Guinea

1885 · ref. 4504633 — Sydney: Thomas Richards Government Printer 1885. Slight rubbing to binding in handsome & original condition; interior lightly foxed in places; map with repaired tear; images all bright and crisp. Large square folio with a folding map three coloured lithograph plates 33 original silver albumen photographs 283 x 212 mm mounted on card with printed captions and borders and two superb panoramas one of them double-page 240 x 553 mm and the other on four sheets 242 x 1053 mm; original dark blue grained morocco binding bevelled edges spine banded and sides with multiple borders in gilt front cover lettered in gilt all edges gilded. This rare and sumptuous album published in very small numbers and illustrated with original photographs has been described as the first example of Australian photo-journalism: "the most magnificent example of an Australian work in this genre the high point in relation to which all other examples can be considered" Holden. It is equally significant as one of the earliest ethnographic photographic albums produced in the South Pacific. The photographs record the 1884 expedition during which Commodore Sir James Erskine proclaimed a British protectorate over the south coast of New Guinea. Although unpublished at the time they were produced by the New South Wales Government Printing Office and were principally the work of Augustine Dyer 1873-1923. Intended as a visual record of the expedition they also reveal the strategic importance attached to the Hood Lagoon region represented by six photographs together forming almost one-sixth of the completed album. Printed and assembled in Sydney in a small presentation edition the album is remarkable in treating photographs not simply as illustrations but as the narrative itself. Official ceremonies are interwoven with topographical views and portraits producing a visual account of first contact between Imperial officers and local communities. Particularly striking is the photograph of Erskine addressing assembled chiefs aboard HMS Nelson one of whom holds an ebony staff distributed by Erskine as an emblem of authority "with a florin let in at the top the Queen's Head being uppermost" Lyne. Although produced to commemorate the proclamation of the British Protectorate the album is equally important as an early ethnographic record of coastal Papua New Guinea. Despite its official purpose its photographs frequently possess an immediacy and humanity uncommon in imperial publications of the period. A complete list of the photographs appears on the Hordern House website. Sir James Erskine R.N. 1838-1911 then Commodore of the Australian Station had assumed command in January 1882. While in Sydney he leased Carthona the grand Gothic Revival house at Darling Point built for the explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell. During the expedition he commanded the Australian Squadron charged with proclaiming British authority over the south coast of New Guinea. The motivation for the expedition was explicitly imperial. As Erskine explained the Imperial Government had resolved to establish a protectorate over the unclaimed southern coast of New Guinea "with the double object of preventing any foreign occupation of the country and of protecting the inhabitants from aggression.". Yet the tone of his published Narrative frequently departs from official language reading more as a travel account than a governmental report. "Picturesque" is among his favourite descriptions while passages celebrating "the striking variety and beauty of the colour in the adjacent water" reveal genuine admiration for the landscape. The same contrast appears in Erskine's address to the assembled chiefs long regarded as a "Declaration of Rights" for New Guinea. Whereas the formal Proclamation speaks in the language of imperial administration Erskine's speech looks instead to the practical benefits of British protection urging the assembled people to "look upon white persons whom the Queen permits to reside amongst you as your friends.". The album's photographs reinforce this more nuanced narrative. Images of proclamation ceremonies are balanced by landscapes villages and portraits creating what is arguably the earliest sustained photographic reportage produced in Australia. Particularly memorable is the scene aboard HMS Nelson showing Erskine addressing the Hood Bay chiefs one grasping the ebony staff symbolising his authority. The photographs comprise: 1 "Port Moresby from the Mission Station." Four-sheet panorama. 2 "H.M.S. 'Nelson' at Port Moresby S.W." 3 "General View of Settlement at Port Moresby N.N.E." 4 "Commodore shaking hands with Native Chief 'OBE Vagi' on board H.M.S. 'Nelson' at Port Moresby." 5 "Native Village Port Moresby W." 6 "Ethel Island and landing-place at Native Village Port Moresby S.W." 7 "Native Houses Port Moresby." 8 "Native Village Port Moresby S." 9 "Native Village Port Moresby N.W." 10 "Hoisting Flag at Port Moresby N.W." 11 "Yule Island from Delena Hall Sound N.W." 12 "Landing-place at Delena Hall Sound N." 13 "Hoisting flag at Delena Hall Sound." 14 "Koloka the Queen of the Lolo Tribe at Delena." 15 "Landing at Motumotu." 16 "Landing at Motumotu." 17 "Firing the Feu de joie Motumotu." 18 "New Guinea Chief Motumotu." 19 "Native Village Kerepunu Hood Lagoon S.W." 20 "Commodore reading Proclamation at Kerepunu Hood Lagoon W." 21 "H.M.S. 'Espiegle' saluting Flag Hood Lagoon." 22 "Scene near Kerepunu Hood Lagoon N.E." 23 "A Chief's House Kerepunu Hood Lagoon S.W." 24 "Commodore addressing Chiefs on board H.M.S. 'Nelson' Hood Bay." 25 "Argyll Bay W.N.W." Two-sheet panorama. 26 "Commodore reading Proclamation at Argyll Bay N.W." 27 "H.M.S. 'Nelson' saluting Flag at Mission Station Suau Stacey Island South Cape." 28 "View from Stacey Island N." 29 "Native Village Suau S.W." 30 "Native House at Suau." 31 "View from Dinner Island China Strait-H.M. Ships 'Nelson' and 'Espiegle' at anchor N.W." 32 "View from Dinner Island S.W." 33 "Natives on board H.M.S. 'Nelson' at Dinner Island." 34 "View from Anchorage N. side of Teste Island W. by N." 35 "West end of Teste Island from Anchorage S.W." A presentation copy was prepared for Queen Victoria noted in the preface as "a keen supporter of photography." . Provenance: A Paré "Elgin" Durban Rd. Wynberg South Africa pencil inscription on front flyleaf. Thomas Richards, Government Printer unknown