Why shave? Thomas Nevin and the pogonophiles

POGONOPHILIA
NEVIN'S MALE CLIENTS 1860s-70s
NEVIN FAMILY FACIAL HAIR FASHIONS






Young bearded man in check-pattern summer jacket
Nevin & Smith 1868 Hobart Town
Courtesy of © The Liam Peters Collection 2010.

This deft and lightly hand-tinted photograph of a bearded young man wearing a check-pattern summer jacket was taken by Thomas J. Nevin in early 1868 while operating with partner Robert Smith as the firm "Nevin & Smith" at Alfred Bock's former studio, the City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town (Tasmania). The photograph was taken no later than February 1868 because Nevin's partnership with Robert Smith was dissolved by solicitor W. R. Giblin per the Mercury notice of 26th February . The occasion for both photographers and their sitter, as indicated by the Royal feathered insignia incorporated into the studio stamp on verso, was the visit to Hobart of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in command of his yacht the Galatea, arriving on 6th January and departing for NSW on 18th January 1868. At his final reception, he was presented with an album containing "eighty-three photographs illustrative of the scenery of Tasmania, forty-eight portraits of children born in the colony, and nine plates immediately connected with the Prince's visit" according to the account largely derived from local newspaper articles, Narrative of the visit of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to the colony of Victoria, Australia, pp 200-210, published in 1868 by John George Knight. The Prince's photograph prefacing this edition shows a Royal preference for a style lightly whiskered around the chin and cheeks.



The Bearded Movement 1870s
Rapid progress from the shaved face of the 1850s to a bearded appearance, which started during the Crimean War, reached its peak in the 1870s. Designated by Victorian Britons as the"beard movement", it promoted an ideology which contended that a beard represented elemental masculinity. Potential health benefits were touted for the beard: it acted as a filter against disease, capturing germs and protecting teeth, especially where men employed in mining and industry were assaulted daily with dust and rubbish. The beard also provided other benefits such as a healthy skin, protection from sunburn, and a means to keep warm in winter. Those who adopted this love of beards were labelled "pogonophiles".

When Thomas J. Nevin married his fiancee Elizabeth Rachel Day in July 1871, his three male wedding guests posing for this photograph (below)  preferred neatly trimmed beards and thin moustaches in similar fashion to Prince Alfred. Younger brother Jack Nevin, standing on extreme right, and still a teenager, had grown a moustache by 1871, and kept the style when photographed ca. 1880, by then Constable John Nevin, and still beardless. Thomas Nevin, seated with Elizabeth, wore mutton chops and no beard for the wedding in 1871 but photographs taken of him in the late 1860s and again in 1874 show his preference for the beard, reddish to the last, as remembered by his grandchildren in the 1920s.


Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin with wedding guests 1871
Jack Nevin, top right, Thomas Nevin seated
Copyright © KLW NFC  Imprint 2009 ARR

A cursory glance through dozens of commercial portraits taken by Thomas J. Nevin of his male clientele in the 1870s gives the impression that eight out of ten men - 80% no less - preferred some sort of facial hair, from a simple moustache, as was the case with his solicitor, later Tasmanian Attorney-General W. R. Giblin, to degrees between the moustache complimented with mutton chops to the massive full beard, the possession of life-timers.



The life-timer: this young man has a full beard and looks likely to keep it. A wave at the spot in front of  his top button suggests he customarily either tied it in a tail or tucked it into his jacket. Although unidentified, he may have been John Hamilton, who worked in Askin Morrison's shipping firm in 1871 and later established  the firm of John Hamilton & Co., merchants, shipping, commission and insurance agents. See this photograph of John Hamilton taken in later life with remarkably similar eyes and beard pattern.



Unidentified bearded man in top hat, well-worn coat, and umbrella under left arm
Photo taken by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1870
Verso bears his most common commercial stamp
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint & Private Collection 2016

Among free men, that is, apart from those prisoners Thomas Nevin photographed when they had shaved and dressed in prison issue on being incarcerated, factors such as class or age do not seem to differentiate those with beards and those without. For example, the two clean-shaven men in this photograph are the former Premier Sir John O'Shanassy in a white top hat on the viewer's extreme left, and a working class man in a narrow brim floppy white summer hat on extreme right. Thomas Nevin took this photograph of intercolonial and local VIPs in the company of colonists on board the City of Hobart, January 31st 1872 during an excursion to Adventure Bay, at Bruny Island. The bearded men in the foreground included barrister Byron Miller standing next to O'Shannasy, Captain Clinch with pipe behind him, the Premier of Tasmania the Hon. Alfred Kennerley, front centre, arms crossed, the Hon. James Erskine Calder (face next to the Capstan wheel), and the Rev. Henry Dresser Atkinson at extreme lower right. The calm young woman in this hirsute crowd remains unidentified, although in all likelihood she was Sarah Ann Ward, Rev. Atkinson's fiancée.





Stereograph of the VIPS by Nevin on board the City of Hobart 31st January 1872
T. Nevin Photo blindstamp impress recto on right hand side
Verso with T. J. Nevin’s government contractor’s stamp with Royal Arms insignia.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Collection Ref: Q1994.56.2


The Colonists’ Trip to Adventure Bay [callouts]
VIPs on board The City of Hobart, 31st January 1872
Stereograph in buff arched mount by Thomas J. Nevin
Private Collection KLW NFC Group copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2015

Above is another photograph of the VIPS and colonists taken by Thomas Nevin on board the City of Hobart, 31st January 1872. The same bearded VIPS appear in this photograph. Two exceptions are pictured here, both clean-shaven and socially advantaged, both wealthy and powerful - Sir John O'Shanassy and solicitor John Woodcock Graves, reclining in this photograph also taken by Thomas Nevin on the Adventure Bay excursion.



Detail of group photograph of the colonists at Adventure Bay 31st January 1872
Figures on lower left, recumbent: John Woodcock Graves jnr and Sir John O’Shanassy
Between them: John Graves’ teenage daughter, Jean Porthouse Graves
Above her in topper: Robert Byron Miller
On right: sitting with stick, Hon. Alfred Kennerley, Mayor of Hobart
Head in topper only on extreme right: Sir James Erskine Calder.

Stereograph in double oval buff mount with T. Nevin blindstamp impress in centre
Verso is blank. Photo copyright © KLW NFC 2014 ARR
Taken at the TMAG November 2014 (TMAG Collection Ref:Q1994.56.5

Captain William Langdon, R.N. and later Member of  Parliament also preferred the clean-shaven look for this unattributed photograph dated no later than 1870, but his parliamentary colleague the Hon. W. R. Giblin, A-G and later Premier, photographed by Nevin ca. 1874, preferred the beardless look complimented with a midly assertive moustache.



Above: Captain W. Langdon (on left) and Hon. W. R. Giblin (right). Below is another photograph of W. R. Giblin, top row, second from left, surrounded by lawyers, politicians and administrators, probably members of the LOYAL UNITED BROTHERS LODGE, A. & I.O.O.F. (Australian and International Order of Odd Fellows) for whom Thomas Nevin was the official photographer when he photographed the new Odd Fellows Hall and members who attended the opening in 1871, among various other functions. All except Giblin in this photograph favour the beard.



Group of men, including W. R. Giblin, Morton Allport, J. B. Walker and Henry Dobson]
Undated, unattributed
Record ID: SD_ILS:612220
Archives Office Tasmania

Facial hair fashions in the Nevin family
Thomas Nevin's father, John Nevin snr photographed here by his son Thomas. By 1879 he preferred a rounded beard covering the cheeks but sitting clear of the lips and minus a moustache.



John Nevin senior (1808-1887), photographed in 1879, aged 71 years, on the occasion of his marriage to his second wife, Martha Genge (aged 46 yrs).
TAHO Ref: NS434/1/155 .
Photo by Thomas J. New Town studio 1879

Thomas Nevin's brother, Jack Nevin developed his beardless style in his teens, and stuck to it.



A simple moustache, no beard or cheek hair from teen age to adulthood
Younger brother Constable John (William John, aka Jack) Nevin
Photo taken by Thomas J. Nevin ca. 1880
Private Collection © KLW NFC Imprint 2009

The young stereographer: Thomas Nevin's self-portrait, ca. 1868



Bearded, with mutton chops and moustache
Thomas J. Nevin, mid 1860s in white gloves holding a stereoscopic viewer
Carte-de-visite on buff mount. Verso is blank.
Copyright © KLW NFC 2009 ARR Private Collection

Married: groom Thomas Nevin with his bride Elizabeth Rachel Day, wedding photo1871



Wispy fly-away mutton chops, moustache and no beard
Thomas Nevin and Elizabeth Rachel Day, July 12, 1871.
Wedding photograph, carte-de-visite. Verso is blank.
Copyright © KLW NFC 2005-2009 ARR.

Thomas Nevin, self-portrait, government contractor



Work-a-day dress with prisoners.
Bearded, with moustache and minus the mutton chops
Photographer T. J. Nevin ca. 1873
Self-portrait, in oval mount
Copyright © KLW NFC 2005 ARR Private Collection

Captain Edward Goldsmith: Falkland Islands 1839

CAPTAIN EDWARD GOLDSMITH
THE FALKLAND ISLAND (ISLAS MALVINAS)
CAPTAIN WILLIAM LANGDON



Settlement at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands May 1849
Ref: PAI4610
Artist: Fanshawe, Edward Gennys
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

In March 1839, when Captain Edward Goldsmith penned the letter (below) in support of British colonization of the Falkland Islands as a penal colony, he had arrived back in London from the Australian colonies in command of the barque Wave, having satisfied himself that -

"...the Falklands, from their position and internal resources, and being free from natives, will, under a company, thrive much faster than Van Dieman's Land....".

The Port Officer's Log (Archives Tasmania)
Arrival at the Port of Hobart Town the barque Wave, 17 July 1838

Captain Edward Goldsmith arrived at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on the barque Wave, on 7th July 1838 via the Cape with general cargo, 16 crew, and 17 passengers who disembarked at Hobart. The Wave was a 343 tons vessel carrying 4 guns. The voyage from Portsmouth, departing on 30th March 1838 to arrival at Hobart took just under four months. Captain Goldsmith departed Hobart in command of the Wave on the return journey for London on 10th October 1838 with six passengers, an experienced surgeon Dr Wilson, and cargo of oil and bone.



TRANSCRIPTS

Notice
The Wave having nearly completed her cargo, will positively clear at the Custom House on the 6th, and sail early on the 7th October. Has room for a few bales of Wool, and can accommodate a few passengers. Carries an experienced surgeon.
For further particulars, apply to Captain Goldsmith, on board, or to
BILTON & MEABURN,
Old Wharf, Sept. 24, 1838

Oct. 10 - Sailed the barque Wave, 343 tons, Goldsmith, master, for London, with a cargo of oil and bone. Passengers, Captain Mackenzie and Lady, Mrs. Stewart, Miss Spurling, Mr. Henry Archer, Dr. Wilson.

Departure of the Wave. Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857) Tue 16 Oct 1838 Page 4 Shipping Intelligence.

Captain Goldsmith's opinion 1839
Arriving back in London on 12th February 1839 just in time to attend the funeral of his father Richard Goldsmith snr, Captain Edward Goldsmith wrote this letter, dated 25th March, in support of colonisation of the Falklands.



Source: The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Saturday 27 July 1839 p 2 Article ADVANCE AUSTRALIA SYDNEY GAZETTE.

TRANSCRIPT

A project for the colonization of the Falkland Islands is again set afloat, and an Association for that purpose formed. A correspondence on the subject appears in The Colonial Gazette of the 6th April. A Mr. WHITINGTON claims for himself and Lieut. LANGDON, R. N., now in Van Dieman's Land, the credit of having been the first to direct the attention of the Government and of the public to the eligibility of the Falkland Islands for a Penal Settlement. A letter from Capt GOLDSMITH, of the Wave, addressed to some parties connected with the Association, gives the following account of the Falkland Islands :-

"Captain Langdon's opinion I fully confirm ; the only obstacle in my mind is the want of timber, which may be overcome. On the 25th of November last, I anchored in Berkeley Sound, a very safe harbour, with plenty of excellent fresh water close to the beach, and abundance of bullocks, horses, and rabbits. One of the latter I brought home, and presented it to Mr. Whitington ; there are about eight sheep on the island, some of which brought lambs during my stay of five days. The soil and climate I consider capable of producing everything that is grown here. I saw peas, potatoes, turnips, &c, all thriving. I cannot imagine how our Government could, for so long a time, have overlooked so valuable and important a place not only as a naval depot, but as a Colony and resort for our numberless merchantmen requiring supplies in that quarter.

I have made many voyages to New South Wales, and have been compelled to put into Bahia, Pernambuco, and Rio Janeiro for supplies, on which occasions I have always been delayed from three to four weeks. Now the Falkland Isles are in almost a direct line, and about half way between England and the Australian Colonies, and I do not hesitate to assert that a vessel might there be supplied, and get away in twenty-four hours, without any risk or inconvenience. Could they be sure of getting what they might require, I feel assured that they would, on no account, go to any of the ports on the neighbouring coast. I am satisfied that the Falklands, from their position and internal resources, and being free from natives, will, under a company, thrive much faster than Van Dieman's Land. Sheep will do well, and may be easily imported from New South Wales.

One or two good entire horses would be very valuable out there, the present tame ones not being fleet of foot enough to catch the wild horses. I will attend your meeting, and shall be glad to give all the information in my power. It is my intention to call there again on my next voyage, and I should recommend all vessels to do so, that may require beef and water. That the settlement may be speedily formed is the wish of, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

E. GOLDSMITH,
Master of the barque Wave London, March 25, 1839".

Mr. Whitington says " a matured " plan of colonization for these important 44 islands will very shortly appear, supported by merchants and shipowners of eminence, which will insure the confidence of the public.

Source: The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Saturday 27 July 1839 p 2 Article ADVANCE AUSTRALIA SYDNEY GAZETTE.

The local press in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) published Mr. Whitington's claim, penned on 28th March 1839, just three days after Captain Goldsmith's letter, that he - Whitington and partner Captain William Langdon - were the sole originators of the scheme to colonize the Falklands as a penal colony:

"SETTLEMENT OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
[A paragraph amongst the extracts from English journals, given to-day in our columns, will inform the reader that a Mr. Whitington had had an interview with the Colonial Minister, on the subject of colonising the Falkland Islands. In the Colonial Gazette of the 6th of April, we find letters from Mr. Whltington and Capt. Goldsmith, the well-known and highly respected commander of the barque Wave, upon the subject, and insert them below.]

"To the Editor of the Colonial Gazette. Sir,— In the appendix to Mr. Montgomery Martin's work on the 'Colonies of the British Empire,' under head of the Falkland Islands, he says-"These documents relating to the subject, have been placed in my hands by Henry Moreing, Esq., a gentleman well qualified for carrying into effect his sound views as to the eligibility of the Falkland Islands for a penal settlement." The paragraph calls for my comment, not with any ill feeling towards Mr. Moreing, but as a matter of justice to myself and co-partner, Lieutenant W. Langdon, R. N., now in Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Moreing has not, and never had any original views on the subject of the eligibility of the Falkland Islands for a Penal Settlement, &. All the information he has relative thereto, be derived from me, and from my documents. Lieutenant Langdon and myself were the originators of the scheme of Colonisation in question so early as 1830. We placed our views before the Colonial Office in 1831. Since which period I have been most indefatigably engaged on bringing the question to the notice of Government and the public, and making such arrangements as would justify a colony and naval nation being formed there. In 1835, with the aid and suggestions of Lieutenant Rea, of the Royal Marines, after he had visited the islands, an improved plan for a Penal Settlement was proposed by me; copies of these papers, and many others collected during a period of eight years, with draft, prospectus, and chart, I placed in Mr. Moreing's hands. Ere long, I will hand for your perusal and comment a matured plan of colonization for these important islands, which will very shortly appear, supported by merchants and ship owners of eminence, and which will insure the confidence of the public. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, G T. WHITINGTON. 13. Sise Lane, City, 28th March, 1839."

Source: Launceston Advertiser (Tas. : 1829 - 1846), Thursday 29 August 1839, page 4

Captain Goldsmith and the tree seeds 1840
The suggestion that the Falklands become a penal colony similar to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was put forward to the Colonial Office by Captain William Langdon R.N. as early as 1830. For merchant traders such as Captain Edward Goldsmith, the Falkland islands were of primary importance as a naval depot and resort for merchantmen needing supplies. With probate matters on his father's estates at Rotherhithe, Surrey and Chalk, Kent left in the hands of his brother John Goldsmith and sister Deborah Goldsmith, Captain Goldsmith arrived back in Hobart, VDL, once more in command of the Wave, on 26th September 1839, where he attended a dinner held at Government House by his close friend, Sir John Franklin (23 October 1839). He departed Hobart on 11th January 1840 bound for London with wool and passengers, intending to anchor at Berkeley Sound East Falkland en route, as stated in his letter. The Wave arrived at Port Louis in late February 1840, the first vessel to do so in the new Crown Colony. According to this optimistic report from Lieut. John Tyssen dated 29th February 1840 (a valid leap year), which Captain Goldsmith duly conveyed on his behalf to the Admiralty, London, one hundred different tree seeds were sourced from a Hobart gardener by Captain Goldsmith as a gift to the settlement where the only other trees " upon the Island" were one American pine and a few Silver fir.


Captain Goldsmith's gift of tree seeds to the Falklands
Source: Sessional Papers printed for the House of Lords ... 1841

TRANSCRIPT extract

Enclosure in No.6.
Settlement House, port Louis, 29th February 1840
Sir,
By the Wave Merchant Barque, Mr. Goldsmith Master, I take the opportunity of communicating direct to inform you, for the Information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, of my Proceedings since I took charge of the Falkland Islands.... Mr. Goldsmith, the master of the Wave, has just given me 100 different Sorts of Tree Seeds, which I intend to sow at a favourable Season; they are from a very good Gardener at Hobart Town.... The Wave is the first Vessel that has touched here since I arrived, but I have every Reason to believe more Vessels will frequent this Harbour.
Nothing of any Importance has occurred since I took Charge,
I have, & (Signed) JOHN TYSSEN, Lieut. R.N.

The Falklands did not become a penal colony, as it happened. In 1840, the Falklands became a Crown colony and Scottish settlers subsequently established an official pastoral community. Four years later, nearly everyone relocated to Port Jackson, considered a better location for government. Stanley, as Port Jackson was soon renamed, officially became the seat of government in 1845. Early in its history, Stanley had a negative reputation due to cargo-shipping losses; only in emergencies would ships rounding Cape Horn stop at the port. Nevertheless, the Falklands' geographic location proved ideal for ship repairs and the "Wrecking Trade", the business of selling and buying shipwrecks and their cargoes. Aside from this trade, commercial interest in the archipelago was minimal due to the low-value hides of the feral cattle roaming the pastures.

Disputes between the US and Argentina continued until 1844 when the US, supporting Britain, questioned the claim that all Spanish possessions had been transferred to the Government of Buenos Aires. The US and Britain declared that Spain had exercised no sovereignty over several coasts to which Buenos Aires claimed to be heir, including Patagonia. An interim Commander to the Islands, Commander Mestivier, appointed by the Buenos Aires government was murdered during a mutiny by his own men, which prompted Captain Onslow of the warship ‘Clio’ to take command, placing the Falklands under British administration. The administration was memorably challenged during Argentina's ten week occupation in 1982.

Economic growth began only after the Falkland Islands Company successfully introduced Cheviot sheep for wool farming, spurring other farms to follow suit. The high cost of importing materials, combined with the shortage of labour and consequent high wages, meant the ship repair trade became uncompetitive. After 1870, it declined as the replacement of sail ships by steamships was accelerated by the low cost of coal in South America; by 1914, with the opening of the Panama Canal, the trade effectively ended. In 1881, the Falkland Islands became financially independent of Britain.

The port of Bahia, mentioned in Captain Edward Goldsmith's letter, was the scene of considerable drama on one of his earliest voyages to Perth, Western Australia as the very young commander of the James, 1830. Seven weeks out on the voyage, he was "compelled" as he says, to berth the James at Bahia on 23 February 1830 for several reasons; the ship was so poorly built its bows needed urgent repairs, was one reason but more significant was the trouble caused by an Irish soldier, Captain Theophilius Ellis of the 1st Royal Infantry (Ireland) Regiment, who complained so emphatically over accommodation arrangements in leaky cabins that on arrival he promptly requested the vessel be condemned, the passengers refunded their money, and another vessel to carry them to W.A, demands which the Consul refused. Goldsmith in turn suggested Ellis pay for the expensive delay, and when they all re-embarked, relations between Ellis and Goldsmith only worsened. Five people had died on the voyage by 4 March, 1830: the cook, only one week out from Ireland; a woman Mrs Stewart who told Goldsmith she blamed the crowded state of the vessel for her poor health; a Mr Smith, employed by the owners of the James, who went ashore at Bahia and refused to return until Goldsmith plied him with alcohol and brought him back on board, only to die a week later; and the wife and child of a Mr Entwhistle. Rations on board were at their minimum. The day after the James arrived finally at the Swan River on 8th May 1830, it was blown ashore and wrecked, along with the brig the Emily Taylor.. Captain Goldsmith's wife Elizabeth, who was three months' pregnant when they departed Britain, gave birth twelve days later, on 20 May 1830, to their son Richard Sydney Goldsmith.

Read Laughlan Bellingham Mackinnon's contemporary account which comprehensively covers the physical, historical and biotic features of the Falklands, written during his visit with Captain Sullivan. The map shows the coastline of East Falkland with Berkeley Sound as it was known in 1839. Some of Mackinnon's observations are remarkably similar to those of Captain Goldsmith's.



Some Account of the Falkland Islands: From a Six Months' Residence in 1838




Captain William Langdon R.N.

On his early voyages to Van Diemen's Land, and later, he introduced blackbirds, thrushes, goldfinches, pheasants and partridges to the colony. (see ADB extract below)

Title: Captain Langdon (1790–1879)
Description:1 photographic print [unattributed, ca 1870]
ADRI:NS407-1-44
Source:Archives Office of Tasmania

Captain William Langdon (1790–1879)
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography
Link: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/langdon-william-2327

EXTRACT

William Langdon (1790-1879), naval officer and landowner, was born on 6 November 1790 at Montacute vicarage, Somerset, England, the fifth son of Rev. William Langdon. When 13, while at school at Beaminster, Dorset, he became inspired by the career of Admiral Hood (Viscount Bridport), obtained an interview with him and asked for an appointment as a midshipman. A few weeks later Bridport wrote to him directing him to join H.M.S. Weymouth, in which he became a first-class volunteer in April 1804. He sailed in her to Madras escorting East Indiamen. In September 1806 he was present at the capture of a French frigate off Rochefort; in 1806 he was transferred to the Monarch and in August 1807 to the Champion; he saw much action and when only 17 was sent to Plymouth in command of a French prize; in 1810 he joined the Badger and in August 1811 became acting lieutenant in the Ringdove in the West Indies, the promotion being confirmed in November. He was invalided from May 1812 to September 1814.
After the peace of Paris, seeing no prospect of speedy promotion, he retired, bought the Lusitania, 245 tons, and took her on a trading voyage to Sydney and Hobart Town, where he first landed in October 1821. On a second voyage he reached Sydney in May 1823. He exchanged the Lusitania for the Hugh Crawford, which reached Sydney in April 1825. In 1828 he bought the Wanstead and in 1829 the Thomas Lawrie. In November 1822 he was fined £800 for breaking the port regulations by giving a passage from Hobart to England to Thomas Kent.
While still engaged in trading between England and the Australian colonies Langdon in 1823 received a grant of 1500 acres (607 ha) on the Clyde River near Bothwell. He added to this property, which he called Montacute, by purchase. In September 1834 Langdon arrived in Van Diemen's Land with his wife Anne, née Elliott, of Somerset, and their daughter Anne, to settle on his colonial estate. On his early voyages to Van Diemen's Land, and later, he introduced blackbirds, thrushes, goldfinches, pheasants and partridges to the colony. In September 1837 Langdon let his properties, totalling 6000 acres (2428 ha) with 2000 sheep, for £1300 a year and in March 1838 returned to England, where he lived at Inwood Lodge, near Sherborne, Dorset. There he entertained friends from Van Diemen's Land and encouraged many people to emigrate; then and later he paid the fares of some who emigrated and even had some educated at his own expense. On 14 June 1842 his only daughter Anne became the second wife of Sir Thomas Howland Roberts, third baronet, of Glassenbury, Kent...

Citation details
'Langdon, William (1790–1879)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/langdon-william-2327/text2999, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 22 March 2016.



John Glover's 1833 painting of Captain Langdon's property, Montacute, Bothwell, Tasmania
National Gallery of Australia {?}
Ref: 43130839

Captain Edward Goldsmith was the paternal uncle of Thomas J. Nevin's wife, Elizabeth Rachel Day, having married her father's sister and namesake Elizabeth Day at Liverpool (UK) in 1829. Her father, Captain James Day had served as Captain Goldsmith's navigator and first mate on several voyages dating back to the 1830s. Most likely she knew of her uncle's friendship with Captain Langdon, and may have visited Montacute around the time these photographs were taken.





Two stereo views ca. 1870-74 at Montacute, Bothwell Tasmania
No photographer studio stamp
Private Collection © G.Harrisson 2014 {?}

The versos are inscribed in handwriting, with "Tasmania" along the edge of one, which also appears on Thomas Nevin's photograph of Mary Morrison stamped recto with Nevin's impress. Photographers Samuel Clifford and Thomas Nevin travelled around the island in partnership during the 1860s-1870s, producing prodigious numbers of commercial stereographs. One of their visits on passing through Bothwell was reported at length in The Mercury 26th September 1874.



Top of Cpt Langdon's trunk, Norfolk ship
"Not to be used on voyage"
Narryna Museum Battery Point Hobart Tasmania
Photo copyright © KLW NFC 2013 ARR

EXTERNAL REFERENCES

• The Falkland Islands Official Site
• The Falkland Islands: Wikipedia
• William Langdon: Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Sessional Papers for the House of Lords 1841

RELATED POSTS main weblog

• Captain Goldsmith dines with the Franklins at Govt house
• Mr Lipscombe, Captain Goldsmith and the Mammoth Strawberry
• Captain Edward Goldsmith at Secheron Bay 1839
• Captain Edward Goldsmith at the Royal Botanic Society Gardens
• The Will of Richard Goldsmith snr 1839

Sideshow Alley: Thomas Nevin at the NPG exhibition 2015

Ten Tasmanian prisoner mugshots by T. J. Nevin, 1870s
Exhibited at the NPG, Canberra, Sideshow Alley: Infamy, the macabre and the portrait,
4th December 2015 – 28th February 2016.
Photo copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2015

Prisoners' names per the NPG card on left:
TOP ROW (l to r):
William Walker per Asia 4, James Calhoun native, James Geary native, Charles Dawnes [sic] per Rodney 2, William Hayes per Asia
BOTTOM ROW (l to r):
George Willis per Neptune 2, John F. Morris per Pestonjee Bomanjee 2, George Fisher per Stratheden, Samuel Evans native, Leonard Hand native.

The National Portrait Gallery (Australia) at Canberra is currently displaying this wooden frame containing ten "convict portraits" under glass at the exhibition, Sideshow Alley: Infamy, the macabre and the portrait, 4th December 2015 – 28th February 2016.The NPG web page for this exhibition is: https://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/sideshow-alley-2015.

Misattribution
When the decision arose to borrow a handful of carte-de-visite mugshots of Tasmanian prisoners from the National Library of Australia's collection of 84 "Convict portraits, Port Arthur 1874", it was for reasons to do with cronyism, specifically involving the NLA's reliance on the negligent errors in print of its paid advisers and valuers (eg. Warwick Reeder, 1995; Helen Ennis, 2000 et al) that the NPG curator of this exhibition, Sideshow Alley ensured their inclusion of the irrelevant name "A. H. Boyd" in the credits as a photographer. On the blue card on the wall at left (in photo above), Adolarious Humphrey Boyd's name is printed above and before the name of the real photographer, government contractor Thomas J. Nevin, whose historically correct accreditation at the NLA was intact (Sprod papers NLA MS 2320, 1964) until staff there were bullied into colluding with the sycophantic Julia Clark at the Port Arthur Heritage Site in an abrasive attack on Thomas J. Nevin (and his descendants) to suppress Nevin's name in order to promote A. H. Boyd into the annals of photo-history as some sort of gifted point-and-shoot amateur snapping shots of convicts on a Sunday for personal pleasure.

Read the "essay" Julia Clark sent to the NLA in 2007: click here.

The "essay" by Julia Clark (2007) bears no evidence that Boyd ever took a photograph of a man in prison clothing at any time in his sad, chequered career as a prison official. No photographs by this individual A. H. Boyd were extant in the 19th century, nor in the 20th century, nor now in the present. Not one photograph has ever been published or proferred by Clark or Boyd's descendants to claim his talent as a photographer in any genre. Julia Clark's efforts at personal abuse and plagiarisation of our extensive research from these Thomas J. Nevin weblogs evince a shabby game of playing the Port-Arthur-1996-events sympathy card in tandem with her parasitic aspiration of getting a PhD on the back of Nevin's extensive photographic works (held at the SLNSW, TMAG. QVMAG, NZLIB, TAHO etc). The term currently used to describe the modus operandi of the NLA advertising Clark's insistence that Nevin's name be suppressed (against every catalogue entry for their convict portrait collection), an insistence which affects all users of the NLA collection including the NPG in the Sideshow Alley exhibition - is "apprehended bias". Given the force which Julia Clark has mustered to legitimate her toxic attitude towards the descendants of not just one but the two police photographers, brothers Thomas Nevin and Constable John Nevin jnr who produced these mugshots for the Tasmanian government from 1872-1888 - we can readily add "academic fraud".

Because Adolarious Humphrey Boyd was a much-despised public administrator, sacked from the position of Superintendent at the Queen's Orphan School, New Town for misogyny in October 1864, and sacked again from the position of Commandant at the Port Arthur prison for graft, corruption and bullying in 1873, the PAHS decided in their commercial interests and quest to gain World Heritage status in 2007 that they should claim all these "convict portraits" as the work of their own disgraced Commandant A. H. Boyd with the intention of bringing him up from history smelling like roses. Of course they knew the attribution to be a baseless rumour; that A. H. Boyd was not a photographer by any definition of the term; that no records, documents, or photographs exist of his involvement at any level or stage in the production of these extant police identification photographs taken in 1870s Tasmania; and that his name in relation to these prisoners' photographs had only surfaced as a rumour circulated by his pretentious descendants in the 1980s not long after the QVMAG's exhibition of similar photographs from their collection in Nevin's name in 1977. So the decision to make the NLA believe in A. H. Boyd had to be mounted with considerable aggression, and Clark - like one of those dogs tethered at the isthmus guarding Port Arthur back in the day - was their barker. This inclusion in the current exhibition, Sideshow Alley, of a photographer attribution to A. H. Boyd at yet one more Canberra exhibition (e.g.Mirror with a Memory, Heads of the People, Opening of the new NPG 2008) is best termed acquiescent corporate psychopathy, from and by those who readily promulgate misinformation to protect commercial interests.

Place and date of each photographic capture
The National Library of Australia has repeatedly chosen the same set of photographs from their collection of 85 Tasmanian prisoners' mugshots (catalogued as "convicts") for loan to the National Portrait Gallery because they are clean examples of the professional photographer's use of the albumen process. Other examples in the NLA's collection are damaged and dirty, and some are unmounted, e.g. Searle's album. Most of the NLA's collection is online, yet the versos of these photographs, which can provide researchers with valuable information. have not been digitised. The NLA believes that the absence of a photographer’s studio stamp on the versos – of police mugshots no less – is reason enough to engage in puerile political games of re-attribution, despite historical documentation, expert curatorial validation, and the presence of T. J. Nevin’s government contract stamp on several of these mugshots held in other national collections. The versos of the majority of these photographs were incorrectly transcribed in 1915-1916 with the wording “Taken at Port Arthur 1874” to promote penal heritage tourism to Tasmania when they were sent as exhibits to the Royal Hotel, Sydney, in conjunction with an exhibition of convictaria from the transport hulk, the Success. The majority of the 85 mugshots in the NLA collection consists of copies either duplicated from the originals – or missing from – the collections held at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston.



Prisoners' names per the NPG card on left:
TOP ROW (l to r):
William Walker per Asia 4, James Calhoun native, James Geary native, Charles Dawnes [sic] per Rodney 2, William Hayes per Asia
BOTTOM ROW (l to r):
George Willis per Neptune 2, John F. Morris per Pestonjee Bomanjee 2, George Fisher per Stratheden, Samuel Evans native, Leonard Hand native.

1. Prisoner William Walker



William Walker was photographed at the Mayor’s Court, Hobart Town Hall by Thomas Nevin on discharge, 22 July 1874, having served 7 yrs of a 10 year sentence. He was convicted again 23 October, 1875, sentenced to 6 months for larceny, and incarcerated at the Hobart Gaol. His age was listed as 68 yrs; his occupation as “painter”.See these original records for prisoner William Walker

2. Prisoner James Calhoun



James Calhoun, aged 21, native, (.i.e. locally born) was photographed by Thomas Nevin on discharge from the Hobart Gaol, 21st November 1874, having served a sentence of 6 years for sheep-stealing.  See these original records for James Calhoun.

3. Prisoner James Geary



James Geary served a short sentence of less than two years at the Port Arthur prison, arriving there on the 1 August 1868: he was “transferred to the House of Correction for Males Hobart Town to complete his sentence” on 28 March 1870, per record signed James Boyd Civil Commandant. He was photographed in the last weeks of incarceration at the Hobart Gaol by Thomas J. Nevin prior to discharge in February 1874. See these records for James Geary; mugshots and rap sheet 1865-1896

4. Prisoner Charles Dawnes [sic] i.e Downes



Charles Downes was found guilty on a charge of feloniously assaulting Dorothy Smith, aged 9 years, in Stacey’s revolving circus in the Queen’s Domain, and remanded for sentence (15 Feb 1872). Charles Downes was photographed at the Hobart Gaol by Thomas J. Nevin before his death sentence was reprieved to life imprisonment, May 1875.See these original records for prisoner Charles Downes and this article:Carnal knowledge of children

5. Prisoner William Hayes



William Hayes’ prison ID photograph was among the first taken by Thomas J. Nevin at the Hobart House of Corrections when William Hayes was discharged from a 2 year sentence for indecent assault in the week ending 24 April 1872. See these original records for prisoner William Hayes.

6. Prisoner George Willis



George Willis, aged 48 yrs, and originally transported in 1838, was convicted in the Supreme Court at Hobart on 10th September 1872, sentenced to six years for larceny, sent to the Port Arthur prison, and then relocated to the Hobart Gaol in October 1873 where he was photographed by T.J. Nevin on incarceration. See these original records 1872-1880 for prisoner George Willis.

This carte-de-visite of prisoner George Willis online at the NLA (above) appears to differ from the rest in this set only because of the different technology used in its digitisation. A photograph taken in situ at the NLA of Nevin’s cdv of George Willis shows the same portraiture and printing techniques applied by Nevin to the rest of the cdvs of prisoners in this set, e,g, Fisher, Evans etc etc, viz:





Recto and verso:
George Willis, transported to VDL (Tasmania) on the Neptune 2
Photographed by T. J. Nevin for the Municipal Police Office and Hobart Gaol 1873-4.
National Library of Australia Collection
NLA Identifier: nla.pic-vn5020355
Photos taken at the National Library of Australia, 7th Feb 2015
Photos copyright © KLW NFC 2015 ARR

7. Prisoner John F. Morris



John F. Morris was photographed by Nevin on discharge from the Hobart MPO Town Hall, 28th April, 1875 when his sentence of life for murder was remitted. See these original records for prisoner John F. Morris.; and this exhibition: In a New Light (NLA)

8. Prisoner George Fisher



T. J. Nevin took this photograph of George Fisher in December 1874 on Fisher’s incarceration at the Hobart Gaol Campbell St. for “forging an order to defraud J. E. Risby“. It was reprinted and re-issued for his re-arrest in 1877 for the burglary at Sir Francis Smith’s home. Fisher had been sentenced to 12 years in December 1874 by the Chief Justice Sir Francis Villeneuve Smith , and sent to Port Arthur, arriving there on Christmas Day. He was transferred back to the Hobart Gaol one year later in December 1875. In August 1877, he managed to abscond, broke into the Chief Justice’s home and stole several articles of clothing and other items of personal property. See these original records for prisoner George Fisher.

9. Prisoner Samuel Evans



Samuel Evans was photographed by Thomas Nevin at the Hobart Gaol, 9th December, 1874, on the prisoner’s discharge from an eight-year sentence for sheep-stealing. See these original records for prisoner Samuel Evans.

10. Prisoner Leonard Hand



Leonard Hand was convicted in the Supreme Court Launceston in April 1866 and sentenced to 15 years for the offence of “Attempting to commit sodomy". Thomas J. Nevin photographed Leonard Hand on or about the 5th August, 1875, on the occasion of Hand’s transfer to H.M. Gaol, Campbell Street Hobart from the Port Arthur prison. Leonard Hand died "from natural causes" in custody, aged 26 yrs at the Hobart Town Gaol Campbell Street on 20th March 1876. See these original records for prisoner Leonard Hand.