The subject of this photograph is Dr Charles Nathan, the first honorary surgeon appointed to the Sydney Hospital. Nathan arrived in Sydney in 1841 and in 1845 was appointed to the new Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary. In 1847 he and Doctor Belisario were the first to administer anaesthetic during surgery and he attended to the Duke of Edinburgh after the assassination attempt in Sydney in 1868. He died in 1872.

This photograph is also significant because it is one of the few surviving hand-painted Mascher stereoscopic ambrotypes with links to Australia. While thousands of these ambrotype photographs were produced around the world remarkably few have survived that can be linked to Australian society during the 1850s and 1860s. In 1853 Mascher took out the first patent for a stereoscopic viewer in the United Sates and these were subsequently exported around the world, primarily for portraits. This is important to note for unlike the ambrotype stereoscopic portraits are rarer than landscape views making this example rare by comparison.

Geoff Barker, Curatorial, September 2009

In 1851 Frederick Scott Archer announced the discovery of a new photographic process that could adhere to glass. This was a major breakthrough in the story of photography for the process made clear highly detailed negatives form which multiple copies could be made.

The general public had become used to their photographic portraits being taken using a daguerreotype process which were displayed in a small glass fronted case. To compete with this trade a special kind of collodion process, known as the ambrotype was introduced. This was essentially the same as other collodion negatives except that once the exposure had been taken the emulsion on the glass was bleached to whiten it. When this bleached negative was placed in a case against a black background it formed a positive image which bore a remarkable resemblance to the daguerreotype except it had the added advantage of not being highly reflective.

Australia followed rather than set photographic trends but in the 1850s, the massive boom caused by the discovery of gold ensured it was very quick to take up new processes like the ambrotype. Over the 1850s the ambrotype replaced the daguerreotype as the preferred method of taking portraits but even in the late 1850s daguerreotypes were still being made for more conservative customers.

Geoff Barker, Curatorial, September 2009

References
J. Cato, The Story of the Camera in Australia, Third Edition, Institute of Australian Photography, Hong Kong, 1979
Michel Frizot, A New History of Photography, Amilcare Pizzi, Milan, 1998
Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, A Concise History of Photography, Thames and Hudson, Germany, 1965
A. Davies and P. Stanbury, 1985, The Mechanical Eye in Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Photographic positive, stereoscopic studio portrait, hand-tinted ambrotype of Dr Charles Nathan, Sydney Hospital's first honorary surgeon, collodion / paint / glass / wood / paper / metal / velvet, photographer unknown, 1854-1865

Two ambrotype images showing a 3/4 length portrait of a man photographed seated in a studio setting. The man wears a suit and tie and rests his right elbow on the small table beside him. Two books can be seen on the table which is covered with a table cloth. Both images have been hand tinted with his cheeks pink and the tablecloth green. The ambrotypes are enclosed in a hinged case made from wood that has been covered in leather. The case opens to reveal the ambrotypes on the right hand side. The ambrotypes are each framed in an oval brass mat. A glass panel sits over the top of the brass mat. On the opposite side of the case is a hinged panel covered in leather that features two circular glass lenses. The viewer can look through the lenses to create the illusion of a single three dimensional image. A metal clasp on the side of the case allows it to be closed securely.

Made: 1854 - 1865

Gold text between the two lenses reads 'MASCHER'S IMPROVED STEREOSCOPE / PHILADA / PATENT / MARCH 8TH 1853'. Small gold text on the rim of the open case reads 'M. A EICKMEYER PATENT FEB 27 1855'.

H7615

1854 - 1865

123 mm

10 mm