Studio photographs taken in 1885 in Paris of one of three survivors of nine North Queensland Aborigines taken on an overseas tour by Canadian showman , R. A Cunningham, are included in the latest acquisitions list of Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne, for $12,000.
The two albumen profile prints are of "Billy"-reputed to be a medicine man . They were taken by amateur ethnographer and photographer , Prince Roland Napoleon Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano ( 1858-1924).
Described as a dilettante , between 1883 and 1889 , the Prince took many photographs of non-European visitors to Europe at venues such as the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris (where these photographs of "Billy" were taken) and the Colonial Exposition in Amsterdam.
According to the bookshop , he compiled and published numerous portfolios (or albums) of these photographs of indigenous subjects from around the world under the general title Collection Anthropologique du Prince Roland Bonaparte. These portfolios included photographic portraits of various peoples of North America; Africa; South, Southeast, and East Asia; and Australia. Bonaparte Point in Antarctica is named after him .
While acting as an agent for the P.T. Barnum Circus on a trip to Australia, Cunningham is said to have "enticed " nine Aborigines , some from Hinchinbrook Island, to tour with him overseas.
By the time the photos of "Billy" were taken it seems six may have died in the tour which took in parts of Europe .
The above cabinet photo , taken at London's Crystal Palace , shows seven members of the tour party .
