The Old Colonists Banquet Group [mosaic]

Jones, Henry, 1873, Photograph, B 47769

Photographic mosaic (composite) bearing the inscription 'The Old Colonists Banquet Group: Duplicate of one Presented to E. Solomon Esq by H. Jones, Photographer for his liberality in giving the Banquet, Decr 1871'. This is one of at least three mosaics of photographic portraits created by Adelaide photographer Henry Jones to commemorate an Old Colonists' Banquet. The banquet was organised by merchant Emanuel Solomon at the Adelaide Town Hall on 28 December 1871 to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the founding of the colony of South Australia. The subtitle on this version states that it is a 'duplicate' of a mosaic presented to Solomon. In January 1872 Solomon placed advertisements in the Adelaide press inviting those men who had attended the banquet to have their portrait taken gratuitously at Jones' studio. A glass plate negative of a different version is held by the State Library of South Australia at PRG 631/3. It may represent the one presented to Solomon before his death in October 1873. This mosaic (B 47769) was owned by pastoralist Thomas Bowman who donated it, together with a companion mosaic of women colonists (B 19985), to the Public Library of South Australia in 1909. The mosaic contains 515 portraits. They are ostensibly arranged by the colonists' year of arrival in South Australia, from 1835 to 1840. It is evident that 71 portraits were added to the mosaic at leasat 15 years after its production and probably before it was donated to the Library: other photographers' work are included, portrait styles and photographic paper stocks differ significantly and some portraits show subjects many years older than they were in 1872. The placements of these later additions bear no relationship to the colonist's year of arrival. Also, about 56 of those depicted by Jones and among the additional portraits arrived in the colony after 1840 and 13 were born in South Australia. One of the additional portraits is the photographer Henry Jones, erroneously placed in the section for 1836 arrivals.