This daguerreotype of Swanston Street in Melbourne is among the earliest taken of the fledgling city. The 1850s and the discovery of gold saw Melbourne grow to rival Sydney as the centre of commerce and the arts in the Australia but outdoor photographs from this period remain rare. The influx of money from the goldfields brought photographers to the city, but mainly to make portraits of the new citizenry. While studios made their money selling portraits, they sometimes took larger outdoor views. This is a rare example of one taken in Melbourne just after the early growth spurt of 1852 and 1853 and was probably exhibited the photographers studio or shop window to attract customers.

In 1854, Thomas Glaister, who had worked at Meade Brothers & Co. in New York, set up a subsidiary studio under their name in Melbourne. But it seems this arrangement was too constraining for Glaister who in 1855 left Melbourne to work under his own name in Sydney. However there are a number of reasons for thinking this photograph was taken by Glaister during his two year stint Melbourne.

Firstly the dates of his stay in Melbourne correspond to the dates when Thomas Ham was in charge of the 'Central Land Office' at 35 Swanston Street. This office, which can be seen in the photograph, only existed between 1853 and 1855 when it became 'C.J. and T. Ham'. Secondly there is the fact that Glaister's studio was in Collins Street where this image, presumably taken from the roof of a building, was taken. Lastly the unusual size of the outdoor view (123 x 180 mm) means it likely to have been made to advertise a new photographer's skills rather than be a commissioned work. As Glaister's studio was in Collins Street it is likely he would have chosen a nearby location to advertise his photographic skills.

Geoff Barker, Curatorial, March 2009

References
Alan Davies and Peter Stanbury with assistance from Con Tanre, The Mechanical Eye in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1985
The Grolier Society, The Australian Encyclopaedia, Third Edition, Grolier Society, 1977
Ian F. McLaren, 'Ham, Thomas (1821 - 1870)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972

The daguerreotype was a remarkably complex process. To make a daguerreotype you firstly had to clean a piece of silver plate to a mirror finish using a slurry made from pumice in oil, then give it a number of washings in nitric acid and water to remove the oil residue. Secondly the prepared plate had to be sensitised by exposing it to iodine vapour. Then the sensitised plate was placed in a camera and exposed to light, the exposure time varied according to the time of the day, the season of the year and the weather, and could be from three to thirty minutes. The silver plate was then exposed over heated mercury vapour until an image appeared and lastly it was fixed by placing the plate in a hot solution of common salt or a solution of sodium thiosulfate.

Keeping a supply of the correct chemicals, making sure the plates and workspace were kept free of dust and ensuring there was a supply of clean water all conspired to limit the practicality of travelling with a camera. This coupled with the lengthy exposure times, which were a result of deficiencies of these early photographic emulsions and the quality of the camera's lens, made the whole process complicated and unwieldy.

Geoff Barker, Curatorial, September 2009

References
Janet Burger, French Daguerreotypes, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989
Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, A Concise History of Photography, Thames and Hudson, Germany, 1965
Rudolf, Kingslake, A History of the Photographic Lens, Academic Press Limited, San Diego, California, 1989
Naomi Rosenblum, World History of Photography, Abbeville Press, New York, 1984

Photographic positive, daguerreotype, Swanston Street from the corner of Collins Street, silver / copper / glass / leather / wood, photographer Thomas Glaister (attributed), Melbourne, 1854 -1855

Directly opposite the camera, on the corner of Collins and Swanston Street, is the business of 'W. L. McKay Chemist and Druggist'. Looking up Swanston Street, which flows in a north-west to south-east direction, we can see Prince's Bridge veering to the right towards 'Queen Victoria Gardens' and 'Kings Domain'. On the high ground to the left of the photograph we can see a house on the site of Government House and below these a group of small houses. Swanston Street was named after Charles Swanston, a managing director of the Derwent Bank who had helped fund John Batman's early attempts to colonize Port Phillip. Along its length we can make out a number of Melbourne's early establishments and starting out at the lower right hand side we have a line of oxen on the street outside 'Belfast House' where a Mr. Chesney ran his drapery business. Next door is the 'Commercial Chambers' building, apparently built in 1854, from which a grocery and provisions business was run alongside a 'Land Society'. Next door is a tobacconist and the 'Commercial Building' at 35 Swanston Street which housed the "Central Land Office' of Thomas Ham. At the end of the street is an ironmonger business run by J. S. Craig, or Cragg, and between them and number 35 are a wide variety of buildings from imposing two story brick to small timber fronted ones. The daguerreotype is enclosed in a hinged case made from wood that has been covered in leather. The case opens to reveal the daguerreotype on one side. A glass panel sits over the top of the brass mat. The opposite side of the case is lined with red velvet that has been embossed with a decorative foliate pattern. On the outside of the case, the leather has been embossed with a decorative floral design which is surrounded by rectangular borders. Two metal clasps on the side of the case allow it to be closed securely. The daguerrotype is stored in custom-made enclosure with a support.

Made: Melbourne, Victoria; 1854 - 1855

H6786-1

1854 - 1855

230 mm

27 mm