BLACKWOOD, W. [Olaf William]

Album by W. Blackwood of Sydney Banks [cover title]

Sydney, W. Blackwood [The Photographer], 1859.

Oblong large quarto (approximately 306 × 418 mm), containing a preface leaf (verso blank) and 9 albumen silver photographs (ranging from approximately 211 × 269 mm to 240 × 295 mm) mounted individually on the rectos of captioned card leaves, with each one preceded by a leaf of related text (verso blank).

Red morocco-grain cloth blocked in gilt on the front cover; covers discoloured, a little worn at the extremities, and lacking the backstrip; stitching broken, with some leaves later rehinged with paper; the album itself may be easily improved with basic conservation; the pictorial content is in excellent condition.

The preface (dated 8 November 1859) is informative regarding the production of the photographs: 'In taking the Views of the whole of the Banking Establishments of Sydney, the Photographer has had to contend with numerous difficulties, especially with the impossibility of obtaining, in some instances, a good position of producing the desired effect, in consequence of the peculiar and confined positions of some of the buildings.... The arrangement has been adopted of placing them in the Album in the order in which they occur, in the course of a tour through the city, commencing at the North, where the European vessels land their passengers ...'.

The nine banks are: Bank of Australasia; London Chartered Bank of Australia; Bank of New South Wales; Commercial Banking Company; New South Wales Savings Bank; English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank; Australian Joint Stock Bank; Union Bank of Australia; and Oriental Bank Corporation.

Olaf William Blackwood (1824-1897) produced three significant albums in 1858 and 1859: 'Blackwood's Panorama of Sydney & Harbour' (1858); 'Album by W. Blackwood of Australian Scenery' (1859); and this one. All of them are very rare. Trove records only the State Library of New South Wales copy of this album of Sydney banks.

Item #135857

Price (AUD): $15,000.00
other currencies