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C1868
Harbour Illumination in Honor of the Visit of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred to New South Wales.
Rare engraving depicting the reception for the Duke of Edinburgh in Sydney in 1868. Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, was on a world tour on the steam frigate HMS Galatea and visited Adelaide, Melbourne, … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
Harbour Illumination in Honor of the Visit of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred to New South Wales.
Date:
C1868
Condition:
In good condition, with centre fold as issued.
Technique:
Engraving.
Image Size:
480mm
x 342mm
Paper Size:
512mm
x 410mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1868
Description:
Rare engraving depicting the reception for the Duke of Edinburgh in Sydney in 1868.
Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, was on a world tour on the steam frigate HMS Galatea and visited Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, and Sydney. He arrived in Sydney on 21 January 1868 and received a most enthusiastic welcome with many events held in his honour. The incident occurred while he attended a picnic at Clontarf on 12 March, organised as a fund raiser for the Sydney Sailors’ Home by Sydney barrister and politician William Manning. During the event, an Irishman Henry James O’Farrell who had suffered considerable mental illness, attempted to assassinate the prince. Although O’Farrell fired his pistol at close range, the bullet, on striking the prince’s back, glanced off the ribs, inflicting only a slight wound. O’Farrell only narrowly escaped lynching by the crowd, and was immediately arrested. The prince was nursed by the newly arrived Lady Superintendent of Sydney Hospital, Lucy Osburn.
Clemency for O’Farrell was refused, despite the prince’s own proposal to refer the sentence on O’Farrell to the Queen. O’Farrell was convicted of attempted murder, despite his evident mental instability, and hanged on 21 April at Darlinghurst Gaol. The prince, who had recovered completely by the end of March, left for England on the Galatea in early April and arrived on 26 June.
From the original edition of the Illustrated Sydney News.
References:
Gibbs & Shallard. Illustrated Sydney News. ISSN 2203-5397.
Collections:
State Library New South Wales: F8/39-40
State Library Victoria: PCINF SLVIC=1853-1872
National Library Australia: Bib ID 3306833
Arthur Levett Jackson (1834 - 1888)
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Walter George Mason (1820 - 1866)
Mason was born in London, the second son of Abraham John Mason, a well-known wood engraver and lecturer. Walter’s father began teaching him the art of wood-engraving when the family lived in New York in the 1830’s. Walter was sent back to London to train under Mr G. Bonner before 1839. In England, Walter Mason became very well known as a wood engraver and worked with The Illustrated London News, Punch, Pictorial Times, The Art Journal,and other periodicals. Walter’s brothers, George and Charles, had immigrated to Australia in about 1850 and worked in Sydney as wood engravers.It seems likely that they encouraged Walter to join them. In 1852 Walter and his family left England for Australia, arriving in Sydney via the Windsor on 4 November 1852. Soon after his arrival in Sydney, Mason became involved in the founding of The Illustrated Sydney News.Despite a small permanent staff and the fact that 4000 copies of the first issue were sold at sixpence a copy, the paper had financial problems from the beginning. Over a few months in 1854, five of the original proprietors left the partnership and Walter Mason became printer and publisher. Despite engraving illustrations for a large number of newspapers, books and magazines, Walter was in financial difficulties for most of his time in Sydney.
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Alexander Habbe (1829 - 1896)
Danish artist who immigrated to Australia in 1855 for the Victorian goldfields. However, he soon discovered employment as a scenic artist at Melbourne's Theatre Royal. From 1860 to 1864, he was primarily associated with Sydney's Royal Victoria Theatre, and later with the Royal Adelphi and Royal Victoria. Although he settled in Melbourne in 1872, Habbe continued to provide occasional scenes for Sydney theaters. Throughout his career, he collaborated with various scenic artists, including W.J. Wilson and John Little. Born on April 22, 1829, in Elisnore, Denmark, Alexander Christian Habbe, along with his artist brother Nicholas (1827-89), embarked on a journey to Australia in 1855 in search of fortune. While working on the gold diggings in Victoria, Alexander engaged in scenic art for several theaters. By 1858, he was contracted to create paintings for Melbourne's Theatre Royal. He later relocated to Sydney, where he mainly worked at the Royal Victoria Theatre between 1860 and 1864. Alexander Habbe died on April 14, 1896, in Melbourne.
