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
