photography & cultural studies

essays, exhibitions, publications, articles and papers

click here to return to main page for these papers

 

SUBLIME SOULS & SYMPHONIES:
Australian PhotoTexts 1926–1966,  Eric Riddler 1993


Introduction to this thesis |   table of contents  |   1926-1966 chronology of photo-books

Chapter 1  |   Chapter 2   |   Chapter 3  |   Chapter 4   |    Chapter 5  |   Chapter 6   |   Chapter 7  |   Chapter 8   |    Conclusion


 

A Chronology 1926 – 1966 (photo-book publishing

 

1926 Cecil Bostock's Cameragraphs of the Year published, based on the second international Salon to be held in Sydney.
1927 Art in Australia devotes an issue to Sydney culture, which concludes with a selection of Harold Cazneaux's photography
1928

Art in Australia Limited produces Melbourne, a special number of Art in Australia. The company also publishes a series of booklets based on photographs featured in Art in Australia and The Home, including Canberra, Australia, Sydney Streets and Sydney Harbour, which all featured Cazneaux's photography

The Home also spawns a pictorial annual, which was produced until the Second World War.

In Adelaide Oswald Leopold Ziegler, a young journalist whose father specialised in advertising brochures for South Australian resorts, begins the production of illustrated books for Adelaide's The Mail newspaper.

1929 Sydney Surfing, an Art in Australia Limited/Cazneaux collaboration, from The Home.
1930 The Bridge Book, the first of several Art in Australia Limited/Cazneaux collaborations based on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
1931

The Second Bridge Book, which featured Cazneaux and other photographers, including Emil Otto Hoppe, whose book The Fifth Continent also appears this year.

Art in Autralia Limited's The Syney Book and The Melbourne Book, published.

1932 The Brisbane Book and Sydney Bridge Celebrations are published.
1934

Harold Cazneaux and Cecil Bostock work on The Book of the ANZAC Memorial.

Oswald Ziegler embarks on a series of books for Victoria's centennial celebrations.

1935 Max Dupain's work appears in Art in Australia Limited publications for the first time.
1936 Finishing his coverage of the Victorian centenary, Ziegler teams with Estonian-born and German-trained designer Gert Sellheim. Sellheim was to be Ziegler's main designer until his death in the early 1970s.
1937 Ziegler arrives in Sydney. After working on Manly Council's jubilee programme he embarks on an ambitious project based on Australia's sesqui-centenary.
1938

Ziegler produces the folio-size book, 150 Years, Australia 1788-1938. Among photographers featured are Frank Hurley and Athol Shmith.

Ziegler's Romance in Paradise is the first of his totally pictorial books.

1939 Blue Mountains establishes Ziegler as a promoter for regional New South Welsh Centres
1940 Ziegler publishes the first Soul of a City, which is the first book of Max Dupain's photographs. The design was by Douglas Annand.
1941-1944 The height of the Second World War limits the amount of photographic material available.
1945 The Australian Story Trust produces Displaying Australia and Displaying Australia and New Guinea, the former for Australians, the latter for visiting servicemen.
1946 Ziegler's Goulburn, Queen City of the South and This is Australia.
1947 Frank Hurley's Garden of Tasmania. Ziegler produces This is My Home and Newcastle 150 Years for the Novocastrian sesquicentenary. The latter's principal photographer was Dupain but Frank Hurley's work is featured (uncredited).
1948

Hurley's Sydney, A Camera Study launches the CameraStudy series.

Ziegler's first attempt to produce an annual Australian Photography, Australian Photography 1947, which was based on a salon held during Newcastle's sesquicentenary in 1947.

Another Ziegler book this year is Penrith, again featuring Max Dupain as principal photographer with at least one (uncredited) Hurley image.

Sydney Ure Smith publishes Max Dupain.

Olive Cotton shares, with Max Dupain, the credit as principal photographer in Helen Blaxland's Flower Pieces.

1949

Dupain's work apppears in Gotham's Canberra, National Capital, Zeigler's Valley of the Winds and Angus and Robertson's 772/s Land of Ours.

Sydney Ure Smith begins his Miniature series shortly before his death. His son, Sam Ure Smith, continues the Ure Smith company.

Ziegler also produces Albury.

1950

Using a series of Rob Hillier's photographs supplemented by Dupain, David Moore, Hal Missingham and others, Ure Smith produces Portrait of Sydney.

Australian Treescapes and Sydney Beaches appear as Ure Smith Miniatures.

The second Soul of a City appears at this time.

Hurley's Queensland, A Camera Study published.

Following the folding of the journal Contemporary Photography (founded in 1946), editor Laurence Le Guay compiles A Portfolio of Australian Photography from the best images featured in the journal.

1951 Ziegler's Commonwealth of Australia Jubilee celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Federation.
1952 Hurley's Sydney From The Sky, a Camera Study.
1953 Third version of Soul of a City.
1955 Hurley's Australia, a Camera Study. Ziegler's Parramatta Pageant.
1956

Victoria, a Camera Study is the last Camera Study to be published.

From this time until his death in 1962 Hurley works on his Natural Colour series.

Australian Publicity Council publishes Land of the Southern Cross.home.

Czech-born Jaroslav Novak-Niemela produces Australia, the Great South Land.

1957

Ziegler's second version of This is Australia.

Lismore is the last of Ziegler's smaller provincial promotions, from now until 1963 his provincial output is in a quarto/hard cover format.

Ziegler also embarks on second (and final) attempt to produce a photographic annual, Australian Photography 1957.

1958

Sydney, a Camera Study revised.

Ziegler's Brisbane, City in the Sun and Symphony on a City.

1959

Centenaries of Queensland and the establishment of local governments in New South Wales result in a busy period for Ziegler.

Edward Steichen's Family of Man exhibition tours Australia.

1960 Mark Strizic and David Saunders's Melbourne, a Portrait.
1961 Australia, a Camera Study revised.
1962 Fourth and final Soul of a City.
1963 Ziegler's Sublime Vision and Maitland 1863-1963 become the lastof Ziegler's provincially based books to be published.
1964 Ziegler's ambitiously titled Australia, from the Dawn of Time to the Present Day published.
1965

Ziegler, Kenneth Slessor and Robert Walker produce Life at The Cross.

Gavin Souter and Quinton Davis's Sydney.

1966

Posthumous tribute edition of Hurley's Australia, a Camera Study.

Ziegler and Slessors' Canberra.

Donald Gazzard produces Australia Outrage, using David Pott's photography (and others) to illustrate Australia's decaying urban aesthetics.

 


Introduction to this thesis |   table of contents 


Based on the original thesis submitted as part of the requirement of the Masters of Arts - University of Sydney.
This is the 2021 online verson of Eric Riddler's 1993 thesis.
For this 2021 version extra images and links have been added to the text that align with photographs/topics being mentioned.

>>>>>  Click here for the direct link to the University of Sydney page and the full thesis (25MB)


More on Oswald Zeigler   \    main Papers Page  \   photo-web contents page  /   photo-web

 

 

 

 

 
contacts - copyright notice - sharing information - permissions - other stuff

• photo-web • photography • australia • asia pacific • landscape • heritage •
• exhibitions • news • portraiture • biographies • urban • city • views • articles • • portfolios • history •
• contemporary • links • research • international • art • Paul Costigan • Gael Newton •