02708 Albumen prints (13 x 18 cm or slightly larger) mounted on card (20 x 24 cm) with the caption, photographer's name and location of his studio (St. Kilda) printed in gilt in the border of mount. The photographs are: 1. Collins Street, looking west; 2. Bourke Street, looking east; 3. The Government House, from the Friendly Societies' Gardens; 4. The Town Hall Organ; 5. The Public Library; 6. The Post Office; 7. The Treasury; 8. The Independent Church, Collins Street; 9. The Railway Pier, Sandridge; 10. The Turret Ship Cerberus in the Alfred Dock; 11. and 12. View in Fitzroy Gardens and 13. Dandenong State Forest. Sassafras Gully. Fern trees draped with wire grass. * Some browning to the mounts, but the photographs themselves in very good condition with only some minor fading. * A superb collection of rare images of Melbourne in the 1870s. Only a limited number of photographs by Donald McDonald are known, or have been attributed to him. As McDonald is clearly identified as the photographer of these images, this collection adds considerably to our knowledge of his work. *Only 5 of the 13 images offered for sale here appear on Picture Australia and have been clearly attributed to McDonald (those of the Town Hall Organ, Post Office, Public Library, Independent Church and Treasury). Three photographs offered here (Collins Street, Bourke Street and Sandridge Pier) are very similar to other images accessible through Picture Australia, however, all three are not clearly attributed. In its Pictures catalogue the National Library lists three albums containing photographs attributed to McDonald, or which 'may be the work of McDonald'. Of these, the album titled 'My Tour' contains photographs of Bourke Street and the Sandridge Pier by an unidentified photographer. The photographs of Bourke Street and Sandridge Pier offered here are very similar and were clearly taken within a few metres of the ones contained in the National Library album. Similarly, the NLA album titled 'Views of the Colonies of Victoria etc.' contains an unattributed photograph of Collins Street, very similar to the one offered here. In fact, the two photographs appear to have been taken from the same spot and within a few minutes of each other. This NLA album also contains one of the views of the Fitzroy Gardens offered here, however, it is unattributed. The images of Government House, the ship Cerberus, Dandenong Forest, and one of the Fitzroy Gardens do not appear on Picture Australia, nor do any similar ones. $3850.00AUD
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