We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands.

Title

Untitled

1868

Artist

Henry Müller

Australia

active Australia c1866–77 –

  • Details

    Date
    1868
    Media category
    Photograph
    Materials used
    carte de visite
    Dimensions
    9.5 x 5.9 cm image; 10.1 x 6.4 cm mount card
    Signature & date

    Not signed. Not dated.

    Credit
    Purchased 2014
    Location
    Not on display
    Accession number
    418.2014
    Copyright

    Reproduction requests

    Artist information
    Henry Müller

    Works in the collection

    1

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  • About

    Heinrich, or Henry, Müller was a professional photographer based in the Queensland goldfields. He established a studio in Toowoomba around 1866 but travelled throughout rural Queensland in the 1870s.

    A carte de visite is a stiff card of about 10 x 6.4 cm, with an attached paper photograph, invented in 1854 by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disderi. They were introduced into Australia in 1859 by William Blackwood with albums arriving in 1860, aiding the collection and distribution of multiple cartes. Cartes were usually portraits and were made by the millions worldwide. Multi-lens, or ‘multiplying’ cameras were introduced in the 1860s, which were capable of producing from 2 to 32 images in quick succession, dramatically increasing the number of cartes de visite that could be made from a single photographic plate. They were easily reproduced by making paper contact prints from the glass plates, which were then cut and pasted to card.

  • Exhibition history

    Shown in 2 exhibitions