SNOWDROP sailing on Sydney Harbour
Photographer
William James Hall
(Australian, 1877 - 1951)
Date1890s - 1930s
Object number00010522
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from the Mitchell Library
DescriptionA black and white image of the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club yacht SNOWDROP sailing on Sydney Harbour towards Bradley's Head and Manly.
Negative ID number, 666.HistoryWilliam Frederick Hall, a fingerprint expert at Long Bay Gaol, set up a photographic studio in Sydney in 1890. Hall, formerly a butcher from England, became a well-known photographer whose photographic career in Sydney spanned a number of decades. William James Hall (1877 – 1951), also a photographer was his son with Caroline Asimus, who was born on 11 May 1877 in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. William James Hall joined the business and took over its operations in 1902. He established Hall & Co in 1904. Hall married Alice Rosina Hopson on 14 August 1901 in Bowral.
Although neither the father nor the son were sailors, both developed a keen interest in sailing and sailing craft. During the late 1880 and early 1890s William Frederick Hall documented the weekend sailors and yachts of Sydney Harbour. William James Hall took over the tradition until the early 1930s capturing photographs from his motor boat. Each Monday, Hall would display photographs of weekend races on Sydney Harbour in the window of his studio at 20 Hunter Street.
Hall also ventured into other areas of photography, and is generally considered to have pioneered the art of livestock photography in Australia at the start of the 20th Century. Hall’s company, Hall & Co were also known for their aerial, landscape, portraiture, city and rural photography. Survived by his second wife, Edith Hannah Gilkes, Hall died on 26 August 1951.
A number of photographic studios were established by William F Hall and William J Hall. Known at different times as Hall studio, Hall & Co, W F Hall and Hall W the businesses were located variously at 7 Castlereagh Street, 39, 44 and 70 Hunter Street, 91 Phillip Street and 21 Blight Street in Sydney city from 1890 onwards.
SignificanceThe Hall photographic collection provides an important pictorial record of recreational boating in Sydney Harbour from the 1890s to the 1930s. The collection documents the lively sailing scene in Sydney during this period and features images of vessels ranging from large racing and cruising yachts to the great array of skiffs and the emerging technologies of motorboats. Images of the many spectators and crowds who supported and followed the sailing races are also included in this visual record.
