Passing off: vendors' misidentification tactics to attract bidders at auctions

Misidentification, passing off: vendors and buyers of Tasmaniana at auctions 2019 and 2026
Photographer T. J. NEVIN, siblings W. John NEVIN, Mary-Ann NEVIN and wife Elizabeth Rachel (Day) NEVIN 1870s
Photographer T. D. WEBB, Launceston with Robert Stanton ROTHWELL ca. 1870 



Portrait of Robert Stanton Rothwell by T. D. Webb, Launceston, Tasmania ca. 1870
Inscribed verso "With R.S.R.'s compliments, to Ms E. Bayles, Auburn, Ross"
Misidentified by vendor at Leski's auction (Vic) 31 May 2026 as William John Nevin, brother of photographer T. J. Nevin
Purchased at auction from Leski's for © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection.

Caveat emptor: "let the buyer beware"
In buyer beware market places such as auctions, deliberate misidentification is a ruse whereby the vendor associates a well-known, established name with their obscure object on offer to entice more bidders from a wider group and not just those with deep pockets and niche interests. The final inflated sale price happily arrived at then operates as a sign of value and importance in future airings of the object. In public exhibitions its sale price on acquisition is either flaunted or discretely suppressed, depending on the source of funds. If a buyer with a private collection, on the other hand, comes to see the claims made by the vendor at auction were intentionally fraudulent, they may want to offload the object but find themselves in the same position as their vendor who sold it to them. They must now offer the inflated sale price they paid to pass the object on and pass it off as possessing "value" using their vendor's prior sale price as "evidence".


Case 1: this is not Marcus Clarke (1846-1881)
A recent example is the cdv by H. H. Baily claimed at auction to be a portrait of author Marcus Clarke, famous for his historic novel about convictism set in Tasmania, For the Term of His Natural Life (1874). The reclining gent of this photograph at Baily's studio ca. 1869-1870 in all probability was Clarke's editor at the Argus, F. W. Haddon who travelled with Clarke to the Port Arthur prison, Tasmania in 1870. When sent to auction in 2019 (Sydney Rare Books Auctions, passed in) and again to Leski's Auctions on 31 May 2026, this cdv which the vendor was hoping to pass off as a portrait of Marcus Clarke was offered at the staggering price of $2000. It was listed on the day as sold for $2200 (Lot #1116). The bidder #9374 also bought the cdv by Launceston photographer W. Burrows & Co. (see below) of an unidentified woman for $200 which was wrongly identified and sold at the same auction as a portrait of photographer Thomas J. Nevin's wife Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin.




Sourced online at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne in May 2026
Catalogue notes (strike-through is ours):
Lot 1116:
[TASMANIAN INTEREST] A circa 1870 carte-de-visite featuring Marcus Clarke (1846-1881), Australian novelist best known for his 1874 novel "For the Term of His Natural Life", produced by H.H. Baily (Hobart). Taken during a brief visit to Tasmania in January 1870 at the behest of the Argus, Clarke is seen here striking a pose befitting a young bohemian of the time, lying on a chaise longue, gazing directly at the camera.
However, as per today's date, 30 August 2026, the same Lot #1116 at Leski's is now listed as UNSOLD, with an estimate of $500 - $750!!

Read more about Marcus Clarke, F. W. Haddon and this photograph here

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Frederick William HADDON (1839–1906)[extract]
Source: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/haddon-frederick-william-3686

... Haddon worked first as a contributor to the Argus and then as sub-editor. He became co-editor of the new weekly Australasian in 1864 and sole editor in 1865. He was promoted editor of the Argus on 1 January 1867. Under his guidance it became, according to Richard Twopeny, 'the best daily paper published out of England'. Meanwhile Saturday night gatherings at his lodgings in 1867-68 and quarters which he briefly shared with Marcus Clarke attracted talented literary friends who in 1868 formed the Yorick Club. Haddon, one of the first trustees, withdrew as the club lost its Bohemianism but retained ties with Marcus Clarke and in 1870 went with him to Tasmania...

Case 2: this is not Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin (1847-1914)
The moral probity of vendors at auctions invites scrutiny when bidders question the provenance of an object, the source of documentation put forward as evidence, the means whereby the vendor came to own it, and their reason for selling it.

The highly questionable use of Thomas J. Nevin's name was a tactic by a vendor to attract interest in this photograph of an unidentified woman with claims it to be a portrait of Thomas J. Nevin's wife, Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin (1847-1914), taken at W. Burrows studio, Launceston ca. 1878. It was offered and passed in at Sydney Rare Books Auctions in June 2019, and when resubmitted by the same vendor (proxy and agent for Ravenswick Auctions) to Leski's Auctions in May 2026, it was sold for $200 to bidder #9374, the same bidder who was willing to pay $2200 for the cdv taken by H. H. Baily in Hobart, claimed by the vendor to be a portrait of author Marcus Clarke (see above). That buyer appears to have subsequently withdrawn their bid on the "Marcus Clarke" cdv, , as Leski's is now (at 29 Aug 2026) offering the same cdv online - Lot #1116 - as UNSOLD with an estimate of $500-750. The buyer with cold feet on that one should also withdraw their bid on this one which is NOT a portrait of Thomas J. Nevin's wife Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin.



Unidentified woman, seated with arm raised, elbow on table, face resting against her hand.
The subject was incorrectly identified at auctions in 2019 and 2026 as the wife of photographer Thomas J. Nevin. This is NOT a portrait of Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin (1847-1914).



Sourced online at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne 31 May 2026
Catalogue notes (strike-through is ours):
Lot #1125
[TASMANIAN INTEREST] A circa 1878 carte-de-visite featuring Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin (1847-1914), wife of Thomas Nevin, produced by W. Burrows & Co. (Launceston).
Lot closed - Price Realized:$200
Estimate: $200 - $300
Leski's Auctions, 727-729 High Street, Armadale, Victoria, 3143, Australia.
Auction: AUSTRALIAN & HISTORICAL
https://www.leski.com.au/auction/australian-historical-11/
Session Two: (Lots 760 – 1540)
Sunday 31 May, 2026 – 10.00am AEST

The buyer at Leski's (#9374), possibly a public institution, paid $200 for this portrait which will now sit in public archives with the vendor's wrong claim that it is a portrait of photographer Thomas J. Nevin's wife, Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin. Its provenance is unknown apart from information provided by Leski's Auctions that it came from the estate of the late Alexander Renwick, auctioneer of Ravenswick Auction House, Sydney. It was previously on offer at Sydney Rare Books Auctions in June 2019 by Renwick's collaborator T. Thompson. When questioned as to provenance, Mr T. Thompson was anything but forthcoming. This cdv associated with Thomas J. Nevin's name at that auction in 2019 was one of six  (6) claiming to be either photos taken by Nevin or members of his family taken by other photographers. Three (3) have yet to surface again at auctions since first offered in 2019 which the vendor claimed to be portraits taken by Thomas J. Nevin of his brother William John Nevin, So there are three more held somewhere by someone no doubt waiting their chance (see ADDENDA below).

This portrait of a seated woman by W. Burrows & Co. Launceston bears no likeness to Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin in features or style. Anyone could have realized the error by comparing the five extant portraits, all held by descent, which Thomas J. Nevin took of his wife, each easily viewable online at these weblogs dedicated to documenting his work and family life. Had successful bidder #9374 contacted us here prior to Leski's auction on 31 May 2026, we could have communicated the misidentification immediately.


Case 3: this is not Mary-Ann Nevin (1844-1878)
The cdv of this young woman clearly bears verso Thomas J. Nevin's most common studio backmark, but whether the sitter was his younger sister Mary Ann (Nevin) Carr  as claimed by the vendor who offered it at Leski's auctions on 31 May 2026, is another matter entirely. Her identity is not ascertainable from any inscribed name or dedication,  and most important, there is no indication of its provenance before its appearance at Sydney Rare Book Auctions auctions in June 2019 and its re-appearance more recently at Leski's Auctions in May 2026 where it was purchased by T. J. Nevin's descendants as an early example of his portraiture technique, now copyrighted to  © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2026.

Thomas J. Nevin and his three younger siblings were born in County Down Ireland prior to their arrival on the Fairlie in July 1852 at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) with their free-settler parents Mary Ann (Dickson) and father John Nevin snr.  Held by descent in the family is a cdv of Thomas' sister Mary Ann Nevin who married James Carr in 1877 and died within weeks of childbirth in 1878. A comparison of her brother Thomas' photographs taken of her ca. 1875 with this one (below) which was possibly taken earlier, ca. 1865, shows little similarity. If, for some reason there was - at some time in the distant past in this cdv's history as it passed from one owner to another - a reason to assume it was a portrait of a sibling of Thomas Nevin, therefore of his sister Mary Ann (Nevin) Carr since no image of his other sister Rebecca Jane had surfaced - this cdv might possibly be Thomas' portrait of his youngest sister Rebecca Jane Nevin, who died in 1865. 



Catalogue notes (strike-through is ours):
Sourced online at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne 31 May 2026

NB: The subject of this cdv was (mis)identified as Mary Anne Nevin (1844-1878) in the catalogue notes at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne, 31 May 2026 where it was offered at auction, per this entry:

Lot #1110
[TASMANIAN INTEREST] A circa 1868 carte-de-visite featuring Mary Anne Nevin (1844-1878), sister of Thomas Nevin, produced by T. Nevin late A. Bock (Hobart).



Subject: A young woman, possibly Rebecca Jane Nevin (1847-1865) ca. 18 years old.
Photographer and date: her brother Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1865, months before her death.
Location: taken at the City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town
Format: Carte-de-visite, sepia albumen print, plain buff mount, head and shoulders of the sitter taken against a dark oval background, possibly seated, her torso slightly turned, her gaze rigid, eyelids dropped and directed left. 
Details: This young woman was captured with lips parted, teeth showing, suggesting intentional smiling. Her dark hair was parted centre, lifted and rolled at the back. Her several items of jewellery included a carved cameo on a short ribbon at her throat;  a brooch - possibly a rose carved from soapstone - pinned at the V-line of her bodice; and a long chain with a trinket tucked into her wide buckled belt pulled tightly at her waist.  Her dress was made from a soft and satiny sheen, accentuated by crocheted pieces edged onto the V-line and appliqued to the shoulders. 
Verso: T. Nevin's commercial studio backstamp in sepia ink (T. Nevin late A. Bock).
Provenance: unknown, offered from the estate of auctioneer Alexander Renwick (Syd) at Sydney Rare Books Auction in June 2019,  offered again and acquired at auction, 31 May 2026 from Leski's (Melb) for this weblog's portfolio of Thomas J. Nevin's photographic works. 
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2026

Rebecca Jane Nevin died of causes unknown in 1865. If she was 18 years old in November 1865, she was born ca. 1847 and under 4 yrs old when she departed Portsmouth on the Fairlie in March 1852. Her father John Nevin snr wrote a lament on her death in January 1866 as a tribute to her short life and suffering, titled "Lines on the much lamented death of Rebecca Jane Nevin"; the original is held at the University of Melbourne Library Special Collections.


Case 4: this is not William John Nevin (1852–1891)
In May 2026 this fine cdv taken by T. D. Webb of a handsomely turned-out young man in a summer suit was also on offer at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne. The catalogue notes claimed it was a portrait of William John Nevin (1852–1891), the younger brother of photographer Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923). But comparison with this cdv and three cdv's taken by Thomas between 1868 and 1878 of his brother Constable John (W. J. aka Jack) Nevin which are held by descent in private collections shows no such likeness in style or features. The photographed subject of this cdv offered at Leski's in May 2026 was definitely not Thomas Nevin's younger brother Constable John (William John aka Jack) Nevin.

The vendor's name-dropping tactic of associating T. J. Nevin's name and those of his family members to attract the attention of descendants and/or collectors certainly succeeded, as was their intention when they submitting the cdv to auction  in May 2026. It is an old trick of the con artist to seek out a mark with emotional associations to the object, and a particularly bold attempt in this case, given the signature verso on the cdv - "R.S.R." - contradicts any possible identification of William John Nevin as the subject with those initials.

As descendants we decided to bid for this cdv to take it out of circulation, to correct its misidentification as a portrait William John Nevin with the intention of preventing its acquisition by a public institution or private collector perpetuating the name "William John Nevin" as the portrait subject's identity. Our careful research concluded that this subject of T. D. Webb's portrait ca. 1868-1870 who signed the verso "R.S.R" with a dedication to Miss E. Bayles was 20 year-old Robert Stanton Rothwell (1850-1902). He was the son of John J. Rockwell, Sarah (Rockwell) Crouch's brother, who rose to the position of Under-Sheriff in 1868 when her husband Thomas J. Crouch retired from the position.





Sourced online at Leski's Auctions, Melbourne 31 May 2026
Catalogue notes (strike-through is ours):

Lot #1115
[TASMANIAN INTEREST] A circa 1870 carte-de-visite featuring William John Nevin (1852–1891), younger brother of Thomas Nevin, produced by T.D. Webb (Launceston), with message in ink on reverse "With R.S.R.'s compliments, to Ms E. Bayles, Auburn, Ross".
Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting: $160
Lot closed - Price Realized:$200

Leski's Auctions, 727-729 High Street, Armadale, Victoria, 3143, Australia.
Auction: AUSTRALIAN & HISTORICAL
https://www.leski.com.au/auction/australian-historical-11/
Session Two: (Lots 760 – 1540)
Sunday 31 May, 2026 – 10.00am AEST

Our recent post with Thomas J. Nevin's cdv of Sarah (Rothwell) Crouch provides further details of the inter-connectedness of the Nevin, Crouch, and Rockwell families: their family farms at Kangaroo Valley (Hobart), their civil service at the Hobart Gaol, and their measures at Wesleyan social reforms. A forthcoming post includes more examples of Thomas Dunn Webb's photography 1868-1870, of his interests in gold, tin and tobacco in Tasmania, examples of Alfred Bock's portraits of the Bayles sisters, and an account of Ellen Bayles' extraordinary wealth acquired over a long lifetime.

Sarah (Rothwell) Crouch's portrait had a similar airing at the two auctions, Sydney Rare Books Auction  in June 2019 and Leski's Auctions in May 2026, with provenance from auctioneer Alexander Renwick's estate. Fortunately it was correctly identified in both instances with the sitter's name Sarah Crouch and the photographer's attribution, T. Nevin - the only one on both counts, as it happened.



Above: Portrait of Sarah Crouch, cdv by Thomas J. Nevin, taken ca. 1867-1871
Item: Carte-de-visite on buff mount, sepia albumen print
Subject: Sarah (Rothwell) Crouch (1806-1876)
Photographer: Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923)
Location: City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart
Verso studio stamp: [blue ink] T. Nevin, late A. Bock, City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart. Further copies can be obtained at any time.
Provenance: estate of the late Alexander Renwick (Ravenswick Auction House)
Per Leski's Auctions, Melbourne, May 2026 online.
Lot closed - Price Realized:$420 [the highest yet for a single T. J. Nevin cdv sold at market]
Estimate: $200 - $300
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2026

Addenda
The six carte-de-visite portraits, including the three above - each poorly photographed by the vendor - were all passed in when offered at Invaluable's auction houses website by Sydney Rare Books, in June 2019. Four were claimed to be photographs taken by Thomas J. Nevin of his siblings - three of his young brother William John Nevin and one of sister Mary-Ann. Not one of the three cdv's claimed to be of his brother William John Nevin has yet to surface again at any auction. The other cdv by Burrows was claimed to be a portrait of his wife Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin in 2019 and sold with the misidentification intact in 2026 (see Case 2 above). The only verifiable, authentic item offered in 2019, passed in and successfully acquired by this weblog when offered again at Leski's in May 2026 is the cdv of Sarah (Rothwell) Crouch taken by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870.

Where are these cdv's now?



Invaluable Auctions website
Lot 28: John Nevin.
Est: $400 AUD - $600 AUD
Passed
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Ultimo, Australia
June 29, 2019
Description
A portrait of his younger brother John (1852-1891), by Thomas Nevin, Carte de visite Nevin & Smith, Hobart, 1869. As Constable Nevin, he was duty at the funeral of Truncanini.




Invaluable Auctions website:
Lot 30: John Nevin.
Est: $300 AUD - $500 AUD
Passed
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Ultimo, Australia
June 29, 2019
Description
A Carte de visite of young John Nevin, c1869 Hobart. No photographic details to reverse.



Invaluable auction website:
Lot 71: John Nevin.
Est: $300 AUD - $500 AUD
Passed
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Ultimo, Australia
June 29, 2019
Description
A Carte de visite by Thomas Nevin of his younger brother John, c1875 (T. Nevin late A, Bock, Hobart Town to reverse).

Of the six lots offered and passed in at auction by Sydney Rare Books Auctions in June 2019 which were claimed to be by and about Thomas J. Nevin and family members, these three cdv's claimed to be portraits of his brother William John Nevin have yet to resurface. If you know of their whereabouts, please contact us here.

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