Scope and Contents
An album containing mounted albumen prints, most measuring approximately 230 x 175 mm., and mostly captioned in pencil. Photographs are probably by the firm of Besse & Black. The album cover is stamped 'H.R.' beneath the title and it is suggested by Dr. E.M. Stephenson that this refers to Hugh Hall Ragg, engineer, boiler maker, general smith and government contractor in Fiji at this time.
Besse & Black: it seems likely that the photographs were selected individually from prints offered by the studio of Besse & Black, which was operating in Suva in 1885. Both Besse & Black and the Dufty Bros. (also in Suva then) offered selections of photographs for standard prices per number bought. Both firms photographed private houses also. A number of the pictures in the album were published in 'Besse & Black's illustrated history of Fiji' (John Sands, Sydney 1885). Besse left Fiji in 1887. It was probably after that that F. Dufty bought his negatives, thus leading to much confusion regarding the identity of the photographer.
Dates
- Creation: 1885
Creator
- Ragg, Hugh Hall, fl1885 (engineer) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
Extent
48 item(s) (48 images)
Language of Materials
English
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
photographs in varying conditions: some good and some yellowing.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection is available on microfiche: Oceania, fiche numbers 6-7.
General
This item level description was entered by NE and MJC using information from the original typescript catalogue.
Originator(s)
Ragg, Hugh Hall, fl 1885, engineer
Geographic
- Date
- 2006-10-25 11:55:43+00:00
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository
Cambridge University Library
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Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom
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all other enquiries: mss@lib.cam.ac.uk