Master Molteno

New York-born photographer Townsend Duryea came to Australia during the gold rush and initially worked in Melbourne in partnership with his brother, Sanford, and Archibald McDonald. When the partnership dissolved in 1855, Duryea moved to South Australia. In 1864, having worked in regional towns and in combination with other photographers, Duryea started his own studio in King William Street, Adelaide, where this photograph of Frederick John Molteno was taken. A violin prodigy, Molteno (1859–1866) was born in St. Kilda and appears to have begun giving concerts in Melbourne in 1865. He went on to perform in Sydney, Geelong and Ballarat before heading to South Australia in August 1866. Soon afterwards, ‘having that delicate and sensitive constitution which so often accompanies extraordinary talents prematurely developed’, he was taken ill with what newspaper reports described as low fever. He died at Norwood in early September.
Actors, musicians and other entertainers were typical subjects for cartes de visite, which were often sold as souvenirs to theatregoers. Following Master Molteno’s death, Duryea advertised that he had copies of this photograph available for any ‘friends and admirers’ requiring a memento of the deceased.