An album containing forty-three mounted photographs, uncaptioned and measuring approximately 145 x 110 mm. This family album shows scenes mostly at unidentifiable locations in the Melbourne area.
A sizeable number of these photographs appear to have been taken in the Botanical Gardens, but this is the only location that can be identified with any certainty. The rest of the prints show small family groups in private houses or gardens without well-known landmarks visible. It is however an interesting record, emphasizing the growth that had then taken place south of the Yarra.
The dating of the album in uncertain, but a provisional date has been assigned for two reasons. Mrs Caroline L Montefiore, the original owner of the album, was the wife of Jacob Levi Montefiore (1819-1885), who returned from Australia to England in 1885. Assuming the album was not sent later, but was in Mrs Montefiore's possession, this would date the album to before 1885 - a date which the quality and subject matter of the photographs themselves seem to support. The second point lies in the photographs of the Observatory. 'The Australian Encyclopaedia' states that Grubb's four-foot Cassegrain reflector was installed in 1868. If this is the telescope photographed in Y3087B/39, and if the wooden building housing it is only temporary accommodation, rather than in its permanent location, this would seem to date the picture to around 1868 and the others in the album to within a few years of that date. There is mention of a carte-de-viste portrait of J L Montefiore within the RCS collections but unfortunately the classmark is unknown.
Photographs of suburbs of Melbourne
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- ReferenceGB 115 RCS/Y3087B
- Dates of Creation1865-1885
- Language of MaterialEnglish .
- Physical Description43 item(s) 43 images
Scope and Content
Access Information
Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
Acquisition Information
Presented to the Royal Colonial Institute by the executors of the late Mrs Caroline L Montefiore in July 1901.
Note
Includes index.
Other Finding Aids
A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.
Alternative Form Available
This collection is available on microfiche: Australasia, fiche numbers 65-67.
Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements
prints generally in fair condition
Additional Information
This collection level description was entered by MJC and WS using information from the original typescript catalogue.
DateText: The dates are approximate..