Sample book of 27 photographic portraits by H. Walter Barnett, the first world-renowned Australian photographer & early filmmaker.
London: Park Side, Hyde Park Corner, Ca. 1900. Folio sample book of striking photographic portraits for the London studio of H. Walter Barnett, a prominent Australian photographer & early filmmaker. The photographs comprise portraits of 25 women and two men, in a variety of poses and printed formats. Barnett photographed the celebrities of the time; the album includes many portraits of Febea Strakosch, the opera singer dressed for her roles in "The Mikado" in a kimono; as Marguerite in "Faust", a pair as "Joan of Arc"; and 2 separately issued images of her signed loosely inserted. Barnett was a member of the Linked Ring photo-secessionist group from 1899 to 1901 with the pseudonym 'The Antipodean', he managed to combine art and commercial portraiture with his exquisitely produced sepia platinum portraits on flexible vellum mounts. (NPG.uk) The photographs in the album are in the format mentioned above. The booklet is unrecorded on OCLC, Trove or Copac.
There are portraits of various others- aristocratic women richly dressed in elegant evening and daytime attire. The two male portraits include one of a young man in formal wear; the second of an older gentleman with cigar in informal attire in an outdoor setting smoking a cigar.
Henry Walter Barnett (1862 – 1934), was an important Australian photographer and filmmaker. He established Falk Studios in Sydney where he photographed Australian stars of the stage and visitors such as Sarah Bernhardt, Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain. "In 1896 Barnett met French cinematographer Marius Sestier, an agent of early filmmakers the Lumière brothers assigned to demonstrate their cinématographe abroad. Barnett and Sestier began making films together, starting with a short film of passengers disembarking from the ship S.S. Brighton in Manly, which was the first film shot and screened in Australia. They made approximately 19 films together in Sydney and Melbourne, most notably a film of the 1896 Melbourne Cup horse race. Barnett directed the films while Sestier operated the cinématographe, and in the Melbourne Cup film Barnett is seen on camera encouraging spectators to wave their hats as the horses cross the finish line. The Melbourne Cup film was premiered at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne on 19 November 1896. It was covered in the Australian press, including The Age and The Bulletin, and has been cited as Australia's first film production." (Wikipedia) In 1897 he relocated to London, making himself part of the circle of expatriate artists which included Auguste Rodin, and opening studios at Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge.
Folio, 11 1/2 x 13 1/2", 13pp, plus 3 loosely inserted images, cord bound. Printed stiff paper cover, with title printed in red and black, and a lithographed illustration of warriors laid down. Photographs with printed captions giving H. Walter Barnett address variously as 12 Knightsbridge, or 1 Park Side, Hyde Park Corner. One of the portraits with stamp at verso providing instructions for ordering negatives, printed on thicker paper. Photographs range in size from 6 x 8" to 1 3/4 x 5 1/4"; laid down on card stock. Cover and first page detached; cover somewhat dusty, rubbed at edges. Photographs in very good condition.
27 portrait photographs taken in London of the beautiful people of the day, by a noted Australian photographer who made a great success in the city. Trove records 16 portraits of Australian personages; this London imprint was intended as an introduction of the photographic talent of Barnett when he launched his own business in the British market. Very good condition. Item #23753
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