Lavinia’s Other Album

Title Page

Cover Frontispiece The Album This album was given to my great aunt Mary Shaw by her great aunt Lavinia Shaw. The title page is embossed with “DUNN & COLLINS, BOOKSELLERS, OPPOSITE POST OFFICE, MELBOURNE”. Dunn and Collins operated from this address from 1876 (“HINDOO SATIRES on AMMONIAC SQUIRTS in SNAKE-BITES. Sold by Dunn and Collins, booksellers, opposite Post-office, Melbourne. Extracts appear weekly in Collingwood Mercury”) until about 1885. They moved down Bourke street a bit before closing down in 1887. This and the dates of the photos within would suggest that Lavinia started this album around 1880 when she was about 18. The “For a Birthday” sticker looks to me to be from around 1920 so maybe this was a birthday present from Lavinia to Mary when she was about the same age. It seems likely that Lavinia added the captions at this time. (Looking further he captions include “The Murrays’ Wedding” which was 1929 so maybe given to Mary later – or is the bookplate earlier and referring to Lavinia?). Mary added a number of captions later.

“Mrs McIntoch” In pride of place, before the photo of “Mother” is “Mrs McIntoch“. Considering the following pages showing her siblings in descending order of age I’m guessing this frame was originally occupied by “Father”. I’m not sure I’ve seen Alfred in CdV – his portraits seem all to be the much larger Cabinet cards.So who was Mrs McIntoch? Stewart & Co operated in Melbourne from 1871 until the early 1900s and a similar portrait at SLV is dated 1881. This would fit with the only other Shaw album photograph by this photographer showing Lavinia’s siblings Herbert and Effie aged about 11 and 14. Maybe she was a governess? Or a friend of Lavinia’s? If the photo was taken about 1880 and we assume she was in her twenties at the time, her marriage must have taken place in the 1870s. The name McIntoch is extremely uncommon and only two marriages appear for men of this name in Australia in the years leading up to 1880. If she was really McIntosh then there were about 20 possible marriages in Victoria in that decade. For now she will have to remain a mystery. If the Victorian marriage certificates ever become freely available we may be able to narrow down the candidates.

Some of the Sources

WalkingMelbourne Forum Post “Thanks for posting that wonderful old faded sign “Stationer & Printer’ in the Tramways Building shop front. The business was owned by my husband’s 2x great grandfather, John Collins, 1849-1911. He operated the shop there from 1902 until his tragic death in 1911, and it appears one of his sons continued there until about 1919, when the business disappears from the directories. John Collins had previously been in partnership with Francis Gregory Dunn and Thomas Carter, as “Dunn, Carter and Collins” as early as 1871, when they had a store in Smith St, Collingwood in “The Arcade”. Does anyone know where this arcade might have been ? Carter left the business in Jun 1876. Dunn and Collins continued on, also having a shop on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, diagonally opposite the GPO. I believe they were there until about 1885. Kozminsky jewelers were on that site shortly thereafter.” 1876 ‘Advertising.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 20 June, p. 8, viewed 8 June, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5892453 DISSOLUTION of PARTNERSHIP. — Notice is hereby given, that the PARTNERSHIP hitherto subsisting between us, the undersigned, as Booksellers and Stationers, under the respective styles of “Dunn, Carter, and Company ” and “Dunn, Carter and Collins,” has this day been DISSOLVED by mutual consent ; and that the said business will henceforth be carried on under the style of ” Dunn and Collins ” by the underslgned, Francis Gregory Dunn and John Collins the Younger, by whom all debts due to and by the late firm will be received and paid. Dated at Melbourne this 14th day of June, A D. 1876. F. G. DUNN. JOHN COLLINS. THOS. CARTER, Witness-W. H. C. Darvall, solicitor, Melbourne. 1876 ‘Advertising.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 4 September, p. 8, viewed 8 June, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5901147 HINDOO SATIRES on AMMONIAC SQUIRTS in SNAKE-BITES. Sold by Dunn and Collins, booksellers, opposite Post-office, Melbourne. Extracts appear weekly in ” Collingwood Mercury.”

Not “Old Hiawatha”

Most of the photos in Lavinia‘s album were taken at “Old Hiawatha” or at least in or even before its time. Apart from the “postcards” a few from a slightly later time have found their way into the album. The family moved in the late 1880s to a “new” Hiawatha in Brighton where they stayed for a few years before most of them moved on to Perth.

“Chevy Chase”

“Chevy Chase”, home of the Binnie family, was an almost identical house next door to the new Hiawatha. This and the following photo may have been taken by John Binnie or maybe even Herbert Shaw.

“Entrance Hiawatha”

“Chevy Chase” and “Hiawatha” both fronted Hampton Street. Lavinia wrote below it “Entrance Hiawatha” and later Mary Shaw added “Hampton St Brighton”.

Segovia

In 1900 my great grandparents Herbert Shaw and Caroline Hale married. Herbert was in Perth for some years before but the two had known each other since at least the early 1890s. This is Caroline’s home Segovia in Auburn Road Hawthorn and on the verandah can be seen Caroline, her sister Annie Bertha, her father and step-mother.

“Hale’s Auburn Road”

Life in the early 90s doesn’t look so hard. Here is a mix of Shaws, Hales and others at “Segovia”. I tried a couple of years ago to identify the subjects here but still have some doubts. I have the girl at the< back left as Effie Shaw but she looks to be the same person as in the photo below and Mary Shaw has her as Lavinia.

“Moss Lea Hay St Perth”

“Moss Lea” in Hay (then Howick) Street, home of the Shaws in the 1890s. Lavinia’s caption is above and Mary Shaw later added “Lavinia Shaw and Olive and Eileen Shaw ?1893” and a second copy of this photo has the caption “Dec 1895”.

“SS Helen at Mildura Wharf”

This is the only Mildura photo in this album. A better copy of it appears with a number of other Mildura photographs is in one of Herbert Shaw‘s albums and I’ve taken the SS Helen caption from that. It quite possibly was taken by Herbert. His initials, scratched onto glass negatives, are visible on two or three other prints and many years ago his daughter’s garden shed contained some of his glass negatives, unfortunately now long gone. Herbert’s album has a few scenes of early Mildura but so far I’ve been unable to find a connection to the family. Most of them are of and around the building of the Mildura Coffee Palace and maybe that’s the connection. I’ve come across a number of hints that his father was involved in the temperance movement and the spread of these pub replacements in the 1890s (Alfred might be impressed by Melbourne’s current glut of coffee outlets but maybe not by the 24 hour alcohol trading). I put a few Mildura references here a few years back but maybe I’ll try a bit harder to find the connection in a future post.

“Old Hiawatha” again.

More from Lavinia Shaw‘s album showing some different aspects of ““Old Hiawatha”” from c1884.

“Garden from the Balcony”

“Garden from the Balcony” A view west from the front balcony. The fountain can be seen to the right and between the trees on the left is probably the house on the other side of William Street shown on block 14 of the 1873 Vardy plan. The house has long since gone and that part of the block now hosts a children’s playground next to the Grosvenor St railway bridge. Looking closely at the photo, behind the house the railway embankment with some houses behind can just be made out. In the garden are five women and Alfred Henry Shaw on th efar right. The women standing to the left of the seat looks like Margaret Shaw.

Driveway

“The Drive Hiawatha” A so far unidentified woman,, Arthur, Effie and Eva in the driveway with the house behind. As far as I can work out the driveway ran north west from the house and around the fountain garden to William Street.

“Lovers Walk”

“Lovers Walk Hiawatha” From the left Lavinia, Effie and Eva. Is this the path on the left of the front balcony shot above?

“Paddock”

“Paddock” A view from the northern side verandah looking over the orchard gate which framed a number of group shots from previous posts. The back corner of the paddock is probably the corner of Vardy Plan blocks 22, 23 and 29 and I’m guessing the two storey building just visible behind that corner is the now demolished “Kilwinning” formerly at 1 Balaclava Rd (block 25 on the Vardy Plan). This was the home of James Service, premier of Victoria 1880 and 1883-1886. If you look closely you can see a girl out amongst the cows – not sure which one.

“The Cows”

“The Cows” I’m not sure where this is but Lavinia refers to “The Cows” which suggests somewhere in the paddock to the rear of the house although the trees and fence don’t look much like those in the paddock scene from the verandah.

“Arthur and the Cows”

“Arthur and the Cows” Arthur with a different breed of cow to those in the last photo. Are these the outbuildings behind the house in the MMBW plan?

“Romeo”

“Romeo”

Bought ones

In Lavinia Shaw‘s album are a number of commercial landscape photographs, the postcards of the time. Most are of scenes from around Tasmania so maybe Lavinia travelled there in the 1880s or early 1890s, or maybe she was given them as a set. Two of these “postcards” are not of Tasmania but seem to have been included in the album for their connection to Alfred Shaw’s second wife Margaret Wilson.

“Ballantrae Ayrshire”

Ballantrae is on the Ayrshire coast about 50 miles south of Glasgow. If we travel down the road in the foreground, cross the river and immediately turn right along the minor road on the other bank we will reach Colmonell after 2 or 3 miles. This was where Margaret was born and where during her childhood her father was a farmer and the local GP. Looking out across the water we can see a conical island with the much larger Isle of Arran behind. To the left in the far distance is the Kintyre peninsular. The conical island is Ailsa Craig and this is almost certainly the origin of Margaret’s third child’s name, Ailsa Wilson Shaw (if a boy would he have been named Craig?). Interestingly, (for me anyway) in 2002 before I knew anything much about Margaret or Ailsa I spent a week or so in a cottage on the south of Arran and looked out daily at the changing light on Kintyre and Ailsa Craig. Looking closely at the white writing along the bottom of the photo we can see what looks like “0233 Ballantrae from S.W. Poulton’s Series”. A quick search turned up this from the Glasgow University site: “Poulton or ‘Poulton’s Series’ are probably linked to the photographer, publisher and printer Samuel E Poulton (1819-1898), who was based in London and south-east England. His son, Alfred Walford Poulton, was also involved in the business, which may well have published prints taken by local photographers around the country. It has also been suggested that the Edinburgh-based photographer Thomas Polson Lugton was behind the Poulton series. He certainly may have been responsible for some of the scenes taken in Scotland.”

“Donald”

Donald is a bit under 300k north-west of Melbourne in the wheat fields of Victoria’s Wimmera region. I believe this photo was taken in the main street, Wood Street, in the 1880s and based on a conversation some years ago with a Donald local history group it seems to be a quite well known “postcard”. At 8 Wood Street at about the same time was the store of Robert Campbell Hannah, Margaret Wilson’s brother-in-law (I have a bit on the store here). Although eventually broken off, Margaret’s niece, Williamina, was engaged for a while to the son of William John Waddell, owner of the store pictured.

A few more of “Old Hiawatha”

This group of photos are from Lavinia Shaw‘s album. The first four are smallish paper prints glued onto a single page of the album taken around ““Old Hiawatha”” in Balaclava.

“View at Hiawatha from the garden”

c1884 This was probably taken around 1884 and although no definite identification can be made it is probably Effie and Eva on the path with Lavinia and Amelia looking on from the balcony at the front of the house.

“Old Stone Seat”

c1884 Probably somewhere in the garden at the front of the house.

“Group at the Fountain”

A similar photo also in Lavinia’s album and possibly taken the same day. This is a small print (about 2″ x 2″) and quite likely has been cut from a larger print in horizontal format – maybe a reject from the day’s shooting? Or on second thoughts maybe not. If that is Eva standing on the left she looks a bit younger than in the 1884, maybe 11 or 12? That would date the photo to about 1883. The other women may then be Rebecca Thomas, 16, her mother Sarah Thomas (nee Heywood), 51, Lavinia, 21, (?), Elinor Thomas, 14, and Effie, 15. In the front are Ernest, 18, and Arthur, 24. At the back in the bowler hat it may be Hugh Thomas, 18, who in the 1880s was apprenticed as a tinsmith to the Shaw family business.

“Capua Villa”

c1879 In about 1884 the larger two story Hiawatha was built over or near this pre-1869 villa. I’ve dated it to about 1879 assuming the boy is Herbert Shaw who looks about 10.

Capua Villa

c1882 Another shot of the “Capua Villa” probably taken a few years later. We can’t be sure but the group on the verandah may be Alfred (junior), Arthur, Lavinia, Amelia and Effie. It was was found loose in Elsie Ross’ album but was most likely put there more recently by Mary Shaw.

“Old Hiawatha and Fountain”

c1887 Another from Lavinia’s album. This could be from around the time of Amelia’s wedding in 1887. Alfred Shaw is seated at the left with Lavinia seated between two unidentified women. In the background it looks like Margaret Shaw (nee Wilson) in the middle. The house can be seen between the trees and the fountain is probably the one found during excavations at the rear of what is now 3 The Avenue (note that an advertisement for the property from 1869 mentioned two fountains).

Amelia’s Wedding

c1887 These two photos are from Lavinia Shaw‘s album. Both seem to have been taken on the day of her sister, Amelia‘s wedding. The wedding was held on the 25th April 1887 at her father’s home, “Old Hiawatha“. Both groups are posed around the left hand end of the verandah on the north west corner of the house. Lavinia’s caption for both photos is “Wedding Group”. Much later Mary Shaw added names for some of the subjects.

“Wedding Group”

With Mary’s identifications in quotes, standing from the left are “Lavinia”, “Herbert”, one of the Thomas cousins(?), “Amelia Shaw & John Moore” and “Alfred Shaw”. Seated again from the left are “Eva”, “Arthur”(?), Margaret Shaw (nee Wilson), “Effie” and “Alfred (junior)”(?). Mary didn’t identify Alfred’s second wife Margaret and for some reason she appears blurred or turned away whenever she appears in photos in the albums. I do have one clear portrait of her probably taken a little later so considering it and the dates and her placement in the album photos I don’t think there’s much doubt it is her. I still have some doubts about Mary’s Identifications of the three older Shaw sons. To me the boy on the right looks like Ernest.

“Wedding Group”

Across the back are John Moore’s father, William Moore, 2 unknown women (although the woman on the left may appear in an earlier 1884 photo), Lavinia, Margaret Shaw, Alfred Henry Shaw, John Clarke (husband of Mary Jakeman Clarke (nee Heywood), Effie Shaw and Amelia. At the front a Thomas cousin, Eva, Arthur(?), two women (is that the other Thomas cousin on the right?), Herbert and Ernest. There is a possible identification for one of the “unknown women”. William Moore was a Baptist minister and would have travelled from Brisbane for the wedding. a long and ardous journey in 1887. I have a 1903 photo of his wife, Margaret, who would have been about 64 at the time and it is pretty certain that she does not appear here. William and Margaret had one daughter, Elizabeth, who would have been about 25. Could this be her at with the hat (and very pinched waist) at the rear. The women’s clothes are a clue too. Amelia, Effie and Eva are in bridal white but most of the other women are in what look like very sumptuous satin dresses with strips of velvet at cuff and lapel. Only two vary from this, the possible Moore daughter and the woman in white and black at the front. The latter rests her hand on Margaret Shaw’s lap and seems slightly distracted. Margaret had only been in Australia for six months so who other than close family would be this familiar? Her sister’s Hannah family had no girls of this age so is this the other Thomas girl? She doesn’t appear with her sister in the other wedding group so maybe she was unwell? This may explain why she is dressed so differently to to her sister. I did consider that the other seated girl might be the other Thomas sister but even though the dress conforms her features don’t seem to fit with the earlier photos. Rebecca Thomas married a year later and lived on until 1959. Her younger sister Elinor never married and died in 1927. I’m guessing that it’s Rebecca on the left and Elinor with Margaret.

J W Lindt Groups

c1884 These photos were found in an album given by Herbert Shaw and Caroline Shaw in 1902 to Caroline’s sister Annie Bertha Hale. Annie Bertha died two years later and the album went back to the Shaw family and sometime later a number of early photos of ““Old Hiawatha”” found their way into its pages. These four are on cabinet cards produced by J. W. Lindt’s studio. As with a group in an earlier post the first three here are likely from late 1884.

Old Hiawatha

“Old Hiawatha” from the west probably late afternoon September 1884 soon after the death of Hannah Shaw, possibly even on the day of her funeral. The photo immediately below was taken on a second front lawn to the left and behind the camera position of this photo. The orchard gate, location of the third photo, can be seen to the left of the house. Alfred Henry Shaw is sitting on the window sill with a small child on his knee. Eva is sitting on the edge of the veranda. I’ve not been able to identify the four adults and there is no child I can find around this age in the extended family at that time.

Fountain Group

The fountain was in front of the house in what is now the rear of 3 The Avenue. L-R are Lavinia Shaw, (Elinor Thomas?), Alfred Shaw (jnr), Amelia Shaw, Effie Shaw, (Rebecca Thomas?), Ernest Shaw and Eva Shaw.

“Orchard Gate”

The same group at the orchard gate.

“Entrance to the Orchard”

Another version of “Orchard Gate” photo, this time the paper is glued directly into Lavinia’s album.

“The Yacht Almora”

The caption comes from a copy of this photo in Lavinia’s album. I’m not sure, but after the boat’s name on the stern it looks like “St. Kilda” which would fit with the location of Hiawatha. Maybe that’s St Kilda baths on the left and the Elwood foreshore to the right.

“The Yacht Almora off St Kilda”

I should have looked a bit further into the album. A few pages on I found this with Lavinia’s caption confirming it is St. Kilda. A closer look reveals a very uncertain Alfred Shaw in bowler hat being taken for a sail by what looks like two of his sons. It shouldn’t be too hard to identify the buildings along the foreshore but maybe that’s a task for later.

J W Lindt Portraits

Effie	c1884 These two are part of a set of portraits of most of the children created by Joseph William Lindt who operated at 7 Collins Street between 1876 and 1888. Considering the apparent ages and the Lindt studio’s involvement in the group portraits of 1884 we could tentatively date these to the same year. These portraits also seem to sort out the confusion in differentiating Eva and Effie mentioned in a previous post.	Eva
Lavinia	Back	Amelia

Dates & Handwriting

Dates Handwriting

c1935 This sheet of paper was stuck onto page 3 of Lavinia’s album. Originally I thought this might have been copied from a Shaw family Bible rumoured to have been in the possession of Mary Shaw some years ago. Looking more closely the sequence of entries and various mistakes in the dates don’t support this. More likely this record was compiled by Lavinia maybe at Mary’s request. Based on 1931 being the most recent date it was probably written in the mid 1930s when Lavinia was 70 or more. The back of the sheet contains part a pencil written transcription of passages from the King James Bible (by Mary? Ephesians 6:9-10 and 3:16?).

Arthur & Lavinia Shaw

Front

c1866 This photo is also from the first page of the album. Lavinia has written “Arthur & Lavinia” on the back and Mary Shaw’s caption is “Arthur & Lavinia ?1864”. Arthur Heywood Shaw was born in June 1859 and Lavinia Lavinia Shaw in November 1862. As mentioned in the previous post for the companion photo 1866 might be a better estimate of date than 1864.

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