#PE78
Ca. 1890s-1900s
Oblong 24mo (ca. 13.5 x 10 cm or 5 ¼ x 4 in). 22 cardstock leaves. 20 mounted gelatin silver photographs ca. 9.5 x 6.5 cm (3 ¾ x 2 ½ in). All photos with period ink captions on mounts. Period red quarter sheep album with marbled paper boards; red coloured edges; marbled endpapers. Boards mildly rubbed on extremities; mounts slightly waved, but overall a very good album of interesting photos.
A collection of albumen photographs showing Barberton, South Africa, compiled by the proprietor or associate of a local retailer, “Harvey Greenacre & Co.” Barberton, located northeast of Johannesburg, was established in 1884 after a gold rush in the early 1880s. It is still known today for its gold mines, some of the oldest in the world.
Photographs in the album show views of Barberton, the compiler’s store and employees, “Market Square,” “Woodbine Mine,” and several views of “Moodie’s Dam” and environs. One photograph shows Moodie’s Dam under construction.
A list of captions (spelling original):
“Barberton (From W.)”; “Barberton (From N.)”; “Barberton (From E.)”; “Our Barberton Store”; “Store Hands. Three of them Scotch”; “Hill Scene. Near Barberton”; “Jim (my boy)”; “Above Moodie’s Dam. Near B’ton with reflection of ‘Devils Knuckles’”; “Moodie’s Dam”; “Currie & I after a day’s work – only two buck and one hare”; “Rock Scenery. Moodie’s”; “Market Square. Barberton – Sunday morning”; “Moodie’s Water Race – Funnel 300 feet”; “Queen’s River”; “Part of Moodie’s Dam”; “Queen’s River – Near the Shoot”; “Moodie’s Water Race”; “Woodbine Mine – W.F.D. posing as a South African miner”; “Bush Scenery – The haunt of the bush buck”; “Store Boys. Sunday Costume”; “Typical S. African river during the dry season.”
