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		Creator		American & Australasian Photographic Company Holtermann, Bernard Otto, 1838-1885
		Title		Holtermann Collection : photographs of goldfield towns in N.S.W. and Victoria; Sydney and Melbourne streets and buildings, 1871-1876
		Level of Description		Collection
		Type of Material		Graphic Materials
		Issue Copy		Digitised :
		Physical Description		Photographs : ca. 3,500 images copied from glass negatives
		Administrative / Biographical Note		A meeting between gold miner Bernard Otto Holtermann and photographer Beaufoy Merlin in Hill End in 1872 resulted in one of the most astonishing photographic documentations ever undertaken. Holtermann had been associated with the recent discovery of the world’s largest specimen of reef gold, weighing 145 kilograms, extracted from the Star of Hope mine at nearby Tambaroora. Merlin, an itinerant photographer, had just opened a temporary studio in Hill End. In January 1873, the two announced their plans for Holtermann’s great International Travelling Exposition, which would publicise the potential of their adopted country to the world through photography. Merlin and his assistant Charles Bayliss had already photographed some of the gold producing towns of the colony and Holtermann’s patronage enabled them to continue the undertaking, using a larger camera. Merlin had begun his photographic career in Victoria in 1866 and within a few years had developed a unique style of outdoor photography. Charles Bayliss joined American & Australasian Photographic Company in Melbourne and the pair headed north into New South Wales, photographing towns along the way. When Beaufoy Merlin and Charles Bayliss arrived in Sydney in September 1870, they had already completed an extraordinary documentation of “ almost every house in Melbourne, and the other towns in Victoria.” They were aware that their venture was unusual and contemporary advertising by the American & Australasian Photographic Company reflects a considered understanding of the photographic medium and an intellectual approach to their work. “The chief characteristic and distinguishing feature of the Company’s style of work, is the introduction of figures into the photograph – the most complete and life-like portraits of individuals who happen, or may choose to stand outside, being incorporated in the picture. The A&A Photographic Company desire further to remind the public that these negatives are not taken for the mere immediate object of sale, but that being registered, copies can at all times be had by or of those parties residing in any part of the colonies wherever the Company’s operations have extended, thus forming a novel means of social and commercial intercourse.” Nevertheless, it is not surprising that Merlin and Bayliss headed west in 1872 with the new gold rushes. The cry “Rush-O!” meant money for businesses, including photographers. A studio for the A&A Photographic Company was built on land owned by Holtermann in Hill End and excursions were made to surrounding areas by horse drawn caravan. The photographic process of the day required the photographer coat each plate just before use and develop it immediately before it lost sensitivity. For the itinerant photographer, this meant taking a portable darkroom wherever he went. Despite the difficulty of the wet plate process, the comprehensive goldfields photography of Merlin and Bayliss has provided a unique documentation of frontier life. Merlin fell ill and died from pneumonia in 1873, leaving his assistant the task of documenting towns for Holtermann’s Exposition. Consequently, Bayliss toured Victoria the following year, but returned to Sydney in 1875 and began making giant panoramas of the city from Holtermann’s house in North Sydney. The venture was to cost Holtermann over ₤4000, but resulted in the production of the world’s largest wet-plate negatives and several panoramas. One, measuring 10 metres long, astonished audiences overseas and received the Bronze award at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and a Silver Medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle Internationale in 1878. Only a small percentage of the A&A Photographic Company’s output has survived, but 3,500 small format wet plates negatives (including extensive coverage of the towns of Hill End and Gulgong) and the world’s largest wet plate negatives, measuring a massive 1 x 1.5 metres, are held by the Library.
		Contents		This collection is arranged by size of negative, from quarter plate to whole plate, then imperial, mammoth and finally 3 of the world’s largest wet plate negatives. The original negative numbers have been retained. Each negative has been catalogued individually. BOX 1-5 Views of Gulgong Includes some views of Hartley and Hill End BOX 6-13 Views of Hill End BOX 14-31 Studio portraits taken in Hill End BOX 32-37 Stereographic views of Melbourne, Sydney and country towns BOX 38 Portrait of Sophia and Esther Holtermann ; Machinery of Pullen's battery, Hill End BOX 39 Transparencies of clipper ship Aviemore and corvette Atalante; Views of Woollahra and Watsons Bay; The Moon, taken with the Great Melbourne Telescope BOX 40 Views of Wellington BOX 41 Views of Orange BOX 42-43 Views of Hartley, Turon Valley, Gulgong, Hill End including Tambaroora Cemetery BOX 44 Miscellaneous Includes studio portraits and outdoor images of Holtermann’s child on horse with Aboriginal groomsman Fred Grunway and man on horse BOX 45 Studio portraits, including group portraits BOX 46 Studio portraits and group portraits Includes a view of Beechworth, Victoria BOX 47 Studio portraits and group portraits Includes interior views of Weir & Embleton's cordial factory, Hill End BOX 48 Studio portraits and group portraits Includes portrait of Holtermann’s daughter BOX 49 Views of Hill End including gold mines and batteries BOX 50-54 Views of Rockley, Trunkey, Montefiores, Carcoar, Blayney, Wellington, Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo BOX 55-61 Views of Sydney and suburbs BOX 62-66 Views of Melbourne and suburbs BOX 67 Views of Bendigo (Sandhurst) Includes panorama taken from St. Paul’s tower, quartz crushing machinery, gold mines and batteries BOX 68 Views of Ballarat, Heathcote and panorama of Beechworth Includes image of a group camping beside a river BOX 69 Panorama of Beechworth, views of Bright, Wagga Wagga, Goulburn, Young, Ironbarks, Dubbo and panorama of Yass district Includes State School No. 1560, Victoria and Melbourne Lodging House BOX 70 Panorama of Melbourne taken from Government House tower BOX 71 Hill End views and panorama including gold mines and batteries. Portraits of B.O. Holtermann with the Holtermann nugget BOX 72 Views of Geelong Miscellaneous - includes images from panoramas of Melbourne and Sydney; Warship Atalante in dock, Sydney; Presbyterian Church, Hill End; Servant bells and gas making machine at Holtermann’s residence, Sydney; Streetscape Trunkey; The Moon, taken with the Great Melbourne Telescope; Mount Erin Convent, Wagga Wagga; Sketches of Nepean Towers, Douglas Park BOX 73 Nine miniature portraits of an unidentified Freemason; View looking east towards Circular Quay from Princes Street, The Rocks BOX 74 Holtermann’s residence, North Sydney; Views in Goulburn district; Photographic cart at Heathcote and Orange; Sydney streetscapes; Mansions, Elizabeth Bay; Panorama of Bathurst BOX 75 Victorian scenery BOX 76 Panorama of Ballarat taken from the Town Hall tower BOX 77 B.O. Holtermann at the Middle Head fortifications, Sydney Panorama of Sydney taken from tower of Holtermann residence, North Sydney Interior and exterior views of Exhibition hall, Prince Alfred Park, Sydney BOX 78 Melbourne - Bank of Australasia, Bank of Victoria, Scots Church, Government House. Sydney - Funeral cortege of James Goodenough, North Sydney; Holtermann's residence, North Sydney; Holtermann family and their Post Office Hotel, York Street, Sydney Sandhurst (Bendigo) - Pall Mall BOX 79 Panorama of Melbourne taken from Government House tower Views of Geelong and [Stawell ?] BOX 80-83 Panoramic views of Sydney Includes image of gold mines and Holtermann shooting party camp in the bush XR 45a XR 45b XR 46 Three photographs of Sydney Harbour from the Holtermann residence


		Copying Conditions		Out of copyright - Created before 1955 Please acknowledge: - Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
		Published Information		For an account of `Holtermann's Exposition' by the photographer, Beaufoy Merlin, see 'Town and Country Journal', 27 Sept 1873.
		Description Source		A guide compiled by Library Society Volunteers, 1980-1985, is available at PXD 533. This guide was used to catalogue the Holtermann collection and includes maps
		General Note		Reference 35mm positive microfilm copies (3 reels) are located at CY 817 (BOX 1-9), CY 818 (BOX 10-14, 38, 40-60) and CY 819 (BOX 61-74). Copy negatives are at ONCY 25. Master copy prints are filed at PXA 4998
		Author/Artist		Bayliss, Charles, 1850-1897 Merlin, Beaufoy, ca. 1830-1873
		Subject		Gold mines and mining -- New South Wales -- Gulgong -- Pictorial works Gold mines and mining -- New South Wales -- Hill End -- Pictorial works Gulgong (N.S.W.) -- Pictorial works Hill End (N.S.W.) -- Pictorial works Holtermann, Bernard Otto, 1838-1885 -- Photograph collections Melbourne (Vic.) -- Pictorial works. New South Wales -- Pictorial works Portraits, Australian -- 19th century. Portraits, Group. Sydney (N.S.W.) -- Pictorial works. Victoria -- Pictorial works
		Exhibited in		The Greatest Wonder of the World