1903 and specialised in photographing stars of the stage. He married Jean Gemmell in 1913. After leaving
Toowoomba he worked in Laidley then moved back to Brisbane before moving
to Stanthorpe in 1928.
postcard photos, mounted prints |
| Ede Studio
(Edward Seaton) (Edmund William Bourke) |
Russell St
Ruthven St |
191?-192?
192?-193? |
The studio was taken over by Sid Owen in the 1940s and Bourke then ran his own studio in Ruthven St. The Owen studio still operates in Toowoomba. |
| Deazeley's
(Trissie & Elsie Deazeley) Francis Beatrice Deazeley (1886-) Elsie Edith Deazeley (1887-) |
465 Ruthven St | 1923-1940s | Operated by the daughters of
William John Deazeley who had a studio in Ipswich and then Toowoomba (see
above). The sisters also operated a studio simultaneously in Brisbane.
Studio sold to Eddie Truman in 1940s who owned it for a short time before
selling it on. Deazeley's is still in operation in Australia Arcade, Ruthven
St.
postcard photos, mounted prints |
| EARLY POST CARD PUBLISHERS | |||
| PUBLISHER/SERIES | DATES PRODUCED | NOTES | |
| Coloured Shell Series | c.1904-1915 | Produced view postcards covering the all major towns
of Queensland. The publisher appears to have licensed negatives also
used by other publishers. Their range included over 150 different
views throughout Queensland. Coloured Shell Series postcards are amongst
the more commonly encountered view cards in Queensland. Specimen albums
of the complete series issued are held in the John Oxley Library, State
Library of Queensland and another copy is in private hands.
"Queensland Views" series: Ruthven St, Toowoomba Margaret St, Toowoomba Post Office, Margaret St, Toowoomba Town Hall, Toowoomba, Queensland Neil St, Toowoomba Campbell St, Toowoomba Herries St, Toowoomba Botanical Gardens, Toowoomba "Toowoomba Views" Series: View in Botanical Gardens, Toowoomba, Queensland |
|
| E.D. & Co. later EDCO
(Edwards Dunlop & Company) |
c1905-1915 | Published numerous view postcards initially real photographs usually taken by Crown Studios of Sydney and they then moved into printed postcards. Most cards feature an identifying serial number and they cover both the major and many smaller towns of Queensland | |
| Intelligence and Tourism Bureau, Brisbane | c.1905-1915 | Titles:
Neil St, Toowoomba |
|
| A. Provan & Co | 1905 | Local bookseller who published a series of printed black
& white views
Titles: Ruthven St, Toowoomba |
|
| H. & B.
(Harding & Billing Ltd.) |
1906-1911 | Prolific Sydney based publisher of view and greetings
cards.
Titles: Margaret St, Toowoomba Sydney Mail. On the Range near Toowoomba |
|
| E. F. Morton | 1906 | Real photo postcard
Titles: Russell St, Toowoomba flooded April 1st '06 |
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| Frederick Charles Wills | c.1907 | Produced real photo postcards of Toowoomba (see entry
above under photographers)
Titles: "In Days to Come". Toowoomba Ship Canal. Greetings From Toowoomba (multi-view) |
|
| RETRAC series | c.1907-1910 | Series of printed B&W and colour printed postcards
published by Carter (firm name is spelt backwards).
Titles: Margaret Street, Looking East, Toowoomba. Qld |
|
| unknown publisher | 1907-1912 | Colour printed postcard views, at least one from a photograph
by Stephens (see entry above under photographers)
Titles: No. 1013 A Favourite Picnic Resort, Spring Bluff, near Toowoomba, Q. No. 1015 Spring Bluff, near Toowoomba, Q. A Favourite Picnic Resort No. 1026 Herries Street, Toowoomba, Q. (Stephens photo) |
|
| unknown publisher | 1909 | Colour tinted real photograph postcards on Empire photo
paper
Titles: No. 4 Herries St, Toowoomba, Q. No. 9 Margaret St, Toowoomba, Q. |
|
| Frank Hurley | 1909 | Famous photographer who accompanied the Shackleton expedition
to Antarctica. Also produced a series of real photo postcards usually bearing
his trademark anchor symbol or the initials F. J. H.
Titles: 358. Ruthven St, Toowoomba |
|
| W. Series | 1911 | Colour printed postcards
Titles: No. 1683 The Kiosk, Botanic Gardens, Toowoomba, Q. |
|
| I. H. Trenery | 1920 | Printed black and white views.
Titles: Russell Street, Toowoomba, Q. |
|
| Notes:
Some of the year ranges stated may not be complete as the information is limited to what has appeared in trade directories and newspapers, what was on the back of photos or my guestimate from examination of the photos. It is always difficult to determine those travelling/itinerant photographers who may have visited the region as they often visited for very short periods and left little record of their activities. Sometimes they would announce their arrival in a local newspaper but detecting these notices can be a labourious task since few of the newspapers are indexed . Anyone with further information about the above photographers or with names of and information about other photographers not listed is welcome to e-mail me. Due to the large number of such requests I cannot reply to e-mails asking me to date or identify photographs. I am not aware of any records or indexes of sitters for any of Toowoomba's early photographers/studios having survived. ** I am particularly interested in making contact with the descendants and relations of photographers** |
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| Sources:
private photograph collection of site author Queensland Post Office directories Pugh's Almanac various years Alan Davies and Peter Stanbury, "The Mechanical Eye in Australia", OUP, Melbourne, 1988. Sandy Barrie, "Queenslanders Behind The Camera. Professional Photographers in Queensland 1849-1920", Volumes 1-5, Brisbane, 1988. Sandy Barrie, "Australians Behind The Camera. Directory of Early Australian Photographers 1841-1945", Booval, Queensland, 2002. Rod Fisher "Through a Glass Darkly. Photographers and Their Role in the Moreton Bay Region before 1860" in Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Vol. XII No. 3 February 1986. Rod Fisher "Aspects of Early Photography in the Moreton Bay Region", Brisbane History Group journal , 1988. Kerr, Joan "The Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870", Melbourne, OUP, 1993. Maurice French, "Pubs, Ploughs & 'Peculiar People', Towns, Farms and Social Life. A History of the Darling Downs Frontier: 3", USQ Press, Toowoomba, 1992. Jean Casswell - manuscript biography of Thomas Mathewson |
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| Regional
Newspapers:
The Darling Downs Gazette (est. June 1858) issued Monday, Wednesday, Saturday The Toowoomba Chronicle (est. July 1861) issued Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Settler and South Queensland Pioneer, issued Saturdays Darling Downs Democrat, issued Saturdays |
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| Thank you to Jack Mathewson, Nancy Bennett & Jean Casswell (grandchildren of Thomas Mathewson), Alan Davies (curator picture collection Mitchell Library, Sydney and author), Susie Zada (Geelong historian) and members of the Queensland Card Collectors Society Inc (a group for collectors of postcards, cigarette and trade cards) | |||
| GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPH TYPES | |
| Daguerreotype | Invented by Louis Daguerre in 1837 and introduced to the world in 1839. The daguerreotype was produced on highly buffed silver coated on to a brass plate and cannot be easily viewed unless turned at the right angle. The image was mounted under a brass mat and glass and placed in a leather bound folding case (imported from the USA, France or England) or sometimes framed. Ninth, sixth, quarter and half plate sizes were the most popular - the former two being those most commonly found. |
| Calotype | A paper print made from a paper negative. Pioneered by Fox Talbot, the calotype was introduced at the same time of the daguerreotype but never caught on in popularity |
| Ambrotype
(Collodiotype) |
Underexposed and sometimes bleached photographic negative on glass backed by black paper, dark velvet or black paint directly on the plate to make the negative appear positive. This was then mounted in a brass frame and placed in a papier-mâché or leather bound folding case or sometimes framed. Ninth, sixth and quarter plate sizes were all popular - half and full plate images are sometimes seen. |
| Carte de Visite | Paper photograph from glass plate negative mounted on card board mount 2 1/2" x 4" - popular from 1861-c.1895 |
| Cabinet Photo | Paper photograph from glass plate negative mounted on card board mount 4 1/4" x 6 1/2" - popular from mid 1870s-c.1905 |
| Tintype | Photograph on metallic tin, akin to an ambrotype. Produced in many sizes, the most popular being a small postage stamp sized tintype (gem tintype) which could be mounted in carte de visite sized cardboard frame (carte de visite tintype) or an unmounted carte de visite size (2½" x 3½"plate - so called sixth plate). Introduced to Australia in 1858 but popular 1879-1885. |
| Opalotype | Photograph on white opaque "milk" or "opal" glass. Commonly 12" x 14" and framed. Popular from mid 1880s until 1920s. |
| Postcard Photo | Photograph on paper with printed post card back, so that it could be mailed if desired taking advantage of the penny post. This paper was used by professionals (where it was mainly used for studio portraiture or for views specifically for the postcard market) and by amateurs alike. Size 5" x 3 1/2" |
| Toowoomba and district historical organisations/libraries/museums & other links of interest | |
| Toowoomba
Historical Society Inc
49 Lindsay Street PO Box 1171 Toowoomba QLD 4350 Telephone 07 4638 7362 |
Hours: Open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm. Saturday 1pm
to 4pm during Spring and Summer when volunteers are available.
Meetings: Monthly meetings of the Society on the third Monday each month (except December and January) commence at 7.30 pm at the Toowoomba Historical Society Centre, 49 Lindsay Street, Toowoomba Membership: Annual Membership subscription $15.00 from I July to 30 June, includes the monthly newsletter from February to November. Family concession $20. School Membership $20. |
| Toowoomba
& Darling Downs Family History Society Inc
61 Drayton Road PO Box 2229 Toowoomba QLD 4350 Telephone 07 4635 1010 E-mail: DDFHS@hotkey.net.au |
Hours: Monday to Friday 0am - 3pm, 2nd Monday of month 7 - 9pm,
Saturday 1pm - 4pm
Membership: joining fee: $10, family member: $35.00, single member: $30.00, journal member $15.00, casual visitor fee is $7, a $1 daily visit fee also applies. |
| Toowoomba Photographic Society Inc. | Meetings: Second Friday of each month- start at 7.30pm. Venue: St. Josephs College, Mackenzie Street, Toowoomba. Visitors are always welcome. Meetings include a club competition with a set and open subject and they often also have a guest speaker. Entry fee for non members is $3.00. Membership fees are $30.00 per annum, $15.00 concession, $40.00 family. |
| Pittsworth Pioneer Historical Village | Pittsworth is situated 43 km from Toowoomba (and local citizens would mostly have had to travel to Toowoomba to have their photograph taken in the 19th century). Pioneer Historical Village has been established by the Pittsworth and District Historical Society in conjunction with Pittsworth Shire Council to provide a lasting reminder of the early development of Pittsworth and the surrounding rural district |
© Marcel Safier, 2001-2008.
Photographic historian and collector,
P.O. Box 239, Holland Park QLD 4121, Australia; e-mail: msafier@ozemail.com.au