A Gamelan Orchestra

1865. Fine. An unmounted albumen photograph, with the blind stamp "W. & P. Photographieen von Ned. Indie. Batavia." at the lower right. The photograph shows the entire traditional Indonesian musical ensemble seated with their instruments, the central musician seated in an ornate chair, with an ornately carved wooden frame behind the musicians, the photograph taken in a white pillared open structure. The photographers of this image were Woodbury and Page. Walter Bentley Woodbury left England in 1852 to join the Australian gold rush. In Melbourne he met James Page and learned the wet-plate collodion method of photography. The two left in 1857 for Batavia (Jakarta) and established their studio, Woodbury & Page, which became the major creator of views in the Dutch West Indies. Woodbury later patented his invention for a permanent photograph printed with inks, called the Woodburytype. 7 1/2 x 10"