c1877. Two albumen paper photographs, carte-de-visite format, numbered “1” and “2” in ink on backing left of image, “Sydney Photographic Company [A. Smithers]” studio line on backing verso, 6 x 9.3cm (each). Slight stains and scuffing, laid down on original backing with some foxing.

These photographs show staff and children standing outside two business premises owned by Thomas & Foster, with one of the owners appearing in both images. The Granary opened in 1877 to support their main business, wheat storage. During the 1870s the Thomas & Foster business seems to have thrived, as Parkes was in one of the richest gold-producing areas of NSW.

Born in Somerset, England, Alexander Smithers (Aust., 1834–1899) was a “professional photographer and vocal proponent of modernisation in the arts.” Active in Newcastle around the 1860s, he became manager of the Sydney Photographic Company while their premises were at 84 King Street from 1876 to 1878. Ref: DAAO; Wikitree; Australian Town & Country Journal, 24.3.1877.