Dark but clear - Sydney's past.
This book comprises a small but careful sample from a vast collection of forensic photographs, taken in Sydney, Australia between 1912 and 1960. The book has several text essays complementing this fine collection of approximately 200 black and white photographs. The photos provide an insight to the Sydney scene from the twenties, through the depression and Second World War to the immediate post-war era. While the emphasis was on the presentation of evidence, these images provide a great social document, ranging from the hard men staring back at the police camera lens to the bereft surroundings of desperate victims. The original photographers have chosen well what they cared to record, apparently placing evidence in context. Pictures of on-lookers communicate the timbre of the time as much as photos of victims, accidents, suspects and scenes of crime. The photos have been reproduced from original negatives, and the quality is a testament to the original processing and modern curatorial work. Not an enjoyable book, by virture of the subject matter, but a very fine social document. Highly recommended.
