Summary

This is a calling card owned by John Pascoe Fawkner.

Fawkner was one of the founders of Melbourne. He arrived in 1835 and founded the Melbourne Advertiser in 1838, to throw 'the resplendent light of Publicity upon all the affairs of this New Colony'. As Melbourne's first newspaper, it marked an important milestone for the settlement. Fawkner held passionate and contradictory beliefs. He was a teetotaller, yet he opened Melbourne's first hotel. He was charged more than once with assault and could be underhand in his business dealings, yet he was elected to Victoria's first parliament. For more than 30 years Fawkner made his mark on Melbourne. When he died, a crowd of 15,000 watched his funeral procession of over 200 carriages.

In the 19th C, cartes de visite were a very popular as calling cards. They had a definite format, which was an international standard. Small albumen photographic prints were mounted on cards 2.5 by 4 inches. They were used for decades around the world. Unlike earlier photographs made with such processes as the daguerreotype and ambrotype, cartes de visite could be sent through the mail without the need for a bulky case and fragile cover-glass.

Description of Content

Carte-de-visite size portrait of John Pascoe Fawkner on studio card. Melbourne, photograph by Batchelder, circa 1867. An oblong shaped photograph, brown in colour, with a very light brown border, showing Fawkner seated at a table looking across the image from left to right with his face turned towards the camera.

Physical Description

Carte-de-visite size portrait of John Pascoe Fawkner on studio card. Melbourne, photograph by Batchelder, circa 1867. An oblong shaped photograph, brown in colour, with a very light brown border, showing Fawkner seated at a table looking across the image from left to right with his face turned towards the camera.

Significance

This carte-de-visite presents the Museum with an item that has a personal relationship to Fawkner. It will complement the Fawkner Press, which will be displayed in The Melbourne Story exhibition at Melbourne Museum. Carte-de-visites were developed soon after the invention of photography and were exchanged between friends, relatives and associates on an international scale. This item gives a personal context to the Press and will be a useful display item for future Melbourne or newspaper related exhibitions.

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