Townsend Duryea

Duryea began his training in photography in 1840 in the United States before moving to Melbourne in 1852. There he joined Alexander McDonald in a studio partnership. He moved to Adelaide in 1855, setting up a daguerreotype studio, and was later joined by his brother Sandford, forming Duryea Bros.Their partnership lasted until 1863. Duryea would be the official royal photographer during the royal visit of 1867, travelling with the party throughout their visit. Duryea specialized in portraits of dignitaries, panoramas and views of Adelaide. His entire collection of 50,000 negatives were lost to a fire in 1875, and unfortunate loss as his work represented a comprehensive record of early South Australian colonial life. Reference: Noye, R. J., 'Duryea, Townsend (1823–1888)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/duryea-townsend-3458/text5283, accessed 2 June 2012.