This photographic negative was taken by an un-attributed photographer between the late nineteenth century and 1935 and is part of a larger collection of 7,900 negatives once owned by Sydney bookseller, James Tyrrell.
Included in this section of the collection is a wide variety of subject matter including Sydney Streets, New South Wales landscapes, World War I portraits and images of the Harbour Bridge from the early 1930s. While many of these images remain un-attributed at present it is likely that some were taken by Charles Kerry and Henry King and were either copied by Tyrrell or one of these photographers at a later date.
Some of the photographs from Papua New Guinea appear to have been taken by Reverend Lawes and these may have been a part of the selection acquired by King in the 1890s. David Millar in his book on Charles Kerry also comments on how Tyrrell's purchase from Kerry contained a number of World War I portraits and these seem likely to be the ones in this part of the Tyrrell collection.
However other photographs, like those of Sydney Harbour Bridge, were taken after both Kerry and King had died and must have been later acquisitions by either Tyrrell or Australian Consolidated Press.
Geoff Barker, Curatorial, December, 2008
References
Millar, David P., Charles Kerry's Federation Australia, David Ellis Press, Sydney, 1981
This negative is not attributed to a particular studio. The Tyrrell Collection of glass plate negatives dates from approximately 1880-1923.
This photograph is one of 795 un-attributed photographs which are part of a larger collection of 7,900 negatives once owned by Sydney bookseller James Tyrrell. Also included in the Powerhouse Museum's Tyrrell collection are around 2900 photographs published by the famous Australian studio of Kerry & Co. (85/1284) and around 1300 glass plates by the Sydney based photographer Henry King (85/1285).
While these images remain un-attributed at present it is likely that some of them were in fact part of the Charles Kerry and Henry King collections purchased by Tyrrell around 1929. There is a series of World War I portraits which have the names of the soldiers etched onto the negative but which are not credited to any particular studio but which may have been taken by Kerry & Co. studio.
Amongst this group are photographs of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, taken after both Kerry and King had died, and acquired at a later date either by Tyrrell or somehow included in the material from Australian Consolidated Press.
James Tyrrell used the images by Kerry & Co. and Henry King to produce his own booklets and views of New South Wales but although full of iconic Australian images, the collection does not appear to have been fully utilised by Tyrrell.
In 1980 the collection was purchased by Australian Consolidated Press who published a limited series of 2000 contact prints from the collection. Housed in boxes copies of these were given to the State Library of New South Wales and the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney.
In 1985 Australian Consolidated Press donated the collection to the Powerhouse Museum. The collection at this time consisted of 7,903 glass plate negatives and 7,916 contact positive prints. Of these 493 glass plates were damaged but usable and 13 plates totally broken.
Geoff Barker, Curatorial, December, 2008
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