The Black Forest, Macedon Ranges, after bushfire. Central Victoria, circa 1862.

A$100 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Stereoscopic albumen print photograph, each individual image 74 x 73 mm (arched-top format), on original card mount 83 x 175 mm; recto of mount imprinted Jones s photographs of Australian Sceneries and inscribed in ink: [Vi]ew at Black Forest after Bush fire ; verso inscribed in ink No. 105 ; the left-hand print is somewhat faded, and the mount is rubbed and worn at the edges. This stereoscopic photograph shows the aftermath of a bushfire in the Black Forest in the Macedon Ranges, through which the road from Melbourne to the Mount Alexander diggings passed. The area was regarded as the most dangerous section of the route to the goldfields. Notorious for assaults and robberies by bushrangers, it filled approaching travellers with apprehension and dread; bushfire, of course, became an additional potential hazard in the hotter months. The photograph was taken by John H. Jones as part of his Australian Sceneries series. Another example of the same stereoview is held in the collection of the Bendigo Art Gallery (2009.38.40). The somewhat generically named Australian Sceneries series comprised a large number of views taken by travelling photographer John H. Jones prior to September 1862 (see below). Among other subjects these photographs document the early infrastructure of Victoria s railways, including some of the recently completed major engineering projects associated with the construction of the Melbourne to Bendigo railway line, which was officially opened at Bendigo on 20 Oc

• Binding: Hardcover

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