Double self-portrait

In the mid-1860s several Adelaide photographers created novelty portraits in which, by using multiple exposures, the sitter appeared twice or sometimes three times in a single photograph. Such images helped to promote the photographer’s business, because newspapers eagerly reported on these innovative and often theatrical images. 

In his Double self-portrait, which dates from the first year of his photographic business, Philip Marchant plays the role  of both photographer and customer.  Set against a painted studio backdrop, the image that he has created is seamless: he is captured on the right posing for the camera and on the left he is timing the exposure with his stopwatch.

Julie Robinson, Senior Curator Prints, Drawings and Photographs