Glass-plate photography
The collection of glass-plate negatives held in the State Archives and Justice & Police Museum are endlessly fascinating and revealing.
State Archives Collection
The State Archives Collection holds thousands of photographic images from the late 19th Century to the present, capturing life in NSW in much of its richness and diversity. The original formats of these images vary widely, from glass plates and lantern slides to 35mm negatives, colour transparencies and prints.
Government Printing Office Glass Negatives
From the late 19th century into the 20th century, photography played a significant role at the Government Printing Office, leading to a rich and varied collection of images depicting life in New South Wales
Maritime Services Board
Over 4000 digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board (MSB), available to browse, date from 1870 to 1960 and show Sydney Harbour as a working harbour and place of natural beauty
Read onNSW Police Forensic Photography Archive
The NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive at the Justice & Police Museum contains photographic negatives in several formats and sizes created between around 1910 and 1964. These negatives are both a record of how NSW Police used photography and a reflection of how photographic technology changed during these decades.
The Collection: NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive
The Justice & Police Museum cares for an eclectic collection of material relating to Sydney’s criminal and policing history
Let's get technical
Conservation tip: rehousing glass plate negatives
As with many conservation techniques the expertise and dexterity of the practitioner is paramount to the success of the treatment
The archive’s negatives
The New South Wales Police Forensic Photography Archive contains photographic negatives in several formats and sizes created between around 1910 and 1964
What are the ‘Specials’?
The most popular images in the archive are those known as the ‘Specials’, mugshots of suspects in police custody, and especially those photographs taken between 1920 and 1930. We do not know why the police named the photographs ‘Specials’, but the term hints at the rare and inviting qualities of these images, and at their contravention of the norms of police mugshots. Unique among international police photography, the Specials capture both the physical characteristics of the suspect and a glimpse of their personality. Our research indicated that the Specials’ remarkable aesthetic may be the creation of police photographer George Howard, whose ‘artistic proclivities’ were noted in contemporary newspaper reports.
Police photographer George Howard
George B Howard was a prominent police photographer in Sydney during the 1920s
Underworld
Underworld
Barbara Turner Taylor: Plotter
Described by police as the cleverest magswoman and confidence trickster in New South Wales, Barbara Turner Taylor was a master in manipulation
Underworld
Behind The Scenes: Underworld Exhibition Design
Join Kieran Larkin Senior 3D Designer, as he takes us behind the scenes of the design of our Underworld: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties exhibition
These fragile glass plates are not directly accessible to the public. Instead, after Conservation makes a positive health check on this glass plate negative it will go to the Digitisation team, and the researcher will receive a digital copy.
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Electricity Commission
These photos record the power generation and transmission assets of the organisation and document the working conditions and social events of its employees
Maritime Services Board
A sample of the 4000+ digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board
Government Printing Office Glass Negatives
From the late 19th century into the 20th century, photography played a significant role at the Government Printing Office, leading to a rich and varied collection of images depicting life in New South Wales
Purging pestilence – plague!
The Bubonic Plague hit Sydney in January 1900. Spreading from the waterfront, the rats carried the plague throughout the city. Within eight months 303 cases were reported and 103 people were dead
Lantern slides shown at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition
Part of this collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Many of the slides are of typical country scenes such as saw mills, dairy farms, mining, and timber felling and hauling
Sydney Harbour Bridge
This photo series captures the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from turning the first sod to completion, including the official opening and its initial use by the public
Public buildings in NSW
This album, dating from c1880 to c1940, was created by the Government Architect's office and includes a diverse array of important public and institutional structures
Royal National Park
Many of the photos in this series depict recreational activities around Audley, showcasing people boating, playing sports, bushwalking, picnicking, and taking part in ceremonies
Scheyville Training Farm
Scheyville was a training farm for young men selected from the Sydney area and those arriving under various British immigration schemes
Photos from the railways
With around 30,000 photos from various series, you can delve into a visual history of the railways, the workers, and the stunning landscapes of Sydney and New South Wales