July 28 1876             The British Journal of Photography                 p.357

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THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBTTION.

In the Philadelphia Photographer Dr. Vogel gives his impressions of the photographic department of the great centennial exhibition.

The great International Exhibition is an accomplished fact. All branches of industry from every part of the world have participated in the great centennial festival of America, and the photographers have not been backward. Worthy of the importance of our art, we see for the first time a Photographic Hall constructed, which contains everything belonging to photograpby - not pictures only, but also chemicals, apparatus, an accessories.

It is the first time photography makes its self-dependent -separated from art and separated from industry.

It would have been desirable if this as separation could have been extended over the jury also, so that photography, with everything belonging, had formed a separate group; but, unfortunately, this was not possible. The exhibition of the Photographic Hall has been parcelled. The pictures are given to the criticism of the jury of art; the chemicals an placed in the group of chemistry; the papers belong to the group of paper industry, and the apparatus and lanses to that of the instruments of precision.

All the photographers have not found a place in the Photographic Hall. The photographs from Australia, Egypt, India, Italy, and Switzerland are exhibited in the main building, and we have trouble to find them; in the division of Italy and Switzerland this is entirely impossible without the assistance of the commisioners.

The Australian exhibit contains mant things of interest and instruction; the photographs are not the very best, but the exhibition presents a picture of life in Australia which in many instances seems to be similar to that in America, only that there the plastic art, as yet, in far, far in the background.

We observe in the Australian division some technic photographical works which almost startle and puzzle us - sharp, mammoth pieces, which, not withstanding several technical defects, deserve to be acknowledged. pieces which, iotwithstanding several teXi to be

One of them is the panorama of the city of Sydney, in New South Wales, thirty-one feet in length, composed of twenty-two single pieces, which present an excellent view of the wonderfully situated city.

Opposite this mammoth work there are two other prints from large plates, five by three feet, perhaps the largest negatives existing; and this giant work is the production of an amateur, Mr Holtermann.

He was the lucky finder of a large lump of quartz, containing gold to the amount of $60,000, and we see his portrait in the middle of the compartment, with his treasure beside him. Another picture shows us the gold in large lumps.

We wish, for the interest of our art, that the photographers of Australia may make several such lucky findings, and then we hope they will work with the same passion for our art as Mr. Holtermann, and spenda small part of their gold for the purposes of the production of photographs.

Next to Holtermann there is another German, Mr. Lindt, who with his landscape photographs gains houour; they are certainly the best from Australia, and some of them show, indeed, real artistic apprehension.

As generally known, Osborne's's process of photolithography, which at present has a perfect success in America, first saw the light in Australia. It seems as if Mr. Osborne's example is not without some good fruits, for Mr. Sharkey, in Sydney, has sent some very good photolithographs.

Of portrait photogaphers I can name only Newman, in Sydney; his exhibits are in the Photographic Hall. Besides him there are in the main building many other portrait photographers represented , but without any essentially first class work. In portrait photography there is much yet to be done in Australia before it will take the high position which America at present occupies.

The moon photography, which is taken in Melbourne by, means of the renowned large telescope. cannot stand in comparison with Rutherford's moon photography.

Of more interest are a number (about three hundred) of coloured landscape photographs by R. Daintree, at Queensland - a man of science, whose pictures tell us more than the best book of geography about the now province in the north-east part of Australia, which is rich in gold, lead, copper, tin, and ooal (of which giant lumps are exhibited).

Besides these there we many other photographs in the same department; they show us the most ugly faces of the Australian natives in life-size. Another province of Australia is represented, namely, New Zealand.

Like a mighty alpine land, with real Switzerland scenery, risen this wonderful island above the surface of the ocean. Hot springs flow out of the earth, and flourishiag cities are springing up. Of all of these wonders photography gives in interesting pictures.

We see the ice-mountains of the high land, the geysers, and surprising in the similarity of these photographs with those of the Yellow-stone River in Colorado, which Mr. Marshall has exhibited in the Photographic Hall. We almost imagine we see the same scenery.