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.

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?