Nevin family telegram 1942 on the passing of Mary Sophia Axup

Mary Sophia AXUP nee DAY (1853-1942)
Emily M. (DAVIS) and Albert E. NEVIN
Grandchildren of Elizabeth Rachel (DAY) and Thomas J. NEVIN



Grand-daughters of photographer Thomas J. Nevin and Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin, sister of Mary Sophia (Day) Axup
Left: Husband and wife Bert Morris and Eva (Nevin) Morris with Eva's sister Hilda Nevin (extreme right), Sydney 1940s
Right: Sisters Hilda Nevin and Eva (Nevin) Morris with Eva's husband Bert (Albert) Morris, Sydney 1940s 

Verso: Mark Foy's Ltd PolyFoto Studio, Sydney NSW
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2024

The Telegram, 19 June 1942
This telegram signed "Mother" was sent from the North Hobart Post Office (Tasmania) by Emily Maud (Davis) Nevin (1891-1971), wife of Albert E. Nevin (1888-1955), who was the youngest son born to Elizabeth R. (Day) Nevin (1847-1914) and photographer Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923).

The intended recipient at Camperdown, Sydney was Emily and Albert Nevin's second eldest daughter Hilda Maud Nevin who was born in Hobart Tasmania (1919-2007) but moved to Sydney NSW in the 1930s to join their eldest married daughter Eva Elizabeth (Nevin) Morris (b. Hobart, 1917- d. Melb. 2008) and husband Albert Frederick (Bert) Morris (b. Birmingham UK 1917-d. Melb. 1997).



"Mother" - Emily Maud (Davis) Nevin with son-in-law Bert Morris and Christmas pudding
Family photographer, unattributed, 1940s, Hobart, Tasmania
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2024

The message simply stated that their aunt, Mary Sophia (Day) Axup, sister of Hilda and Eva's grand-mother Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin, had died. Known as "Aunty Axup", Mary Sophia Day was in fact the great-aunt of Hilda, Eva and their siblings, not their aunt. She was called Aunt Axup and Aunty Axup by all members of the Nevin family, regardless of generational level mainly because she lived a very long life (died in 1942, 90 yrs old, born in 1853.) Referred to by her surname "Axup" rather than "Aunt Mary" was to avoid confusion with their father's two sisters called Mary: their aunt Mary Ann known as Minnie, the youngest and their aunt Mary Florence known as May, the eldest. Mary Sophia (Day) Axup  was Thomas J. Nevin's sister-in-law, a close family member among many he photographed in the 1860s-1870s, yet no early photograph identifiably taken by him of Mary Sophia Day, his wife's only sister, has surfaced in all the memorabilia held by descent. Photographs taken of her in her senior years are held in the private collections of Axup, Davis and Nevin families' descendants.



From left to right:
Minnie Drew (nee Mary Ann Nevin) Thomas & Elizabeth Nevin's youngest daughter
Mary Sophia Axup nee Day, sister of Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day and aunt of Minnie and May
Eva Baldwin nee Axup, Mary Sophia Axup's eldest daughter
and May (Mary Florence Elizabeth) Nevin, Thomas and Elizabeth's Nevin's eldest daughter
Taken ca. 1939. Copyright © KLW NFC Private Collections 2009 and 2020 ARR.

TELEGRAM COVER with ADVERTISEMENT



TRANSCRIPT

TIME - BY TELEPHONE!

__________________

You can ascertain the correct time readily by telephone.

From Automatic Telephones - Dial the service code for "Time

of day" shown in the front pages of the Telephone Directory.

From Manual Telephones - Call the local exchange.

A unit call fee only is charged.

_______________________________________________________________________

NOTE. -  The standard time for the Eastern States of Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania

is half an hour in advance of the standard time for South Australia and two hours in advance of the standard time for Western Australia
_______________________________________________________________________



TELEGRAM RECEIVED, 12.55 pm NSW



TRANSCRIPT

RECEIVED TELEGRAM               CAMPERDOWN N.S.W. 19 JE 42

The first line of this telegram contains the following

particulars in the order named.

Office of Origin           Words          Time Lodged

11.           HOBART  NORTH TAS    15      12.55p

__________________________________________________________________________

Remarks.                                                  | To

This message has been received [etc]                              MISS   H   NEVIN  

                                                                              52   DENISON   ST   CAMPERDOWN   NSW

__________________________________________________________________________

                            AUNTY    A X U P    PASSED   AWAY   LAST   NIGHT

                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                MOTHER

                                                                                                              4 16RS

__________________________________________________________________________

Telegram 19 June 1942
"To - Miss H Nevin, 52 Denison St Camperdown NSW"
"Aunty Axup passed away last night , Mother"
Courtesy the Estate of Hilda (Nevin) Warren
Copyright © KLW NFC Group 2011

Axup obituaries



Mary Sophia Axup (nee Day) outside the Bank of NSW (Sydney?) ca. 1939
Photograph strip cut from the original, now lost.
Copyright © KLW NFC Private Collections 2020.

Axup, Mary Sophia: Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) Tuesday 30 June 1942, page 4
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25886744

Axup, Mary Sophia: Examiner (Launceston, Tas.) Thursday 25 June 1942, page 5
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91523621

Axup, Hector Horatio Charles: Examiner (Launceston, Tas.) Wednesday 30 November 1927, page 6
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51451333



Mrs. M. S. Axup (1942, June 30). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) p. 4.
Link:https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25886744

TRANSCRIPT

Mrs M. S. AXUP
An old Hobart resident, Mrs. M. S. Axup, died in Northcote, Victoria, recently while on a visit to her son. She was in her 90th year, having been born at Lenah Valley in 1853. A daughter of the late Capt. James Day who sailed his own vessel, trading between Hobart and the Mainland before the advent of steam, she married a seafaring man, Capt. H. C. Axup, well known in shipping circles and the Launceston pilot until his death some years ago.
The deceased was interested in church and charity organisations until a few months ago. She left two sons and two daughters, and a great number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A feature of the funeral service was that the coffin was carried by four of her grandsons, all in uniform, representing the three services. The services at the church and graveside were conducted by her son-in-law, the Rev. P.W Baldwin. Toc H padre.

Obituary, Mrs M.S. Axup, Mercury 30 June 1942
Courtesy the Estate of Hilda (Nevin) Warren
Copyright © KLW NFC Group 2011

OBITUARY MRS H. C. AXUP
An old Tasmanian native, Mrs Axup. widow of the late Captain H. C. Axup, died last week while on a visit to her son in Northcote. Victoria. She was in her 90th year. She was born in Hobart. and was the daughter of Captain James Day. who sailed his own ship between Hobart and mainland long before the days of steam. Her husband was well known in Tasmanian shipping circles, having been for years in the pilot service. He was a frequent contributor to "The Examiner" under the name of "Old Salt." Up to the day of her death Mrs. Axup was an active worker for church and social welfare organisations. and had a wide circle of friends. She leaves two sons, two daughters, 14 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

OBITUARY (1942, June 25). Examiner (Launceston, Tas.), p. 5 (LATE NEWS EDITION).
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91523621



Hector Charles James Horatio Axup (1843-1927)
Undated and unattributed, ca. 1880s.
Photo courtesy and copyright © Suzy Baldwin.

LATE CAPTAIN H. C. AXUP
The funeral of Captain H. C. Axup, who died at the Public Hospital on Sunday evening in his 85th year, took place yesterday afternoon, when a large cortege followed the hearse to Carr Villa Cemetery. Included were Messrs. N. Clements and W. D. Thompson, the two surviving members of the pilot station, who were associated with Captain Axup in that work. Many wreaths were received, including tributes from the Northern Totalisator Staffs Association, "The Examiner" and "The WeekIy Courier" office staffs, the R.A.N. Sports Club, St. John's Guild, and Mrs. Royal Holyman. The chief mourners were Messrs. S. V. Axup, of Melbourne, and Harold E. Axup, of Launceston (sons), and Messrs. T. and A. Nevin, of Hobart (nephews). The service at the graveside was conducted by Rev. F. L. Wyman. Mr. T. J. Johnston, 20 Hampden-street, writes:—Many were the expressions of sadness when it became known over the week-end that Mr. Axup had gone to his reward. I say "his reward," because I believe if it could be said of anyone in sure and certain hope it could be said of him. He lived a long and a useful life, and if there was one thing more conspicuous in use-fulness than another it was the many contributions of his pen to the columns of your widely read paper. As the Divine recorder has it, "Truly his pen was the pen of a ready writer; and whilst he wrote on any subject, on none did he wield his pen more trenchantly than in defence of Holy Writ, as he was often pleased to term it. He felt as many feel, that if ever there was a time when many should "he set for the defence of the Gospel" it is now, when the Scriptures are being attacked openly as they have been recently from every side. It never could be said of him, as it is said of many, that he lacked courage in these matters. He will be better known to your many readers by the pen name of "Old Salt."

LATE CAPTAIN H. C. AXUP (1927, November 30). Examiner (Launceston, Tas), p. 6  (DAILY).
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51451333

Addenda: Telegraphy

Tasmania 1866
In late April, 1866, photographer Alfred Bock was at the Port Arthur prison site on the Tasman Peninsula, 60 kms south of Hobart at the request of its Commandant, James Boyd. Alfred Bock's studio - The City Photographic Establishment - at 140 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, was manned by his junior colleague Thomas J. Nevin and his apprentice, younger brother William Bock, in his absence. Alfred Bock's mission at Port Arthur was to provide a series of landscapes and portraits of officials. However, it was photographer Samuel Clifford, Nevin's friend and collaborator of Liverpool Street, Hobart, who was the source and supplier of photographic materials to the Port Arthur prison administration, in this instance for Alfred Bock in April 1866, and again in August 1873, when Clifford himself visited the prison site.

Alfred Bock sent Samuel Clifford an urgent telegram from Port Arthur on 27th April 1866 requesting 24 dry plates - panoramic. The details of the telegram were recorded as -

March -May 1866 Account of Private Telegrams
Date 27th April, No. 269, Alfred Bock to Mr Clifford Liverpool St. H. Town,
"Send down 24 dry Plates Panoramic. by the Shannon, at once. - Reply."

Mr. James Boyd, 1866
Creator(s): Bock, Alfred, 1835-1920
Location: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Library/SD_ILS-609489

Read more in this post here.

Prohibition during war-time, December 1942
West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Wednesday 16 December 1942, page 2
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47358286

GREETING TELEGRAMS.
Period of Prohibition.
To obviate congestion of the telegraph system, which is already occupied to capacity with traffic vital to the conduct of the war, it has been necessary, under National Security Regulations, to prohibit acceptance between December 19 and January 1 of telegrams containing Christmas and New Year greetings. The only exception will be those addressed to or lodged by members of the forces. Telegraphic greetings to and from members of the'. forces should be lodged before Saturday next December 19, to ensure delivery before Christmas. In making this announcement, the Postmaster-General (Senator Ashley) points out that if the normal volume of telegraphic traffic were handled during the forthcoming Christmas season there would be danger of seriously jeopardising the efficient functioning of the telegraph service. He asks the public to assist his department in avoiding congestion of the telegraphic channels between now and Christmas by sending telegrams, other than greeting messages, only when unavoidable, and then by making lodgements as early as possible before Christmas Day.

Telegraphy 1901-1993
Source: History of telegraphy in Australia
Extract from Wikipedia page [footnotes etc omitted]
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_telegraphy_in_Australia

Federation: peak and decline
Following the federation of Australia in 1901, the Postmaster-General's Department was established to take over from the states all postal and telegraphic services and administer them on a national basis. The PMG Department progressively improved telegraphic equipment. In 1905, the use of Wheatstone equipment on the Adelaide and Perth routes improved speed to 220 words per minute. By 1922, the Murray Multiplex System allowed one line to be used for eight transmissions at the speed of 50 words per transmission per minute.

As World War II threatened the Northern Territory in 1942, and Japanese forces moved through Java and Timor, the Allies were afraid that Japan would use the telegraph service to eavesdrop on communications with the rest of the world, so the submarine connection from Darwin to Java was cut.

Telegram usage continued to climb within Australia, peaking at 35 million messages per annum in 1945. Thereafter, the telephone continuously eroded the use of telegrams, both because of the relative price of the two services and network service improvements. Additionally, from 1954, teleprinters handled more and more traffic. In 1959, an automated switching system (TRESS) further enhanced the utility of teleprinters by allowing messages that were centrally directed to be automatically retransmitted to their final destination without the need for a human operator. The last telegraph message sent exclusively by land line was sent in mid-1963, and the final message using a land line for any section of its passage was sent in 1964.

By 1975 telegram usage had halved from its 1945 level. The last morse code message on the eastern seaboard was sent in early 1963. In 1993, Australia Post discontinued its letter-gram service, which consisted of postage delivery "telegrams"; that is, messages typed as a genuine telegram, and delivered in the same manner (although never transmitted over telegraph lines)

RELATED POSTS main weblog

• Hector Charles James Horatio AXUP, Thomas Nevin's brother-in-law
• Youngest daughter Minnie Nevin m. James Drew (1884-1974)
• Photographers A. Bock, S. Clifford and T. Nevin at Port Arthur
• Mary Sophia Day (m. Axup), Thomas Nevin's sister-in-law
• First Mate James DAY on the "Panama" to California 1850-1851
• Mary Sophia Axup chair of the WPL 1913
• Lost and found: one day in 1866 and the scientific racism which followed

Thomas Nevin's studio decor: the lady's slipper chair

Studio portraits with slipper chairs - Hobart, Tasmania 1860s-1870s
Photographers George CHERRY, Thomas J. NEVIN, Alfred BOCK, Charles A. WOOLLEY, H. H. BAILY

History of the slipper chair

A slipper chair is simply an armless upholstered chair that has short legs so that it sits closer to the ground. When it first made its appearance in the early 18th century, this low-slung chair was used in women's bedrooms as seating, and it was often used when maids helped them put on their shoes, or slippers, as they were then often called. Hence the name. These smallish upholstered chairs stayed discreetly in the bedroom until the 1950s, when American designer Billy Baldwin brought them into the living room and added the option of box pleats at the bottom to hide the legs.

Source online: https://www.thespruce.com/slipper-chair-1391618



"Vintage Orange Vinyl Slipper Chair" early 1950s
Source: https://circaberkshires.com/product/vintage-orange-vinyl-slipper-chair/

The lady's slipper chair in Tasmanian studios 1870s - why so shiny? Were they slipper-y!

Thomas J. Nevin's slipper chairs
In many studio portraits taken at the City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town by Thomas Nevin into the mid 1870s, the shiny slipper chair is an eye-grabber. With every year passing, the leather - what else could it be? - acquired a higher and higher sheen. In one photograph below, of  a young man posing with Nevin's big tabletop stereoscopic viewer, the partially uncovered seat of the slipper chair might indicate the chair was of different fabric to the leather cover, and that a change of cover was underway for cleaning. Lemon, vinegar, alcohol or other acidic preparations were used to cleanse and disinfect leather chair covers.  The animal or plant used in making the cover, and the method of rendering such a high sheen was achieved with oil-based soaps and polishes derived from plants such as olives, though these would have stained women's dresses, so too would wax derived from candles.

Used by men, women and children according to their height, the slipper chair - also known as the "low chair" and "nursing chair" - in 19th century studio sittings provided a handy means of support for the standing subject while waiting for exposure of the image on the glass negative. For the sitting subject, especially women of shorter stature, their preference to relax and rest their weary feet on the floor was convenable to the photographer's need to see them steadied and ready than have them standing rigidly posed for minutes on end.

Provenance of Thomas Nevin's slipper chair
All these portraits taken by commercial photographer Thomas J. Nevin and his contemporaries working in Hobart studios (see Addenda below) during the 1860s-1870s featured a lady's slipper chair, and in two portraits shown here, possibly the same chair or one of an identical pair.  George Cherry's photograph of his slipper chair accommodating Jane (Gosling) James (see Addenda below) appears to be the same chair - and carpet - in two photographs taken by Thomas J. Nevin, the first of his brother Jack (William John) Nevin ca. 1865, and second, of an unidentified man (Unidentified Man No. 2, Lucy Batchelor Album). Both of these photographs may have been taken by Thomas J. Nevin, perhaps at Cherry's studio on the eve of Cherry's auction of Friday 5th August 1864. On offer were Cherry's  "Photographic Plant, Household Furniture, Paintings, Pictures, and various Effects" for sale. Thomas J. Nevin may have acquired Cherry's "photographic plant" and studio furniture in 1864 which he then complemented with stock from Alfred Bock's assets sold at auction in 1867, including the glasshouse and lease of the studio from builder A. Biggs (resident by then in Victoria) at 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart (Tasmania). Or perhaps they were acquired first by Alfred Bock who then sold them at auction on departing Tasmania. By the 1870s, a different slipper chair and different carpets featured in Nevin's studio decor.

YOUNG, CASUAL and GEORGEOUS, brother Jack Nevin, 1865
This slipper chair does look like George Cherry's, likewise the carpet, but the fact that the subject is Thomas Nevin's younger brother Jack Nevin, aged 13 years here, would strongly suggest that the photographer was indeed older brother Thomas Nevin, taken ca. 1865. Read more about this photograph and Jack Nevin here.



Subject: William John Nevin (1852-1891), known as Jack to the family
and known as Constable John Nevin from 1870 to his death in 1891.
Photographer: older brother Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923)
Location: City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town, Tasmania.
Date: ca. 1865, Jack Nevin here is barely a teenager, 13 years old.
Details: full-length carte-de-visite, albumen print, sepia toned. Verso is blank.
Studio decor features the carpet and shiny leather slipper chair from George Cherry's studio.
Source: Sydney Rare Books Auctions 2019
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2020 Private Collection. Watermarked.

JOHN NEVIN snr the POET and father, 1870
In Thomas Nevin's studio, the position and pose of his adult clients in relation to his slipper chair were largely decided by gender: women sat on the chair, men stood beside it mainly because it was too low for those of even average height with long legs. There was one exception. Thomas photographed his father John Nevin snr seated on the slipper chair, writing in an open notebook propped up on the table with the griffin-shaped legs. Behind the table, at right, the drape reveals just a suggestion of the painted wall-hanging with Italianate patio tiles and vista. Partial view of the chair's legs shows the front two were wood-turned and on casters, the back two were curved slightly outward.  Read more about this photograph and John Nevin here.



Thomas Nevin's photograph of his father, John Nevin, ca. 1874.
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint (Shelverton Private Collection.)

THE SIDE ARMS 1870
This client (below) was a young man of comfortable means. His jacket was thoughtfully complimented with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket, his shirt was collared, his vest showed off fob chains, and his trousers were not yet worn at the knee. His hat was held modestly to his side in his right hand, his left hand resting on the top of the shiny slipper chair. All attire, clean and nearly new, was topped off with a clean shaven face and hair shortened to above the ears. Relaxed, this client openly gazed at the camera, perhaps listening to Thomas Nevin give directions or relate an anecdote. The shiny chair, turned away from the client, reveals its side arm structure to the viewer but is not of primary significance in attracting the viewer's attention.



[Above] Man (Unidentified Man No. 1, Lucy Batchelor Album) posing with slipper chair turned sideways
Full-length portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870-73
Scans courtesy of Robyn and Peter Bishop
Photograph ZZ, copyright © The Lucy Batchelor Collection 2009

This carte-de-visite by Thomas J. Nevin ca 1870-73 was submitted here courtesy of Robyn and Peter Bishop (2009) from their Lucy Batchelor Album (1892). It was scanned still in its original housing, inserted behind the cut-out frame of the album leaf, which accounts for its overall good condition.



Verso: Man (Unidentified Man No. 2, Lucy Batchelor Album) posing with slipper chair turned sideways
Full-length portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870-73
Scans courtesy of Robyn and Peter Bishop
Photograph ZZ, copyright © The Lucy Batchelor Collection 2009

Also from Lucy Batchelor's Album, late 1860s
This full-length cdv of an unidentified man with a chin-strap beard, wearing a bowtie and everyday street clothing, features the same slipper chair and carpet in George Cherry's studio portrait of his mother-in-law Jane (Gosling) James. But this photograph, collected into an album by Lucy Batchelor in 1892, held in the private collection of Robyn and Peter Bishop, bears no studio stamp or name to identify the photographer or indeed the man whose inclusion in a family album must have seemed important. The subject, in his 30s perhaps, was posed standing with his left arm over the curve of the slipper chair, and right hand pointing to it for reasons which are unclear, since both hands appear empty.



[Above] Man (Unidentified Man No. 2, Lucy Batchelor Album) posed standing with shiny slipper chair
Full-length portrait by George Cherry or Thomas J. Nevin
Photograph S.jpg. Scans courtesy of Robyn and Peter Bishop
Copyright © The Lucy Batchelor Collection 2009

FULL FRONTAL 1870



[Above] Man (unidentified) posing with slipper chair, both facing camera
Full-length portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2012

Pictured here is one of at least four different decor arrangements for studio portraiture by Thomas J. Nevin dating from the early 1870s. This session featured the shiny slipper chair, the lozenge-patterned carpet, and a very long damask drape dropped and spread across the tapis. When the drape was located on the viewer's right side of the frame, it was used to reveal a section of a back sheet painted with an  Italianate patio and vista of a cart path next to a stream meandering into a distant horizon of low mountains. This particular client, a man in his thirties who wore crumpled trousers, white shirt and buttoned jacket with bulging pockets, had trimmed his chinstrap beard and flattened his hair to his head. He did his best. Thomas Nevin posed him standing, with right hand resting on the top of the chair, and left bent on his hip.

There's nothing especially noteworthy about this client, except that he may have been tall, certainly taller compared with Unidentified Man No. 1 (above), nor is there anything remarkable about the capture, but just look at that chair! So shiny! This cdv sold for $5 in 2012 at a second-hand bookshop in Battery Point, Hobart. Cheap, obviously because of its poor condition, it nevertheless affords a very clear full frontal view of the slipper chair. Its high sheen stands in stark contrast to the client's drab clothing. It is so shiny, in fact, it has a personality all its own. Turned to face the camera, it outshone the client with his frank stare, insistent pose, and grubby outfit.



Verso: Man (unidentified) posing with slipper chair, both facing camera
Full-length portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2012

SEAT COVER LOOSENED, ca. 1872-1876
This full- length portrait of young man received the full treatment: first in terms of four key pieces of studio equipment - the box stereoscopic viewer, the table with the griffin-shaped legs, the drape to the viewer's right, the lozenge patterned light floor covering (tapis) and the shiny slipper chair; and second, in terms of the colouring - a dab of blue or violet on the bowtie, and crimson on the drape - which may have cost extra if applied in the studio, if not applied later by the client himself.

The partially uncovered seat of the slipper chair might indicate a change of cover was underway, or a cleaning of the seat. Since this photograph carries verso Thomas J. Nevin's government contractor stamp incorporating his Royal Colonial warrant, his client here was most likely an employee of the Hobart City Council, the Lands and Survey Dept, or the Municipal Police Office, Hobart Town Hall. Officials and their family members all made use of Thomas J. Nevin's commissioned status to provide them with stereographic views and carte-de-visite portraits.

A relative lack of creases at the elbows and knees would suggest this young man's suit was almost new. A dark spot on his right lapel might indicate the colourist's attempt to show a blue velvet revere collar, while on his left lapel there appears to be a badge of sorts. Attached to his vest is a small watch on a fob chain. This cdv too is in poor condition. Its value lies less in what it reveals about men's fashions than the information it can convey about the history of colouring in the new media and the instrumental means by which to best view it. In this era, the most affordable visual entertainment was stereoscopy.



Young man (unidentified) with table box stereograph viewer and shiny chair with loose cover
Full-length portrait, tinted violet and crimson
Photographer: Thomas Nevin ca. 1873
Verso printed with Nevin's Royal Arms government contractor stamp
Scans © The Private Collection of John and Robyn McCullagh 2006.



Verso: Young man (unidentified) with table box stereograph viewer and shiny chair
Full-length portrait, tinted violet and crimson
Photographer: Thomas Nevin ca. 1873,
Verso printed with Nevin's Royal Arms government contractor stamp
Scans © The Private Collection of John and Robyn McCullagh 2006

HIGH GLOSS GREEN for NEEDLEWOMAN, 1872



This full length and highly-coloured cdv on plain mount of a mature woman, unidentified but possibly  Emmely Jean Giblin née Perkins, wife of Thomas Nevin's mentor and family solicitor, the Hon. W. R. Giblin, Attorney-General, was taken ca. 1872. This sitter on Nevin's shiny slipper chair wore a white floral head covering with ribbons, a plain dress with white bow and white cuffs. She posed with her sewing on her knee, at his table with the griffin-shaped legs where a portable pin cushion, books, and vase with flowers were placed. All key features - the chair, the carpet, the drape, the flowers, her lips, hat ribbons and cheeks - received intense colouring. Only the backdrop of an Italianate patio and vista of a cart path or river meandering into a low horizon was left untouched. This carte-de-visite ca. 1872 taken by T. Nevin late A. Bock, 140 Elizabeth St., Hobart Town may have been coloured by the purchaser, whether the client, or the client's descendants. Similar inept or heavy-handed colouring is evident on a private collection of Nevin's studios portraits originating from a family in northern Tasmania, and on another held at the QVMAG, Launceston. This item is held at the Archives Office of Tasmania, Hobart, included in a box with Thomas Nevin's carte-de-visite of Attorney-General W. R. Giblin, ca. 1872-74.



Studio portrait by Thomas Nevin ca, 1870 -1875
Verso with studio stamp: "Ad Altiora" above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with "City Photographic Establishment" and address below, "140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town". In italics below: "Further Copies can be obtained at any time".
TAHO Ref: PH31/439 [not digitised]
Photos recto and verso copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2012 ARR

DIGNIFIED, CALM, PROFESSIONAL, 1876
This photograph taken by Thomas J. Nevin at his studio, the City Photographic Establishment of Elizabeth Allport (1835-1925) is arguably the finest portrait taken of her in her mature years. There is no other photograph - and there were many taken throughout her life - which reveals her sublime grace and character to this extent, a quality due in no small measure to the professional expertise of Thomas J. Nevin.

Elizabeth Allport was the elder daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Ritchie, wife of Morton Allport (1830–1878), mother of Curzona (Lily), Minnie, Cecil, Evett and Henry Allport, and a friend to the family of Thomas J. Nevin, his wife Elizabeth Rachel Day and his sister Mary Anne Nevin.



Subject: Elizabeth Allport nee Ritchie (1835-1925)
Photographer: T. J. Nevin Photographic Artist ca. 1876
Location: 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town
Details: full-length carte-de-visite, albumen print
Verso bears T. J. Nevin's government contractor stamp with Royal insignia
Scans are courtesy of © The Liam Peters Collection 2010. All rights reserved.



Verso of portrait of Elizabeth Allport nee Ritchie (1835-1925)
Photographer: T. J. Nevin Photographic Artist ca. 1876
Location: 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town
Details: full-length carte-de-visite, albumen print
Verso bears T. J. Nevin's government contractor stamp with Royal insignia
Scans are courtesy of © The Liam Peters Collection 2010. All rights reserved.

Some time near the end of 1875, Thomas J. Nevin produced this full length cdv on a plain buff mount of Elizabeth Allport at his Elizabeth Street studio. For this sitting she wore a strikingly handsome dark dress with white stripes and a frilled full bustle. Nevin positioned her on his polished leather slipper chair, turned slightly to his left, and invited her to gaze directly at him and his camera. She let her left hand rest on her dress, her right hand placed next to a vase in the shape of a hand holding a cornucopia on the small table with griffin-shaped legs which, like the slipper chair, were key items of Nevin's studio decor over the decade 1867-1876.

The verso of this cdv bears the Royal Arms colonial warrant insignia used by all government contractors of the period. Thomas Nevin's design for this stamp as distinct from his New Town stamp and impress, was more formal: his initials alone were used with his surname plus the designation "Photographic Artist" above the Royal Insignia signified that he was engaged in contractual work for the government while still operating as a commercial photographer from his Elizabeth St. studio. His contractor's stamp on the verso of Elizabeth Allport's portrait certifies this photograph as a sitting commissioned by her husband Morton Allport who represented the colonial government in many endeavours to do with fisheries, zoology, education, and photography at international and intercolonial exhibitions. Read more about Elizabeth (Ritchie) Allport here

SHINY, ON EDGE and ABOUT to LEAVE, mid 1870s
For this full length cdv on plain mount this sitter [unidentified woman] wore a short thick jacket with six metallic buttons over a dark dress buttoned up from the hem, a flat hat decorated with a large floral arrangement, and a brooch on a dark ribbon at her throat. She decided to keep her outdoor possessions in view for the capture, her closed umbrella and handbag held tight in gloved hands. She sat on Nevin's low slipper chair covered with a shiny material, her left arm resting on the table with the griffin-shaped legs. No flowers or books were placed on the table, perhaps not to obscure the painted wall hanging behind with Italianate patio tiling giving onto a path or  river scene which is very clear in this photograph. The drape is on the viewer's left, whereas in others, the drape is on the right in front of the wall hanging. This sitter ponders the experience by directing her frontal gaze slightly to the left of the camera, her lips pressed together and cheeks puffed out as though holding her breath



Full length cdv on plain mount of an unidentified older woman sitting with umbrella and purse
Studio portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870-75, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart
Scans courtesy © The Private Collection of Marcel Safier 2005 ARR.
NOTES Courtesy of owner Marcel Safier: "Subject not known. It came in an album I bought from a Tasmanian dealer at a Sydney collector's fair in 2001. The pencil numbering on the rear is my own cataloguing system. The mount is 64mm x 102mm ... It very closely resembles the mounts used by Bock previously."



Verso: full length cdv on plain mount of an unidentified older woman sitting with umbrella and purse
Studio portrait by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870-75, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart
Scans courtesy © The Private Collection of Marcel Safier 2005 ARR.
NOTES Courtesy of owner Marcel Safier:
"Subject not known. It came in an album I bought from a Tasmanian dealer at a Sydney collector's fair in 2001. The pencil numbering on the rear is my own cataloguing system. The mount is 64mm x 102mm ... It very closely resembles the mounts used by Bock previously."

SMILING CHAIR, SCOWLING CLIENT, early to mid 1870s
This selection of studio portraits taken by Thomas J. Nevin in the early 1870s of otherwise unidentified older women includes just one whose name is inscribed verso: Mrs Morrison. Who might she have been? A servant, a farmer, a post-mistress, some relation to Askin Morrison, ship owner, of Morrison Street, opposite Franklin Wharf, Hobart? Or Mrs Morrison, teacher of Kangaroo Point whose health had forced her to retire (Mercury, 6 December 1872). Perhaps she was Mrs Ellen Morrison, licensee of the Launceston Hotel, Brisbane St. on a visit south to Hobart. Whoever this sitter was, she appears to have worked hard all her life, no fuss or frills about it.



Full length cdv on plain mount, studio portrait by Thomas Nevin ca. 1870-1875.
Verso inscribed "Mrs Morrison" in black ink with studio stamp: "Ad Altiora" above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with "City Photographic Establishment" and address below, "140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town". In italics below: "Further Copies can be obtained at any time".
Photos recto and verso copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2014-2015
Taken at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 10 November 2014
TMAG Ref: Q14529

Mrs Morrison (name inscribed verso) wore a three-quarter length, light-coloured, thick check-weave shawl pinned at the neck with a brooch over a white scarf for this important occasion. Her dark dress shows braiding in rows on the bodice and cuffs. She had pinned a thin plait over her head at the back. Her scowling stare straight at the camera under thunderous eyebrows might suggest excitement at having her likeness taken, a rare event perhaps and possibly an expensive one, or fascination with process, or simply impatience with the ever affable, rather humorous, and good-looking thirty-ish Mr. Nevin.

STUDIO DECOR: Mrs Morrison sat on Nevin's low slipper chair covered with shiny material, her left arm resting on his table with the griffin-shaped legs. Noticeably absent from the table is any decoration, such as a vase or book, which just might indicate that Nevin charged a little extra for flowers which his assistant would then hand-tint, but the client in this case might have declined the offer. Behind the table hangs the backdrop sheet painted with the usual vista of an Italianate tiled patio and a path or river meandering through a valley into a low horizon, the distance, partially obscured by the drape. The pattern of lozenges and chain links of the light floor covering (tapis) features in some but not all of these full-length portraits.



Verso inscribed "Mrs Morrison" in black ink with studio stamp: "Ad Altiora" above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with "City Photographic Establishment" and address below, "140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town". In italics below: "Further Copies can be obtained at any time".
Photos recto and verso copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2014-2015
Taken at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 10 November 2014
TMAG Ref: Q14529

DARK and SAD for a MOURNER, early to mid 1870s
This full-length cdv of an older woman [unidentified] gives a clear view of Nevin's low slipper chair covered with shiny material. The sitter rested her left elbow  on the studio table with the griffin-shaped legs where a book and a dark vase holding delicately tinted flowers in pink and yellow were arranged. The drape is to the viewer's left in this photograph. She wore a very long dark plain dress showing a fold near the hem, with braiding around the drop shoulders and a brooch on a ribbon at her throat, her hair plainly arranged at the nape. Perhaps she was newly widowed. Her eyes are sunken and her forlorn gaze averted, directed towards the foot of the camera stand rather than at the lens.



A shiny vase with flowers, sometimes tinted, was another favoured object in Nevin's portraiture.



Studio portrait by Thomas Nevin of woman in mourning ca, 1870 -1875
Verso with studio stamp: "Ad Altiora" above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with "City Photographic Establishment" and address "140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town". In italics below: "Further Copies can be obtained at any time".
Scans courtesy of © The Private Collection of C. G. Harrisson 2006. ARR.



Verso: Full length cdv on plain mount of woman in mourning
Studio portrait by Thomas Nevin ca, 1870 -1875
Verso with studio stamp: "Ad Altiora" above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with "City Photographic Establishment" and address "140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town".
In italics below: "Further Copies can be obtained at any time".
Scans courtesy of © The Private Collection of C. G. Harrison 2006.

Although unidentified, there is a slight chance this woman was a relative of George Chandler, in which case this photograph was most likely taken on the same day as Nevin's photograph of a young George Chandler posing with the same vase and tinted flowers. Her presence might therefore suggest she was George Chandler's step-mother Mary Chandler nee Genge (1835–1923). If so, she would have been 36 years old in 1871. The Chandler family were related by marriage to the Nevin family of Kangaroo Valley, Hobart. Read more about this photograph here.

Addenda 1. Charles A. Woolley's slipper chair
Charles A. Woolley's father supplied some of these local photographers' studios with furniture and floor coverings from his warehouse next to his son's studio at 42 Macquarie St. Hobart. The lady's slipper chair pictured here from Woolley's studio was high-end luxury, probably padded with wool and covered with a fine woollen fabric. The identity of this young woman has raised questions because of the inscription on reverse - was she Emma Pitt's addressee "you Liz O'Meagher", (b. Tas 1847- d. NZ 1906) or does it represent the sender Emma Pitt herself (b. Tas 1847-d. NZ 1899)? Read more about Emma Pitt and this cdv here.



Subject: Emma Pitt nee Bartlett (1847-1899) or Elizabeth Bell nee O'Meagher (1847-1906)?
Photographer: Charles A. Woolley
Location and date: 42 Macquarie St. Hobart, Tasmania 1866
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint & KLW NFC Group Private Collection 2021



Verso inscription:
"I say Captain Mackie is not show his face in Nelson without you Liz O'Meagher. Emma Pitt June 6th 1866"

Verso: cdv of Emma Pitt nee Bartlett (1847-1899) or Elizabeth Bell nee O'Meagher (1847-1906)?
Photographer: Charles A. Woolley
Location and date: 42 Macquarie St. Hobart, Tasmania 1866
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint & KLW NFC Group Private Collection 2021

These two similar cdv's of two unidentified young women posed standing with left hand resting on the top of the slipper chair, gaze directed 45 degrees towards the viewer's right were taken in the same setting and probably in the same session at Charles A. Woolley's studio, 42 Macquarie St. Hobart, between 1866 and 1870.



Unidentified sitters posing with slipper chair at Charles A Woolley's studios 1870s
Source: Facebook page, "Is this you? Lost and Found Unidentified Photos".

Addenda 2: Alfred Bock's slipper chair
This club chair's original upholstery was leather, and though not all that old, by 1867 the leather was showing signs of cracking along the arm where the girl is resting her right hand. Cracking may have been caused by constant handling, exposure to heat at the living room hearth, or by the use of lemon, vinegar, alcohol or other acidic preparations to cleanse and disinfect. If this was the chair Thomas Nevin acquired from Alfred Bock, he must have removed some of the stuffing in the arms, making them lower, then removed the old upholstery and overlain the entire chair with a shiny protective covering, replacing the studs at the front. He may have used a woollen underlay as well. Whether he modified Bock's club chair or rather, posed his clients with its companion, a smaller slipper chair, the animal or plant used in making the cover, and the method of rendering such a high sheen, remain a mystery.



[Above] Portrait of Caroline Easton, (?) Hobart 1867 [tinted]
Carte-de-visite
Portrait by Alfred Bock
City Photographic Establishment 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town
QVMAG Ref: QVM 1994: P.0705

Addenda 3: George Cherry's slipper chair
This highly appealing photograph of Jane (Gosling) James, wife of Captain Joseph James and mother-in-law of photographer George Cherry was taken in Cherry's studio in the mid 1860s. It was donated to National Library of Australia by her descendants in the early 2000s. The head of his slipper chair shows a distinctive curve and curl, the carpet shows large swirls of leaves bound in wreaths. Read more about Jane (Gosling) James here.



Creator Cherry, George, 1820-1878
Title Granny Jane James [picture] / G. Cherry, Hobart Town
Call Number PIC/8488/12 LOC Album 1038
Created/Published [1866 or 1867]
Extent 1 photograph on carte-de-visite mount : albumen ; 8.9 x 5.6 cm.
National Library of Australia
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-148165428

George Cherry's photograph of his slipper chair accommodating Jane (Gosling) James is dated 1866 or 1867, although he may have photographed her earlier, on the eve of his auction, Friday 5th August 1864. On offer were his "Photographic Plant, Household Furniture, Paintings, Pictures, and various Effects" for sale. The same or nearly identical chair features in two cdv's above: Thomas Nevin's capture of his young brother Jack Nevin ca. 1865; and Unidentified Man No. 2, from the Lucy Batchelor Album, late 1860s.

Addenda 4: Henry Hall Baily's slipper chair
One way of looking at this photograph by H. H. Baily of Sarah Crouch is to see it as a piece of cardboard on which is printed an image. Perhaps it has commercial value only because of age, condition, and provenance. Another way is to step into the scene and participate as the photographer might while talking to his sitter. Still another way is to trace the journey of each element in the picture from any known context in which it has appeared up to the present, in which case the familiar object in this portrait of Sarah Crouch by H. H. Baily is the carpet with a pattern of large dark lozenges rimmed in white. It was formerly used by Alfred Bock as one of his studio carpets, then by Thomas Nevin for one of several set-ups for taking portraits in the same studio in 1868, and finally the same carpet was used in this portrait of Sarah Crouch by Henry Hall Baily, that is, if he photographed her before her death in 1876. On the other hand, is this just a piece of cardboard which was reprinted by Henry Hall Baily from an original capture taken by Alfred Bock before 1865; then reprinted by Thomas Nevin, operating as Nevin & Smith between 1865-1868; or, later, reprinted by Thomas Nevin again from 1868-1875 when both Bock's stock and Nevin's negatives were reprinted by Samuel Clifford to 1878; and lastly, reprinted by Henry Hall Baily ca. 1880? Reprints were mostly at the request of the client and family. All three photographers - Alfred Bock, Samuel Clifford, and Henry Hall Baily - were close friends and colleagues of Thomas J. Nevin from the early 1860s to his retirement in 1888. To complicate matters of copying further, from the early 1860s the source of their studio carpets, tables, drapes and backsheets was the family warehouse of Charles A. Woolley, the most senior photographer of their Hobart cohort. His studio furnishings and photographic paraphernalia were passed around among members of that cohort when times were hard, which was more often than not. The slipper chair in this photograph looks very similar in design to Woolley's slipper chair, just upholstered in a floral rather than plain fabric. 



Photograph of Sarah Crouch, before 1876, reprint 1880?
University of Tasmania Library Special and Rare Materials Collection
Link: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/7214/

Photograph of Sarah Crouch, wife of Thomas James Crouch, under sheriff of Van Diemen's Land. The photographer was Henry Hall Baily who had studios in Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets, Hobart from 1865-1918.

Verso: Photograph of Sarah Crouch
University of Tasmania Library Special and Rare Materials Collection
Link: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/7214/



Woolley's Carpets and Upholstery Warehouse, Macquarie St.
Series: Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives collected by E R Pretyman (NS1013)
Archives Tasmania Ref: NS1013_1_1895

RELATED POSTS main weblog

• George and Matilda Cherry at Thomas Nevin's studio ca. 1872
• The sweetest young brother: thirteen year old Jack Nevin 1865
• Lost originals: the Nevin, Genge and Chandler family photographs
• Clients posing with Thomas J. Nevin's big box stereoscopic viewer
• Best of friends: Emma PITT and Liz O'MEAGHER 1866
• Portraits of older women by Thomas Nevin 1870
• Young man with stereograph viewer

Returned soldiers 1945: from the Nevin and Moran family albums

Commemorating ANZAC DAY 2024



Wedding photograph from the (Nevin and Moran) family albums:
Brothers Tony and Dick Moran in army uniform at the wedding of Dick Moran to Biddy Coleman, Sydney, NSW, taken shortly before Dick's discharge on 23 November 1945. All three were known to family and friends by their monikers, not birth names.

From left to right: Flowergirl: (unidentified)
Best man: Frederick Denis (known as Tony) Moran
Bridesmaid: Joan Moran, Tony and Dick's sister
The groom: John Gregory jnr (known as Dick) Moran
The bride: May (known as Biddy) Coleman
Father of the bride: John (?) Coleman
Bridesmaid: Biddy's sister Eileen Coleman
In sailor's uniform: Eileen's fiancé Arthur Burnside (married in 1946)
Flowergirl: (unidentified)

Photographer: McEnnally, N. 240 Beamish Road Campsie NSW (1938-1946)
Copyright © KLW NFC Group Private Collection.

Further information: external links

Moran, F. D. (Tony), Virtual War Memorial Australia
Tony served in Papua New Guinea
Link: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/1377562

Moran, Dick (John Gregory jnr), Virtual War Memorial Australia
Dick served in Greece and Crete
Link: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/1759077

From the early 1950s to 1972 Dick Moran was resident caretaker with his wife Biddy and four children of  Hardy's Chambers, De Mestre Place, built in 1926 for the Hardy Brothers, jewellers and goldsmiths, accessed off 310 George St. or rear of 5 Hunter St. Sydney NSW.

De Mestre Place was demolished in 2023 to make way for Sydney Metro West.
Link: https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/170381

This news item from Channel Seven, Sydney, 29 April 2024 shows where the George Street skyscraper will be built over the new Hunter Street Metro West station on the former site of De Mestre Place.



"More changes are coming to the city centre with the approval of 2 new skyscrapers | 7 News Australia"
Link: https://youtu.be/1y_mrkp8BnM?feature=shared

Christmas from our Archives

HAND-TINTED PORTRAITS as CHRISTMAS CARDS Red and green sprigs 1874
PHOTOGRAPHIC REDUCTIONS of LARGE DOCUMENTS Cdv of Mercury 1874; fire bell warnings 1878
CHARLES DICKENS and CAPTAIN GOLDSMITH The Gadshill mail box 1859
CHRISTMAS DRINKS at the MAYPOLE Drunk and disorderly at New Town 1885
PRISONERS partying 1881 and SAILORS hugging the holly 1850
CHRISTMAS CONCERT Theatre Royal Hobart ca. 1958
THE GRAND-CHILDREN'S ALBUMS Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's grandchildren 1942

1. Summer of '42



From Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's grandchildren's albums:
Betty J. Nevin (left) with friend June Watson (right), enjoying ice cream after a swim
Taken at Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania, Christmas 1942 (unattributed)
Copyright © KLW NFC Group & KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2021-24


2. The Hobart Mercury front page reduced to a cdv, 1874
On Christmas Day, 25th December 1874, the Mercury newspaper (Tasmania) published a notice which served the dual purpose of praising Thomas Nevin's photographic talents and suggesting by way of praise that the "literary curiosity" would make a great gift as a Christmas card:



T. J. Nevin's photographic feat, Mercury 23 December 1874

TRANSCRIPT

A PHOTOGRAPHIC FEAT. - Mr T. J. Nevin, of Elizabeth-street, has performed a feat in photography which may be justly regarded as a literary curiosity. He has succeeded in legibly producing the front page of The Mercury of Wednesday, the 23 inst., on a card three inches by two inches. Many of the advertisements could be read without the aid of a glass, and the seven columns admit of a margin all round the card.

See the full page here of the Mercury, 23 December 1874
Read more here: Thomas Nevin's Christmas feat 1874

Of personal interest on the front page of the December 23, 1874 issue of the Mercury which Thomas Nevin photographed as a Christmas cdv novelty was a small advertisement informing readers that the Royal Standard Hotel was to let by its new proprietor John Elliott. Located next door to Nevin's photographic business at 140 Elizabeth St., the Royal Standard Hotel at 142 Elizabeth St. was operated by victualler and government contractor James Spence since 1868. Public Works Department contractors regularly gathered at his hotel to air their "grievances received at the hands of the Public Works Department". Thomas Nevin nominated James Spence in his aldermanic campaign to serve on the Hobart City Council in 1872. Spence's promise to the citizens of Hobart, if elected, was to monitor excessive expenditure on upcoming water and road infrastructure projects. He suggested too - and this proved to be his undoing - that he would investigate and report corruption within government, whether local or colonial, as a whistle-blower, or in his words, as "a dog on the chain." Not only did Spence fail to gain a seat in the 1872 HCC elections, he became the subject of two court cases, accused of slander. Ridiculed in the press, he left Hobart, selling the Royal Standard Hotel to John Elliott in 1874 for £775 as Lot 1. Included in the sale was "a cottage and shop adjoining, and three weather-boarded houses in Patrick Street next to Lot 1" for an additional £175. (Mercury 22 Jan 1874 p 2). When Nevin produced his cdv of the Mercury's front page issue, December 23, 1874, Elliott's notice of the lease on the Royal Standard appeared in the last column:



TRANSCRIPT

TO LET, the "ROYAL STANDARD HOTEL", situate corner of Elizabeth and Patrick streets. Apply to J. ELLIOTT.

The Royal Standard Hotel to let, next door to Thomas Nevin's studio
Source: Advertising (1874, December 24). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), p. 1.last column
https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8934231

Read more about James Spence here: Contractors Thomas J. Nevin and "dog on the chain" James Spence 1872


3. Connections past and present
On January 18th, 2014, this weblog posted an article with reference to two of Charles Dickens' letters complaining about his neighbour, retired master mariner Captain Edward Goldsmith at Gadshill, in the village of Higham, Kent (UK). The first letter dated 1857 concerned Captain Goldsmith's monopoly of the water supply in the village, and the second dated 1859 concerned the location of the village mailbox outside Captain Goldsmith's house. It took just a few months in 2014, from January when we first posted the reference to Captain Goldsmith and the Higham mailbox in Charles Dickens' letters, to December 2014 when this now famous mailbox found restitution as a fully operational service of the Royal Mail. Perhaps we played a small part in bringing the mailbox back into service. Our generous Captain Goldsmith, without doubt, is the ancestor who keeps on giving.



Source: Marion Dickens and friends at Charles Dickens’s personal postbox, outside his Kent home, recommissioned ahead of Christmas. Photograph: Royal Mail/PA 2014

Read more here: A Christmas Story: Captain Goldsmith, Charles Dickens and the Higham mail box.


4. The Terpsichoreans, New Norfolk 1867
Thomas J. Nevin photographed a large group of dancers at Shoobridge's hop grounds, New Norfolk, north of Hobart, Tasmania, on 27 December 1867. As a group, they were similarly attired: the women wore a dark short top coat over a white dress, while the men wore a striking white hat with a wide brim, floppy crown and black band. During that summer of 1867-1868 Thomas Nevin took the first photographs of his fiancée Elizabeth Rachel Day, who also wore a dark top coat over a white dress for this full-length portrait:



Elizabeth Rachel Day, 1868, fiancée of Thomas J. Nevin.
Full-length portrait, carte-de-visite
Nevin & Smith (late Bock's) 1867-8
City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth Street Hobart Town
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint & Private Collection. Watermarked.



Stereograph by Nevin & Smith of groups seated and dancing in a circle, New Norfolk, Tasmania, 28 December 1867
Verso label: Tasmanian Views from Nevin & Smith .... plus Tombstones copied, Terms - Cheap!"
Photo copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2014-2015
Taken at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, November 2014
TMAG Ref: Q1994.56.20.1

WORKING MEN'S CLUB EXCURSION TO NEW NORFOLK
Yesterday the steamer Monarch, specially chartered by the Working Men's Club, conveyed between 300 and 400 excursionists to New Norfolk. This was the order of the day. An excellent brass band performed a variety of dance music on the bridge, and a number of indefatigable votaries of Terpsichore tripped it away "on the light fantastic toe" throughout the whole of the upward voyage. New Norfolk was reached by about  ½ past 12. The majority of the excursionists proceeded at once to Valleyfield, the beautiful seat of Mr. Shoobridge, who kindly threw open his grounds to the visitors, and supplied all and sundry with hot new potatoes and green peas fruit and tea. Picnic parties were soon formed in all directions under the trees, and everybody seemed thoroughly to enjoy Mr. Shoobridge's genial hospitality. After refreshment the band summoned the company to the hop-room, where dancing was kept up for nearly a couple of hours. After this football, foot races, kiss in the ring etc. occupied the young folks for some time in a large paddock near the house, during which Mr. Nevins [sic] took three photographic views of the animated scene....

Source: Tasmanian Times Saturday 28 December 1867, page 3

Read more here:Thomas Nevin and the Terpsichoreans, New Norfolk 1867


5. A few drinks on Christmas Eve 1885
Thomas Nevin's photographic studio in the years 1880-1888 was located in New Town where he resumed commercial photography after his departure from the position of Office and Hall Keeper, Hobart Town Hall, in early 1881 and continued photographic contractual work with bailiff duties for the New Town Territorial Police and the Hobart Municipal Police Office. He listed his occupation as "Photographer, New Town" on the birth registration of his youngest daughter Minnie (Mary Ann Nevin) in December 1884. His adult children listed their father's occupation as "Photographer" on their respective marriage certificates in the early 1900s including his affectionate name for their mother - "Lizza" - right to the last marriage in 1917 of their youngest son Albert Edward Nevin to Emily Maud Davis. Even at his death in 1923, Thomas J. Nevin's occupation was registered as "Photographer" on the cemetery's burial certificate.

On or about Christmas Eve, December 24th 1885, William Curtis, Thomas Nevin and and an unnamed "first offender" were celebrating the Season of Cheer with a few drinks when they were each fined 5s. for "drunk and disorderly conduct at New Town".



Stereograph by Thomas J. Nevin of the Maypole Inn and Congregational Church behind, ca. 1870.
Verso inscribed by an archivist with location details. Sourced from eBay March 2016.

Read more here: A few drinks on Christmas Eve 1885 at New Town


6. The traditional sprig of holly
Carte-de-visite portraits were taken in the 1870s by Thomas J. Nevin at the request of clients and colleagues who wanted to gift their portrait as a Christmas Card. They were invariably posed holding the traditional sprig of holly, or whatever was grown locally that would represent holly, tinted red and green always as the two colours readily recognised as signifiers of Christmas.



A Christmas portrait by T. J. Nevin of a toddler holding a sprig of holly, hand coloured red and green
Verso bears Nevin's Royal Warrant stamp ca. 1874
From © The Lucy Batchelor Collection 2009 ARR [PC]



Above: teenage girl holding a sprig, daubed red and green, ca. 1874
Portrait inscribed verso with the transcription "Clifford & Nevin, Hobart Town"
From © The G.T. Harrisson Collection 2006 ARR [PC]

Read more here: The red and green tinted sprigs and Wm Maguire


7. Thomas Nevin's cdv of Hobart's fire bell signals
Thomas Nevin's photographic reductions of large printed documents to the size of a carte-de-visite - 54.0 mm (2.125 in) × 89 mm (3.5 in) mounted on a card sized 64 mm (2.5 in) × 100 mm (4 in) - "evoked much admiration" when reported in the press. His first noted experiment in 1870 was the replication to a pocket sized card of the Town Clerk's poster which provided the public with information on how to interpret fire bell alarms.

Even though the electric alarm system might have been in operation in Hobart by the late 1870s, Mr. H. Wilkinson, Town Clerk, and Thomas J. Nevin, Office-keeper of the Hobart Municipal Council, considered it a necessary public service to publish a diagram in the Mercury Almanac for 1878 on New Year's Day, January 1st,1878, showing the number of strokes of the fire bell for each sequence signifying the fire's location, viz: from the intersection of Liverpool and Harrington streets in the north (2 strokes) and west (3 strokes), to the intersection of Harrington Street and Montepellier Road, i.e. Montepellier Retreat, to the south (4 strokes) and east (1 stroke) rising from New Wharf (now Salamanca Place) to Battery Point (5 strokes).





TRANSCRIPT

FIRE BELL SIGNALS, HOBART TOWN.
The city is divided into five parts, as shown below. After the general alarm for a fire has been rung, the proper signal will be given, being repeated five times, with an interval of one minute between each : -
West 3 Strokes.
North 2 Strokes.
Liverpool Street - Harrington Street
South 4 Strokes.
East 1 Stroke.
Montpellier-road
Battery Point and New Wharf;
5 Strokes.

Source: Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) Tue 1 Jan 1878 Page 1 FIRE BELL SIGNALS, HOBART TOWN.

Read more here: Thomas Nevin's photographic reductions of large documents 1870s


8. The Pretty Views of Hobart 1850
Venturing out into a Hobart Town garden from HMS Havannah anchored in port at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on 26th December, 1850, deputy adjutant Godfrey Mundy rejoiced at the sight of a full-grown holly:

Every kind of English flower and fruit appears to benefit by transportation to Van Diemen's Land. Well-remembered shrubs and plants, to which the heat of Australia is fatal, thrive in the utmost luxuriance under this more southern climate. For five years I had lost sight of a rough but respected old friend — the holly, or at most I had contemplated with chastened affection one wretched little specimen in the Sydney Botanic Garden — labelled for the enlightenment of the Cornstalks. But in a Hobart Town garden I suddenly found myself in the presence of a full-grown holly, twenty feet high and spangled with red berries, into whose embrace I incontinently rushed, to the astonishment of a large party of the Brave and the Fair, as well as to that of my most prominent feature!

Common Holly 1864
Source:Biocyclopedia.com

Read more here: Captain Edward Goldsmith: imports to Tasmania, exports to everywhere, 1840s-1860s


9. In a party mood: Michael LYNCH, Christmas Eve, 1881
Sixty-five (65) year old cook, Michael Horrigan (or Lynch, Harrigan and Sullivan), transported as Michael Lynch per Waverley (1) in 1841, was feeling festive on Christmas Eve, 24th December 1881. He celebrated by breaking into the residence of Alexander Denholm junior at Forcett, south-east of Hobart near Sorell, helping himself to a gold watch and some very fancy clothes. In a party mood, and probably dressed to the nines in Denholm's tweeds, he then sought out and made amorous sexual advances to Robert Freeman which landed him in prison for indecent assault.



Prisoner Michael LYNCH alias HORRIGAN, HARRIGAN and SULLIVAN
Photographer: Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923)
Date and Place: Hobart Supreme Court March 1882
Black and white copy of sepia print printed in cdv mount
Verso indicates alias, crime, date of transportation, photo or archival no. 466 etc
QVM:1985:P:89, QVMAG Collection, Launceston, Tasmania

Read more here: In a party mood: prisoner Michael LYNCH (as Horrigan, Harrigan or Sullivan), Christmas Eve, December 24th 1881


10. ... And from the 1950s



Norma Witts, Santa Claus and children from the Norma Witts Dance School
Christmas Concert, Theatre Royal Hobart ca. 1958
Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's great grand daughter Kerry middle row third from left
From © KLW NFC Group Private Collection 2023