New Zealand and America

An album containing mounted prints of various sizes showing scenic views in New Zealand and America. The prints are either captioned on the photographs, or have brief written captions beneath. Handwritten captions, as opposed to those written on the photographic negative, are enclosed in square brackets. The geographical locations of the prints break down thus:

1-2 Sydney

3-59 New Zealand

60 Honolulu

61-105 America

The album records the round-the-world trip of R. Elsy. This probably took place around 1885: while many of the photographs were taken at an earlier date, it is certain that the album itself was not compiled before 1883. Of an earlier date, probably, are the fine pictures by W.H. Jackson, who was photographing in the Rocky Mountains in 1875. From 1870-78 he was employed by the Government illustrating Geological Surveys, and formed his own company in 1879 to promote the sale of his pictures. Many of the plates by him in this album bear his company signature 'W.H. Jackson and Co. Denver', indicating pictures that, while taken at an earlier date, were sold after 1879. Other photographers whose work appears in this collection are the Burton Brothers of Dunedin, Taber of San Francisco, George Fiske, and the Mormon photographer G.R. Savage.

Please cite as Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, New Zealand and America, Y3089C

See Y3022L, 'India and Ceylon', for an album of 156 photographs of those countries also collected by Elsy.

Indexed

This collection level description was entered by SG using information from the original typescript catalogue.

This collection is available on microfiche: Australasia, fiche number 80-82.