A piece of Australian history is up for sale, including the glass negatives of old photographs of Canberra.
The Rose Stereograph Company Collection has got more than 100,000 pictures dating back as far as 1880. It includes images of Parliament House, the War Memorial and St John's Church from around a hundred years ago.
In 1880, the Rose Stereograph Company was founded by George Rose and Herbert Cutts.
It produced stereo-effect pictures which when viewed through a special viewer gave a three-dimensional effect. But as cinema and moving pictures came along, the idea faded in the face of a better one.
The two men then moved into stills photography for postcards and built up the huge collection of pictures of interesting sites across Australia.
Some of the noteworthy photographs include the landing at Gallipoli in 1915), Ned and Dan Kelly's armour (taken at trial in 1880) and the horse Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup in 1930.
The pictures were kept and have come to the present owners. They are now up for online auction.
"There are original glass negatives in this collection that capture the very first moments of not only local Australian but world history and some that may even change the course of history," said Lee Hames of Lloyds Auctions.
"We believe this to be a world first, to offer these tangible original glass plates which rival any modern photographic resolution", he continued.
Because the objects up for sale are the glass negatives, the print made from them can be blown up to billboard size.
The auction company said: "The company was initially built on stereographs but as cinema took over and stereographs fell out of fashion.
"The Rose Stereograph Company developed Australia's first commercially viable photographic postcard business. Specialising in postcards of iconic historical moments and significant landmarks, The Rose Stereograph Company became a staple of the Australian travel industry."
The current owners who are descended from the founders of the company said: "It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a collection that spans five generations and 140 years.
"We understand that for these historically important pieces to rest with one family is to deny others the pleasure of their custodianship."
"This has to be one of the most important photographic collections in Australia if not the world and that's why we have taken considerable measures and invested heavily in state-of-the-art technology in order to honour the owners of one of the most significant photographic collections in Australian history," Lee Hames of Lloyds Auctions said.
