William Dargavel, Newton, Ayr [Photographer]

This post is a continuation in a series of posts looking at late nineteenth century photographers. By using the information on the rear imprint, our aim is to use this information as a guide to helping us narrow down a date range of when the photograph was taken.

William Dargavel - 4 Murray Place, Newton Ayr

On the back of one of the carte de visite photographs in the Georgina Auld nee Muir album is a photograph by Scottish 'photo artist' William Dargavel. Dargavel's studio is listed as 4 Murray Place in Newton, Ayr.

Example rear imprint for photographer William Dargavel
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000007-s2]

Unfortunately there does not appear to be very many examples (on the internet at least) of the rear imprint from a William Dargavel photograph to use as a reference...to the extent that I haven't been able to find any! Another problem associated with trying to track down William Dargavel is access to online Scottish newspapers covering Ayr. For the purposes of this post I will be using Scottish Post Office Directories which have been made available via the Digital Collections from the National Library of Scotland.

Using the Scottish Post Office Directories

Searching through the Post Office Directories of Ayrshire, the first mention of William Dargavel appears in the 1870-71 Post Office Directory for Ayr Newton and Wallacetown.

In this directory William is listed on page 38 at the house address of Gordon Place in Wallacetown. He is also listed as being of W. & J. Dargavel. Wm. & John Dargavel are listed as tobacconists at 6 High Street, with John Dargavel also listed as living at Allison Place in Allison Street Newton. William Dargavel is also listed on page 71 of the directory as a tobacconists at Gordon Place and at the shop on 6 High Street, Ayr.

The 1873-74 Post Office General and Trades Directory for Ayr, Newton, and Wallacetown lists William Dargavel on page 34 as living at 1 Albert Place, New Bridge Street. John Dargavel and the business John & Wm. Dargavel [sic] are listed at the same addresses. There is no mention of a William Dargavel listed under Photographic Artists in the Trade Directory section of the Directory (page 111). J. & W. Dargavel are listed under Tobacconists on page 115.

Proceeding to the next available directory, the 1876-77 Post Office General and Trades Directory for Ayr, Newton, and Wallacetown, Willliam Dargavel is listed at the house address of 4 Murray Place, Newtonhead.

1876-77 Post Office General and Trades Directory for Ayr Newton and Wallacetown, p.35.

As can be seen in the extract above, William is still listed as a tobacconist in the partnership of John & Wm. Dargavel at 6 High Street. The partnership of J. & W. Dargavel is also listed in the Trade Directory section of the 1876-77 Directory under the subheading of Tobacconists (page 109). It is in the Trade Directory section that William Dargavel is also listed under the Photographic Artists, thus confirming Dargavel as operating his photographic business from the same address as his home. Six other Ayrshire photographers are also listed in this years directory.

1876-77 Post Office General and Trades Directory for Ayr Newton and Wallacetown, p.105.

There is no mention of either William or John Dargavel listed in the 1878-79 Post Office General and Trades Directory for Ayr, Newton, and Wallacetown.

Dating the photograph based on the evidence

The documentary evidence based solely on the information sourced from the Post Office Directories, dates the photo to 1876 ±2 years. Further research may be able to narrow the date range down further.

Trove Tuesday: Fun with @TroveNewsBot on Twitter

This week I decided to have a little bit of fun with Trove using Tim Sherratt's (@wragge) new @TroveNewsBot on twitter. Tim has provided TroveNewsBot to the community as another novel way of interfacing with Trove using the Trove API. For readers who are not aware of Tim's fantastic resources I suggest visiting dhistory (which includes QueryPic and Archives Viewer) as well as WraggeLabs Emporium and start exploring from there...you wont be disappointed.

Full details on using TroveNewsBot are provided online at https://github.com/wragge/trovenewsbot, but basically you just send a tweet to @TroveNewsBot with a message which will get treated as a query. This query in turn gets sent off to the Trove API to look for a matching result within the newspaper database. The default settings return the first most relevant result, but this can be overridden by supplying an additional hashtag of #luckdip, #earliest or #latest.

Interfacing with Trove via Twitter

As mentioned above I decided to have a little bit of fun and send it my name to see what result would turn up. So from within Twitter I sent the following tweet:

@TroveNewsBot "jonathan auld" 

Two minutes later TroveNewsBot had replied with the following message:

@Jonathan_Auld 17 Aug 1894: '[From Melbourne Papers.] NEW ZEALAND. AUCKLAND, August 10.' http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9312180 …

Results from Trove

Clicking on the link provided the following article printed in the Hobart (Tasmania) newspaper The Mercury in 1894:

Source: [From Melbourne Papers.] NEW ZEALAND. (1894, August 17). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9312180

The two lines of text relevant to my "Jonathan Auld" query can be seen approximately three quarters of the way down the summary of events for New Zealand and relate to a mining agent named Jonathan Auld who had been found drowned at Reefton...oh dear!

More information from PapersPast

A search on PapersPast found an obituary for Jonathan Auld...

Source: Obituary. (1894, August 13). Inangahua Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 337, p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=IT18940813.2.11

The second part of Mr Auld's obituary can be found on the same page, mistakenly connected to another article:

Source: PORT OF GREYMOUTH AUG. 11. (1894, August 13). Inangahua Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 337, p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=IT18940813.2.5

What will your results be?

If you are a user of Twitter, next time you are online, why not give @TroveNewsBot a try and see what 'your name' results are. You may be surprised...

James Muir Auld by unknown [Cabinet card]

Photo details:

Title James Muir Auld by unknown Date 1892±1 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000047 Photo Type Cabinet card Mount Size 108 x 152 mm Mount Thickness 1 mm Mount Colour Natural Mount Edges Straight Mount Corners Round Image Size 103 x 150 mm Technology Albumen Features Front Imprint None Back Imprint None

Front face Rear face

Front face:

James Muir Auld by unknown (front face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000047-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

Original has been cut and reduced in sized, photographer details on front imprint just noticeable on the bottom left, but unknown.

Written on the page in the album where this photograph was placed is the following identification text:

James Muir Auld (born 1879) (son of Georgina Muir)

James Muir Auld was the fourth son of Reverend John Auld and Georgina Muir.
At a guess I would put the age of James Muir Auld at the time of this photo between twelve to fourteen years of age. Based on this information I would put the year of the photograph at 1892±1

Rear face:

James Muir Auld by unknown (rear face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000047-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

There is no imprint on the rear face, hence there is no dateable evidence provided.

Mrs John Auld (Georgina Muir) by Bara [Cabinet card]

Photo details:

Title Mrs John Auld (Georgina Muir) by Bara Date 1893 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000003 Photo Type Cabinet card Mount Size 107 x 166 mm Mount Thickness 1 mm Mount Colour Cream Mount Edges Straight, gold gilt Mount Corners Round Image Size 102 x 148 mm Technology Albumen Features Vignette Front Imprint Logo and text Back Imprint Medium sized, text and artwork

Front face Rear face

Front face:

Mrs John Auld (Georgina Muir) by Bara (front face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000003-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

Bara
AYR, N.B. (N.B. denoting North Britain)

Written on the page in the album where this photograph was placed is the following identification text and year:

Mrs John Auld (Georgina), mother of J H G Auld (1893)

Rear face:

Mrs John Auld (Georgina Muir) by Bara (front face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000003-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on rear face is medium sized and includes both text and artwork. Inscription of the text reads as:

13389 (written in pencil on the top left)
12 (written in pencil on the top right)
UNDER
DISTINGUISHED
PATRONAGE
Bara
AYR.
ALL NEGATIVES KEPT. COPIES CAN BE HAD.
ENLARGEMENTS
PLAIN IN OIL, WATER COLOR, OR CRAYONS
MINIATURES ON IVORY &c. &c. 

The number(s) written at the top of the cabinet card in pencil most likely represent the negative number of the photo in case a duplicate needed to be reordered from the photographer.

Hemus & Hanna, Auckland NZ [Photographers]

A new studio opens in Auckland

In August 1875, Charles Hemus and John Robert Hanna joined forces in partnership to establish a photographic portrait studio in Auckland. An advertisement in the Auckland Star signaled their intent:

Advertisements (1875, August 12). Auckland Star, p. 3. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18750812.2.25.1&srpos=6

By August 21 a newspaper notice informed the public that premises had been leased for the studio, located at the corner of Queen and Wellesley Streets West:

Advertisements (1875, August 21). Auckland Star, p. 3. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18750821.2.22.5

Several days later a newspaper report on the Hemus & Hanna Studio appeared detailing, among other things, the extent of the photographic studio. Listed are twelve rooms for printing and other branches of the business, plus a large glass room which extended over four adjoining houses:

MESSRS HEMUS AND HANNA'S STUDIO (1875, August 23). Auckland Star, p. 2. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18750823.2.13

On September 1 the photographic studio of Hemus & Hanna officially opened for business:

Advertisements (1875, September 1). Auckland Star, p. 3. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18750901.2.27.5

Hemus & Hanna - Artisits Photographers

Advertising superior portraiture photography, Hemus & Hanna also offered artistically finished photographs using oils, water colours or crayons. An early example rear imprint from one of Hemus & Hanna's carte de visite photographs that appears in the Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album follows:

Example of mid to late 1870s rear imprint from a Hemus & Hanna carte de visite
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000108-s2]

There were at least three additional photographers operating within Auckland in July 1876. Published in the Daily Southern Cross were the American Photographic Company, R.H. Bartlett, Clarke Bros., plus Hemus & Hanna, all vying for the patronage of the public.

Advertisements (1876, July 13). Daily Southern Cross, p. 4. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=DSC18760713.2.22.7

No doubt to distinguish themselves from the other photographers, Hemus & Hanna started offering photographs of New Zealand's unique sites to tourists. Confirmation of this approach can be seen in an advertising campaign carried out in 1878 when the pair offered photographs of the beautiful Lake Rotomahana district for sale through their Queen Street studio.

Advertisements (1878, June 5). Auckland Star, p. 4. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18780605.2.32.2

Larger sized photographs known as cabinet cards reached their peak in the 1880s and would soon displace the smaller carte de visite sized photographs. Hemus & Hanna started advertising "finely finished enlargements" in September 1881:

Advertisements (1881, September 10). Observer, p. 617. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TO18810910.2.24.3

Dissolution of partnership

The partnership of Hemus & Hanna was officially dissolved on 14 April 1885.

Advertisements (1885, April 15). New Zealand Herald, p. 1. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH18850415.2.2.4

Although Charles Hemus continued the business in his own name, John Robert Hanna would also continue by purchasing the business of Clarke Bros. and opening his own studio. The partnership between Hemus and Hanna lasted just under ten years from August 1875 (officially opening for business in September) through to April 1885.

Further references

• Early New Zealand Photographers and their successors
• Papers Past [National Library of New Zealand]
• Photographers Database [Auckland City Library]

Trove Tuesday: Finding Peter Auld

This post relates to my great great uncle Peter Auld, who was also known by the name of Peter William Auld and William Peter Auld.

Peter William Auld in Victoria

John Wallace Auld and Jane Fair’s third son Peter was born 10 September 1861 at their home in Cardigan Street, Carlton, Victoria. Peter Auld has proved one of the hardest in my family tree to track down and this may be in part due to his early childhood. One wonders if the loss of his mother at the early age of eleven and subsequent remarriage of his father four days before his twelfth birthday might have affected his early life.

At the age of twenty three, Peter, now known as Peter William Auld, was living at 1 Newry Street in North Carlton and working as an iron-moulder. An iron-moulder was employed at an Iron foundry pouring the hot molten iron into prepared moulds. Often working in close proximity to furnaces it was a hot, and at times, dangerous occupation.

On 11 July 1885 at the Erskine Manse in Carlton, Peter William Auld was married to widow Rose Mitchell nee Halstead by the Minister of Erskine Presbyterian Church, Alexander Yule. Witnesses for the event were Jane S. Yule, a possible relative of Minister Alexander Yule, and Thomas Fair, who also witnessed Peter's brother, John Wallace Auld’s first marriage in 1884 and a possible relative to their mother Jane. Unfortunately the date of this marriage is the last time the name Peter William Auld appears on official documents...and Peter effectively disappears off the genealogy radar.

South Australia, a change of name and a new family

The search for Peter Auld continued with the next clue to his whereabouts surfacing in the neighbouring colony of South Australia. Five years passed before a marriage between a William Peter Auld and Nellie Wallace is recorded as having taken place on 30 January 1892 at the All Saints Church in Hindmarsh. Although less information is recorded on South Australian marriage certificates than in Victoria, there is enough information to confirm that William Peter Auld is in fact our Peter Auld. William Peter Auld was now thirty years old living in Kent Town, a surrounding suburb of Adelaide; his father was recorded as John Auld; he was still working as an iron-moulder; plus the comparison of the signatures on both marriage certificates prove with an extremely high degree of certainty that it is the same person.

Nellie Wallace was the youngest of nine children to parents Robert Wallace and Martha Rodd and born in Port Elliot, South Australia, on 19 June 1871. At the time of her marriage to William Peter Auld, she was a twenty year old spinster living in Adelaide, whilst William was recorded as a bachelor, despite having married Rose Ann Mitchell nee Halstead previously. William and Nellie soon settled down in Adelaide and by mid 1895 they had two children, Janet Millicent Victoria Auld born 5 April 1893 and Dorothy Adelaide Auld born 3 August 1895.

William, Nellie and the family move to Western Australia

Two additional children were born in Perth, Western Australia, a daughter named Nellie Muriel Auld born about 1898, and a son named William Peter Auld born about 1900. Unfortunately William and Nellie’s son, William Peter Auld, died in Perth in 1901. William Peter Auld, aged one year, died on 30 September 1901 from pneumonia.

At seventy two years of age and just over four years after his wife passed away, William Peter Auld died on 1 September 1934 at the St John of God Hospital in Subiaco, Western Australia, having suffered from Cirrhosis of the liver for six weeks and Cardiac failure. Two days after his death, on 3 September 1934, William was buried in the same plot as his wife and son at the Karrakatta Cemetery.

How did Trove help?

The archived newspapers on Trove proved invaluable in the research of Peter Auld. By finding mention of a William Peter Auld in the Western Australian newspapers, somewhere I was not looking for him, I was able to work backwards from there and eventually found a South Australian marriage and children. The death and funeral notice that unlocked the mystery follow:

Family Notices. (1934, September 3). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32935117

Family Notices. (1934, September 3). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32935117

Confirmation was achieved through the purchase of Western Australian death and South Australian marriages certificates.

Unknown female by Metcalfe & Glaister [carte de visite]

Photo details:

Title unknown female by Metcalfe & Glaister Date 1875 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000106 Photo Type Carte de visite Mount Size 62 x 102 mm Mount Thickness 0.630 mm Mount Colour Natural Mount Edges Straight Mount Corners Square Image Size 58 x 90 mm Technology Albumen Features Front Imprint None Back Imprint Medium sized, text and artwork

Front face Rear face

Front face:

unknown female by Metcalfe & Glaister (front face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000106-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

There is no imprint on the front face.

Although the individual female depicted in the photograph is unknown, there are several potential candidates for who it may be.

The first and most likely candidate, in my opinion, would be James Muir's first wife Elizabeth nee Coutts. As identified in the post titled Trove Tuesday : The family of James Muir, James and Elizabeth were married 15 December 1874, the year prior to when this photograph is believed to have been taken (based on the rear imprint information - see below). Combine this information with the previously identified photo of James Muir by Metcalfe & Glaister [Carte de visite], which was taken by the same photographers around the same time period.

It is also known that Georgina Auld nee Muir & James Muir's sister, Christina Muir, was also living in Brisbane, although to date it is not known when Christina arrived in Australia.

Rear face:

unknown female by Metcalfe & Glaister (rear face)
[Auld Photograph Collection apc-000106-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on rear face is medium sized and includes both text and artwork. Inscription of the text reads as:

METCALFE & GLAISTER.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
ARTISTS.
[small print]WATSON & CO:LITH:
QUEEN ST BRISBANE.
Late
J.WATSON, 

See Trove Tuesday : Metcalfe & Glaister [Photographers] for more information on Metcalfe & Glaister and their photographic studio in Queen Street, Brisbane. As discussed in that post, the documentary evidence based solely on the information provided on the back imprint dates the photo to 1875.

James Muir by Metcalfe & Glaister [Carte de visite]

Photo details:

Title James Muir by Metcalfe & Glaister Date 1875 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000105 Photo Type Carte de visite Mount Size 63 x 103 mm Mount Thickness 0.575 mm Mount Colour Natural Mount Edges Straight Mount Corners Square Image Size 61 x 97 mm Technology Albumen Features Embossed oval picture mask Front Imprint None Back Imprint Medium sized, text and artwork

Front face Rear face

Front face:

Through several of my earlier posts on Trove Tuesday : The family of James Muir and Trove Tuesday : Identifying James Muir, I have managed to identify the individual in this carte de visite as James Muir, the brother of the Georgina Auld nee Muir.

James Muir by Metcalfe & Glaister (front face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000105-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

There is no imprint on the front face.

As mentioned in my earlier post on Identifying James Muir, the name written in ballpoint pen on the front face is 'Edgar Collingbourne'. This name appears to be fictional and does not correspond to any family members that have been uncovered to date. The history of the ballpoint pen also needs to be taken into account, as the first patent for the ballpoint pen as we know it today was not filed until 1938 by Hungarian newspaper editor and inventor László Bíró. Market saturation of this type of pen varied by country, but it really didn't take off until post-war late 1940s and early 1950s. From this information we can safely say that the name was written well after the date that this photo was taken.

Rear face:

James Muir by Metcalfe & Glaister (rear face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000105-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on rear face is medium sized and includes both text and artwork. Inscription of the text reads as:

METCALFE & GLAISTER.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
ARTISTS.
[small print]WATSON & CO:LITH:
QUEEN ST BRISBANE.
Late
J.WATSON, 

See Trove Tuesday : Metcalfe & Glaister [Photographers] for more information on Metcalfe & Glaister and their photographic studio in Queen Street, Brisbane. As discussed in that post, the documentary evidence based solely on the information provided on the back imprint dates the photo to 1875.

Trove Tuesday : Metcalfe & Glaister [Photographers]

This week I will be using the digitised newspapers on Trove in an attempt to help narrow the date range for another photograph in the carte de visite collection.

Metcalfe & Glaister - photographic artists

On the back of one of the photos is the name of Brisbane based photographers Metcalfe & Glaister. 

METCALFE & GLAISTER.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
ARTISTS.
[small print]WATSON & CO:LITH:
QUEEN ST BRISBANE.
Late
J.WATSON, 

Queen Street Brisbane studio

From the details provided on the photo, Metcalfe & Glaister operated a studio in Queen Street Brisbane. According to a public notice printed in The Brisbane Courier in 1875, Metcalfe & Glaister took over the business of J. Watson from 23 April, offering a range of new styles of photographic portraits.

Source: Classified Advertising. (1875, April 26). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1397960

According to The Queenslander, the pair entered the 1875 Queensland Exhibition held on 8 July, with Metcalfe & Glaister receiving a Certificate of Merit for photographic portraits.

Tragedy strikes the Metcalfe & Glaister partnership

On Wednesday 8 August 1877, Mr Glaister is poisoned when his supposedly drinks a photographic chemical, cyanide of potassium, instead of gin! This mistake unfortunately results in his death . Reports of Mr Glaister's death was reported in several newspapers the following Tuesday, including the interstate Sydney newspaper, the Evening News: 

Source: Sad Case of Accidental Poisoning. (1877, August 14). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 2. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108189526

No doubt the interstate reporting of this sad news is a testament to the notoriety of Metcalfe & Glaister as photographers. Within Queensland, reports of the incident where also published in the Rockhampton Bulletin, a transcription follows:

A distressing case of poisoning occurred in this city on Wednesday morning. Mr, Glaister, of the firm of Metcalfe and Glaister drank a quantity of cyanide of potassium (a chemical used in the photographing business), and died from the effects of the draught in about an hour. It is believed that he mistook the chemical for gin, as he had only a short time previously sent out for a glass of that spirit. He was from thirty to forty years of age, and has left a widow and child. 

Source: Brisbane, August 10. Brisbane. (1877, August 14). Rockhampton Bulletin (Qld. : 1871 - 1878), p. 2. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51911343

Metcalfe moves on...

A year later, there are still reports of the Metcalfe & Glaister business operating under that name - The Brisbane Courier reported in July 1878 on the display of the relatively new format cabinet and coloured photographs.

Source: Telegraphic. (1878, July 27). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 5. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1373802

Within several months however, the photographic name of Metcalfe & Glaister was replaced by Metcalf [sic] & Bennett in a new studio location in the Smith's Buildings, Queen Street, Brisbane.

Source: Classified Advertising. (1878, October 28). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1376091

Based on the above information, the photographers Metcalfe & Glaister operated from their Queen Street, Brisbane studio from April 1875 through to August 1877. That said, it would appear from the newspaper articles referenced that the business kept operating until October 1878 under the Metcalfe & Glaister name.

Putting a date on the carte de visite

Conservation Architect Peter Marquis-Kyle has two fine examples of back imprints of carte de visite photographs by Metcalfe & Glaister in his online collection. The first example is very similar to the back imprint displayed above, except there is no "late J. Watson", indicating that it is of a later date.

Metcalfe & Glaister back imprint. Photo reproduced courtesy Peter Marquis-Kyle
Source: http://www.marquis-kyle.com.au/cartes/000260.php

The second example shows rather elaborate text and scroll work covering the full back and angled at forty-five degrees, indicating a later period again than the first example.

Metcalfe & Glaister back imprint. Photo reproduced courtesy Peter Marquis-Kyle
Source: http://www.marquis-kyle.com.au/cartes/000259.php

Based on the information collected and the rear imprint examples of other Metcalfe & Glaister work cited, I would put a year date for this photo as 1875.

Unknown male by J. Hubert Newman [Carte de visite]

Photo details:

Title Unknown male by J. Hubert Newman Date 1873 ±1 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000035 Photo Type Carte de visite Mount Size 63 x 105 mm Mount Thickness 0.525 mm Mount Colour Natural Mount Edges Straight Mount Corners Square Image Size 60 x 93 mm Technology Albumen Features - Front Imprint Small lettering Back Imprint Large sized, text and artwork

Front face Rear face

Front face:

Unfortunately the name of the gentleman in this photograph is currently unknown - maybe you can help? If so leave a comment. The robes worn by  this gentleman may indicate that he is in the clergy. The album that this photograph belongs to was once owned by Georgina Muir. In this particular branch of the Aulds, both the Muir and Auld names have strong links to the Presbyterian church. Georgina Muir married Reverend John Auld and their son John Hay Goodlet Auld also became a Reverend in the Presbyterian church.

One possibility is the Reverend James Stirling Muir. Rev. John Calder has written an article on One Hundred Years of Presbyterianism on the North Shore, 1844-1944: St Peter's Presbyterian Church, North Sydney in which there is mention of Reverend Muir in Sydney during the early 1870s. Inducted into the pastoral charge of St. Peter's Church, North Shore (Sydney), in 1870, Rev. James Stirling Muir continued until 1871 at which time he left the colony. James Stirling Muir's father Rev. John Muir, was also a minister in the Presbyterian church. 

To date a connection has not been found between the Rev. James Stirling Muir and Georgina Muir.

Unknown male by J. Hubert Newman (front face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000035-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on the front face is small text and reads "J. HUBERT NEWMAN   HYDE PARK, SYDNEY"

Rear face:

Unknown male by J. Hubert Newman (rear face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000035-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on rear face is large sized and includes both text and artwork. Inscription of the text reads as:

PHOTOGRAPHER BY APPOINTMENT TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR
[top medal] AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES 1870
[bottom left medal] PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE AWARDED TO J.H.NEWMAN FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 1872
[bottom right medal] PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE AWARDED TO J.H.NEWMAN FOR CRAYONS 1872
[monogram] JHN
J. HUBERT NEWMAN
PHOTOGRAPHER AND CRAYON PAINTER
12 South Head Road
Hyde Park
SYDNEY

See Trove Tuesday : John Hubert Newman [Photographer] for more information on John Hubert Newman and his photographic studio at 12 South Head Road. As discussed in that post, the documentary evidence based solely on the information provided on the back imprint dates the photo to 1872-1874, or 1873 ±1 year.

Trove Tuesday : Identifying James Muir

Last week the resources of Trove were utilised to help build a family profile of James Muir (see Trove Tuesday : The family of James Muir). This week I will go one better and explain how a newspaper article helped identify one of the carte de visite photographs contained in the Georgina Auld nee Muir album that is currently being scanned.

Obituary notice for James Muir

From the results seen last week whilst searching the newspapers, it was noticed that when James Muir's name was mentioned, reference was also being made to his father John Muir and to where his father lived - in Gatehead, Ayrshire, Scotland. With this in mind, a search was performed using "James Muir Gatehead Ayrshire Scotland". The results were rather surprising and helped identify several additional siblings of James Muir who had also immigrated to both Australia (Brisbane specifically) as well as New Zealand. Of particular note was an obituary notice for James Muir that was published in several newspapers. Below is a copy of the obituary that appeared in The Brisbane Courier on 7 July 1916:

Source: PERSONAL. (1916, July 7). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 11. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20133427

From reading the obituary, readers will pick up on several possible avenues for potential research. The item that stood out for me was the mention that James Muir was a founder of the Queensland Bowling Association.

Queensland Bowling Association

A quick search on the Internet found a breakdown of the history of Bowls Australia. According to the information provided on the site, the first Brisbane Bowls Club was formed in 1878 and they played on a green in the Botanic Gardens. The club subsequently became the Booroodabin Bowls Club with the Queensland Association being formed in 1903.

To see if any further details could be found, the all knowing oracle of historic Australian printed media 'Trove' was consulted. The question we asked the oracle was "James Muir Queensland bowling" and the oracle Trove referenced the following full page article that appeared in The Brisbane Courier in 1904:

Source: [No heading]. (1904, February 6). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 12. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page1546481

Several articles appear on the page and detail James Muir's involvement with bowling. One such article on An Ancient and Honourable Game, details Muir playing on the lawns of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens as a pioneer of bowling in Queensland in 1878, to being the first President of the Queensland Bowling Association in May 1881.

A photo of James Muir as printed in 1904

On the same page appear fourteen photos of individuals connected with bowling in Queensland. One of these photos is of James Muir, President of the Queensland Association. The closeup of the photo follows:

Source: BOWLING IN QUEENSLAND. (1904, February 6). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 12. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19264300

Comparing the photo of James Muir taken in 1904 with the photos in the Georgina Auld nee Muir album, a match was made with one of the photographs of an unknown male taken circa 1875 in Brisbane. There is a time difference of nearly thirty years between the two images but the similarities can be seen.

Unknown male (possibly James Muir) by Metcalfe & Glaister (front face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000105-s1]

Readers will note the name written in ball point pen on the front face as 'Edgar Collingbourne'. Unfortunately there are several photographs in the album which have been written on and from research undertaken to date, it appears the names are fictional and do not correspond to any family members that have been uncovered to date. The names are all in the same handwriting and one possible scenario is that the carte de visite photographs were used in some sort of game. Other photographs with these type of names have been matched against other identifiable photos and hence the reasoning that they are fictional.

What do you think?

1895 Valuation Rolls now available on Scotlands People

28 May 2013 saw the launch of the 1895 Valuation Rolls on the ScotlandsPeople website, so this weekend I decided to have a look and see what sort of information could be retrieved from the (VR) Rolls.

Searching the Rolls

To see how many Auld names are listed in the 1895 Valuation Rolls an initial search was performed using the AULD name and the 'Exact surnames only' option. The result ended up with 735 matches (or thirty pages of results). In order to narrow the results down a tad, West Calder was selected from the comprehensive list of Parishes - results one match on one page of results.

As users of the ScotlandsPeople website will know, the site uses pre-purchased credits. These credits in turn are used to purchase certificates / register entries / census records and valuation rolls. For the 1895 Valuation Rolls. one credit is required to view one page of your search results and a further two credits are required to view each page of the Rolls.

Viewing the results of my search revealed a surprise in that my 2nd Great Great Uncle William Wallace Auld was listed. From all of the information I had previously collected on William Wallace Auld and my particular branch of the Aulds, the family could be tracked growing up in the small village of West Calder, before they moved into Edinburgh to continue their shoe/boot making business.

Viewing the results

Wanting to know more I proceeded to view the Rolls. What one gets is a fantastic page of typed information that lists the property in question, who the proprietor of the property is including their address, name and occupation of the tenant if the property is tenanted, plus the rates paid for rent.

Source: Valuation Roll for William Wallace Auld in West Calder [ScotlandsPeople VR108 / 26 / 220]

An extract of the information relating to William Wallace Auld follows:

No.:	1458
Description and Situation of Subject:	House and garden, Manse street, West Calder
Proprietor:	Auld, William Wallace, manager, The Willows, Relugas Road, Grange, Edinburgh
Tenant.:	Peter Gowans, mason
Occupier.:	same
Yearly Rent or Value (£ s. d.):	12 10 0
Feu Duty and Ground Annual (£ s. d.):	0 0 6
Within West Calder Water District (£ s. d.):	12 10 0
Within West Calder Drainage District (£ s. d.):	12 10 0

Source: Extract of Valuation Roll for the County of Mid-Lothian for the Year 1895-96 -
Parish of West Calder (Calder District) [ScotlandsPeople VR108 / 26 / 220]

What we can learn from the Valuation Rolls

Previous research using census records and BDM certificates, although extremely valuable in placing an individual at a particular residence at that point in time, did not provide the researcher the wider picture in relation to real estate assets owned by a person. This is where the Valuation Rolls come into their own and may fill some gaps. The other advantage is that individuals, be it only head of household and property proprietors, can now trace in the middle of the ten year 1891 and 1901 census cycle.

Another fantastic resource offered by ScotlandsPeople. Well worth a visit if you haven't been to the site in a while.