File:Daguerreotype of a group of actors, c1850 (14365574356).jpg

<a href="http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:80/record=b2053472~S1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">B 46371</a>

Daguerreotype of a group of men, possibly actors associated with the Adelaide stage.

In January 1846, travelling daguerreotype photographer, GB Goodman took up a 40 day residency at the rear of Adelaide auctioneer, Emanuel Solomon's home. Here he created 50 daguerreotype images for Adelaide patrons (Register 21 January 1846). At this time, it had become increasingly common to set up temporary studios at the rear of a building.

According to Jane Messenger in A century in focus: South Australian photography, 1840s-1940s, this daguerreotype differs from others of the period due to its informal nature and the way it flaunts contemporary social and pictorial conventions. Portraits of multiple figues were unusual at the time and usually reserved for family groups. This was due to technical complications related to focal distance, plate sizes and exposure times. Messenger suggests that this image is largely experimental in its composition, and is designed to reveal the phototographer's sophisticated image creation skills. (p.30)