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John Paine Collection

HP.82.39.789

The John Paine collection comprises four stock books holding around 500 albumen prints, with some hand-coloured; three panorama photographs; four medals and two pictorial booklets, showing John Paine’s work as a professional photographer mainly in the 1880s and 1890s. The content is mainly views of Sydney and NSW, tourist landscapes including Jenolan Caves, and a series of studio portraits of Aborigines.

John Paine (1833-1908) was born in England. He worked as a photographer around Tamworth from about 1869 to 1874. Paine married Mary Baker in Waterloo Sydney in 1874. In 1875 he established a photographic studio at 96 Elizabeth street, Waterloo, Sydney, advertising views of the city and Blue Mountains for sale. In 1879 he exhibited at the Sydney International Exhibition where he won a silver medal. He photographed the Commonwealth Federation streets in 1901.

His pacific photographs relate to the voyage of the HMS Espiegle. Paine gave instruction in photography to a petty officer and leading seaman, and left a camera and dry plates on board. (SMH 4 October 1883 p.6)

Collection details
  • Album [stock book] ‘Pictorial photographs New South Wales HP82.39.1-122
    c1880-1900; 122 prints; prints removed from album and stored separately
  • Album [stock book] ‘Paine’s Pictorial Photograph New South Wales’ HP82.39.402-30; 601-804
    c1880-1901; 291 prints; prints removed from album and stored separately
  • Album [Commonwealth celebrations]HP82.40.1-18
    1901; 18 prints
  • Album [stock book] ‘Paine’s Pictorial Photographs of Colored Views’ HP82.40
    c1880; 33 prints; prints removed from album and stored separately [numbered between 601-764]
  • Album Pacific scrapbook HP82.41.1-39
    c1890; 39 prints; prints removed from album and stored separately
  • Panoramas (2) 6 part b) 3 part, hand coloured
  • Publications (two) – ‘Pictorial Photographs of New South Wales’
  • Medals [4] HP82.42
    1. Silver medal from Calcutta International Exhibition 1883-84
    2. Bronze medal from Sydney International Exhibition 1879
    3. Bronze medal from Colonial and Indian Exhibition London 1886
    4. Brass medal from International and Colonial Exhibition Amsterdam 1883

Macleay Museum: HP82.39 to HP82.42

References:

Design and Art Australia Online http://www.daao.org.au/
Catherine Snowden, John Paine Landscape Photographs c1880 (exhibition catalogue, Macleay Museum 1984)