One Book
Inventory number: 5047
Photographer(s): John Watt Beattie
Title: Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Co.
Publisher’s location: Hobart, Tasmania
Publication date: 1913
Price: $1,800
Description: A presentation album of 52 mounted silver gelatin prints, by the photographer John Watt Beattie. Each image measures 7½ x 9¼ inches (191 x 235 mm.) or a bit smaller. The photographs are captioned in the negative. Oblong quarto, 10½ x 13 inches (267 x 330 mm.). The cover reads: “Presented to Mr. & Mrs. A. L. Dean. By the Residents of the Mount Lyell District. Aug. 1st, 1913. Tasmania.” Full green morocco with ornate gilt paneling on cover, with gilt presentation text; very minor edge tarnishing to a few images. The detailed photographs show the cities and towns of Hobart, Port Arthur, Strahan, and Zeehan; the coast and vast inland scenery; various mining operations and the mountainous tracks of the Mount Lyell railroad.
John Watt Beattie (1859–1930) was born in Scotland and immigrated to Tasmania in 1878. He made numerous photographic excursions into the bush. He produced framed prints, postcards, lantern-slides, and albums. From 1899 to 1912 his photographs graced a full set of Tasmanian postage stamps. “Gifted with both physical zeal and craftsman skill, he probably did more than anyone to shape the accepted visual image of Tasmania. ”—The McCullagh Collection.
References: McCullagh Collection. Online at mccullaghcollection.blogspot.com.