Portrait of James Read [or possibly Reid], ca. 1861 / photograph attributed to William Hetzer

ML 1427

fonds

ca. 1861

Graphic Materials, Photographs

867219

1 photographic print - 37.5 x 28 cm visible image, inside frame 62.2 x 53 cm - ambrotype, hand-coloured, in its original rosewood veneer frame

The portrait remained in the possession of the Odd Fellows. Reference: Library correspondence file

This portrait is of James Read, the founding Grand Master of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, in his regalia.
Unusually, the subject has been photographed full length, with his British Odd Fellow’s regalia, including crown. Few portraits from this period show the subject with their work clothes or tools of their profession.
Before coming to Australia, James Read had been a British soldier. He received a sabre wound to the head at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, survived battlefield surgery and as a result bore a silver plate in his skull. The photograph shows evidence of Read’s cranio-facial disfigurement.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

Out of copyright: Artist died before 1955

This ambrotype is notable for its very large size and is the largest in Australia. Most ambrotypes measure less than 10 x 8 cm; very few reach a quarter of the size of this image.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

This ambrotype is attributed to Sydney photographer William Hetzer for the following reasons.
1. The carpet on the studio floor matches other examples taken at Hetzer’s studio.
2. The ambrotype measures 16 x 12 inches; Hetzer acquired a new camera using 16 inch plates in late 1860 (see Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Nov 1860)
3. It is known that Hetzer was used by the fraternal societies for portraiture. In 1861 he photographed 23 members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of NSW for their new building in 1861 (see Sydney Morning Herald, 21 June 1861). The societies usually employed their own members for such commissions.
4. The only other photographer capable of taking ambrotypes this size was Thomas Glaister. Glaister always varnished the surface of his glass photographs and this ambrotype has no varnishing on the surface.

Reference:
Library correspondence file