Bairnsdale, East Gippsland - six photographs by C. Mason

Bairnsdale, Victoria: C. Mason, 1893. Very good overall. A handsome set of cabinet cards of the Bairnsdale area. The photographer is "C. Mason & Co., Photographers, Bairnsdale", so printed at the bottom of the cards. The State Library of Victoria holds one cabinet card "Portrait photograph of a young woman" [BIB ID 1804685] with the same card style, listing it as an albumen silver, undated but listing the photographers active dates as ca. 1893-97.

The images are approximately 5 1/4 x 8 1/4", mounted on pink card 8 1/2 x 6 3/8". They are all titled on the verso in a period hand. The images include a great image of the town, "Main St. B-dale looking west", the shops lining one side of a central park area which is fenced by a long series white picket fences, the roads dirt. Another is "A group of hop pickers, B-Dale", titled on the verso. This is a lovely period image of about 50 men, women and children standing and sitting for their portrait in front of the hop fields; "Mitchell Valley from Pic-nic Point"; Mitchell River 'Wier" (sic), showing the weir under construction; "the Mitchell River B-dale" centering on the river with the Rowing Club building visible on the left; another of the Mitchell River with beautiful gum trees featured in the foreground, a homestead in the background.

All the images & cards are crisp and bright (one very slightly faded), with only slight occasional marks.