VPRS 8362 Photograph Albums : Alpha-Numeric Sequence [J.B. Hosking Collection]

The series comprises photographic albums the contents of which were photographed (or collected) by Mr J.B.O.Hosking, Chief Engineer, Melbourne Harbour Trust. The albums contain black/white photographs depicting facilities and activities of the Port of Melbourne and various other ports around the world. The albums were allocated alpha-numeric control symbols which determined their arrangement. The alpha-numeric classification system was based on location or subject of the photograph. i.e. Albums A/1; A/2; A/3 relate to Appleton Dock; Album V/1 relates to Victoria Dock; Album T/1 for amenities and album D/1 relates to dredging. For a guide to the classification code refer to Index to Photograph Albums: (alpha-numeric sequence) VPRS. Each album comprises a number of loose leaf pages of light cardboard upon which black and white prints have been mounted using a combination of photo corners and glue. There appear to be three average sizes of prints: 210mm x 155mm (1 to a page) 150mm x 100mm (2 to a page) 75mm x 50mm (4 to a page) In many cases there are typed captions pasted below the photographs. Details on the caption include: - date when the photograph was taken - brief additional description of the image - alpha-numeric classification code (which appears on the spine of the album) - sometimes an additional alpha-numeric reference is given Apart from the main alpha-numeric sequence (which is incomplete) there is an additional album with 'Oil Fires' marked on the spine, and two albums without control symbols. There are also several albums which are empty but which have alpha-numeric symbols on their spines, which fit within the classification sequence. These albums may have once contained photographs.