James Wanganeen

Frazer Crawford was a professional photographer and lithographer. Born in Scotland, he was in Melbourne by 1859. He worked in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, managing the Adelaide Photographic Company from 1864. From 1868 Crawford was a photo-lithographer with the South Australian Survey Department.

A carte de visite is a stiff card of about 10 x 6.4 cm, with an attached paper photograph, invented in 1854 by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disderi. They were introduced into Australia in 1859 by William Blackwood with albums arriving in 1860, aiding the collection and distribution of multiple cartes. Cartes were usually portraits and were made by the millions worldwide. Multi-lens, or ‘multiplying’ cameras were introduced in the 1860s, which were capable of producing from 2 to 32 images in quick succession, dramatically increasing the number of cartes de visite that could be made from a single photographic plate. They were easily reproduced by making paper contact prints from the glass plates, which were then cut and pasted to card.