Holternamm collection - photo's from the 1870's

**wizofoz** · 03-26-2013, 03:24 PM

I've been blissfully ignorant of the existence of these remarkable photographs depicting people and places of the goldrush era of Australia's history.

Found in a garden shed in 1951, some 3500 glass plate negatives had, due to good fortune, been laying untouched for some 80 years. Negatives of this quality from this time and place are extremely rare.

The quality of the glass plate exposures - as opposed to film or digital technology- allows for extreme magnification without loss of detail. See for yourself.

I have spent many hour pouring over the detail contained in these long exposure shots, wondering about the people, fashions and places. Some places no longer exist, such as most of Hill End, where the world largest reef gold nugget was found, or the Mawsons Point battery, which now is the site of the south pillar of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Some places still exist, such as Hadley's City Family Hotel which now sits almost un-noticed on the main highway entry to Bendigo - then called Sandhurst. (see Pall Mall Bendigo, 1874) In the background of this same photo is the original version of the famous Shamrock hotel. This premises has been rebuilt 3 times on the same site, and boasts such famous house guests as Prince Charles and Lady Dianna, Dame Nellie Melba, and ..err...me...

I hope others will find these just as fascinating as I did.

Photography: Holtermann collection | State Library of New South Wales

hcc · 03-26-2013, 03:45 PM

Great find. Thank you for sharing.

wombat2go · 03-26-2013, 04:27 PM

The resolution is outstanding. How were they scanned?
I too, spent a while looking at the Pall Mall shot , as I lived there.

**Kerrowdown** · 03-26-2013, 04:57 PM

An interesting read, thanks for the link.

**wizofoz** · 03-26-2013, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by wombat2go

The resolution is outstanding. How were they scanned?
I too, spent a while looking at the Pall Mall shot , as I lived there.

A displaced wombat?

I only know the information available on the website (and there was an Australian ABC TV spot about them). All I know is they were scanned with high resolution equipment. The fascinating part to me is not the new technology, but the old tech. Imagine using a glass plate negative 18 x 22 inches! This must have been a very expensive and time consuming exercise.

wombat2go · 03-27-2013, 06:28 AM

Yes the resolution of the originals must have been very high. By the motion blur of the people and horses I would guess exposures around one second?. I am interested to know how the State Library of NSW is serving the ability to smoothly zoom in by browser to such high magnification.
I saw on website they are spending heavy duty funds on it, but nothing on tech side is mentioned as far as I could find.

03-26-2013, 03:24 PM	#1
wizofoz Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne, Outer east. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,695	Holternamm collection - photo's from the 1870's I've been blissfully ignorant of the existence of these remarkable photographs depicting people and places of the goldrush era of Australia's history. Found in a garden shed in 1951, some 3500 glass plate negatives had, due to good fortune, been laying untouched for some 80 years. Negatives of this quality from this time and place are extremely rare. The quality of the glass plate exposures - as opposed to film or digital technology- allows for extreme magnification without loss of detail. See for yourself. I have spent many hour pouring over the detail contained in these long exposure shots, wondering about the people, fashions and places. Some places no longer exist, such as most of Hill End, where the world largest reef gold nugget was found, or the Mawsons Point battery, which now is the site of the south pillar of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Some places still exist, such as Hadley's City Family Hotel which now sits almost un-noticed on the main highway entry to Bendigo - then called Sandhurst. (see Pall Mall Bendigo, 1874) In the background of this same photo is the original version of the famous Shamrock hotel. This premises has been rebuilt 3 times on the same site, and boasts such famous house guests as Prince Charles and Lady Dianna, Dame Nellie Melba, and ..err...me... I hope others will find these just as fascinating as I did. Photography: Holtermann collection \| State Library of New South Wales

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Candid photo's at a relative's wedding...	Mortimer	Photographic Technique	14	06-27-2012 08:10 AM
Facebook’s photo collection 10,000 times larger than Library of Congress	RioRico	Photographic Technique	4	09-28-2011 11:28 PM
Machinery Yeatzee's car photo's? - My friends jeep	yeatzee	Post Your Photos!	4	05-30-2011 12:44 PM
People Portrait with 1870's Petzval lens	Asahiflex	Post Your Photos!	6	01-21-2011 02:09 PM
New photo's from the K110d	McD	Post Your Photos!	7	02-19-2007 04:13 PM

03-26-2013, 03:45 PM	#2
hcc Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,002	Great find. Thank you for sharing.

03-26-2013, 04:27 PM	#3
wombat2go Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Michigan Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,207	The resolution is outstanding. How were they scanned? I too, spent a while looking at the Pall Mall shot , as I lived there.

03-26-2013, 04:57 PM	#4
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,818	An interesting read, thanks for the link.

03-26-2013, 08:30 PM	#5
wizofoz Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne, Outer east. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,695 Original Poster	Originally posted by wombat2go The resolution is outstanding. How were they scanned? I too, spent a while looking at the Pall Mall shot , as I lived there. A displaced wombat? I only know the information available on the website (and there was an Australian ABC TV spot about them). All I know is they were scanned with high resolution equipment. The fascinating part to me is not the new technology, but the old tech. Imagine using a glass plate negative 18 x 22 inches! This must have been a very expensive and time consuming exercise.

03-27-2013, 06:28 AM	#6
wombat2go Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Michigan Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,207	Yes the resolution of the originals must have been very high. By the motion blur of the people and horses I would guess exposures around one second?. I am interested to know how the State Library of NSW is serving the ability to smoothly zoom in by browser to such high magnification. I saw on website they are spending heavy duty funds on it, but nothing on tech side is mentioned as far as I could find.