Summary

Glass plate negative depicting three portraits of an older woman. The inscription on the glass negative, 'Miss M. Harvey', indicates the woman might be Miss Maude Harvie, sister of Melbourne photographer, Robert Harvie, however, the person depicted does not appear to be Maude (MM 043415).

This is possibly an image commissioned by Maude. The misspelling of Harvie, indicates it is not an image taken by Robert Harvie. It is possible that the woman depicted is Robert and Maude's mother, Ellen D'Arcy Harvie, or one of her four sisters, Margaret, Matilda, Cecilia or Mary.

Robert William Harvie was a professional photographer who, with his business partner Albert Sutcliffe, owned a photography studio named Harvie & Sutcliffe between 1898 and 1908, located in the Cromwell Buildings, 366a Bourke Street, corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne.

The Harvie Collection includes examples of Robert Harvie's private and professional photographic practice. A number of the photographs depict the family life of four generations of the Harvie family, including the Lang family.

The Harvie and Lang families had social significance in Melbourne through their active involvement in early Australian vegetarian movements, early moving film, photography and architecture, as well as various other cultural societies and clubs in Melbourne.

Description of Content

Three exposures of the portrait of a woman, from the chest up. The woman is dressed in a darkly coloured dress, with her hair arranged up, behind her head. There is a cross scratched into the right hand exposure.

Physical Description

Glass plate negative, black and white, landscape format. The glass negative is more matt and has a slightly different grain to Mr Harvie's other images. The left hand corners of the image have been blocked off from exposure.

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