Aboriginal album a rare auction find
Author: Richard Brewster | Posted: 28th June, 2017
The rare and important J.W. Lindt (1845-1926) Album of Australian Aboriginals 1873 should bring collectors running to Mossgreen’s auction of the Denis Joachim Collection Part II – an important assembly of indigenous and colonial Australian history, European decorative arts and Chinese and Oceanic and tribal arts – from 2pm Wednesday June 28 at 935 High Street, Armadale.
The album, in new green paper covered boards, contains 19 enlarged gelatin silver or carbon prints from about 1893 to 1920.
Ten of the prints comprise 1873 Grafton River Aboriginal studies and the other nine Queensland Northern Territory Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
In June last year, Mossgreen (in association with Australian Book Auctions) handled the first part of this impressive collection and set many auction records.
Built up over 55 years, the collection is an outstanding record of Australian colonial history from the First Fleet to the end of the 19th century.
The breadth of the collection is further revealed in the Part II sale and includes Australian colonial furniture and works of art and international decorative arts.
It comprises exceptional and unique pieces, many treasured by Joachim – particularly the indigenous photography collection.
One of the other highlights is a beautiful watercolour attributed to Pierre-Antoine Marchais (1763-1859) of Aborigines in Landscape.
Another is the historically significant colonial cedar secretaire bookcase, originally made for wealthy English settler Humphrey Gray (1784-1868) who in 1826 emigrated to Van Diemens Land and settled in Avoca in northern Tasmania.
A further attraction is The Melbourne Album Containing a Series of Views of Melbourne & Country Districts c. 1864 by Charles Troedel (1835-1906).
These include 1864 Great Lonsdale Street, Elizabeth Street, Flinders Street, Bourke Street, Collins Street from Queen Street, Swanston Street, Nicholson Street, East Melbourne Cricket Ground, Fitzroy Gardens, Botanical Gardens, Kenny’s Mill, St Kilda, Sandridge from Hobson’s Bay, View on Eastern Hill, Mount Abrupt and the Grampians, Wentworth River diggings in Gippsland, View on the Upper Mitta Mitta River, Merry Creek, and the Lal Lal Falls near Ballarat.
