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    Candid street photograph of pedestrians taken in Martin Place, Sydney, by an unknown Ikon Studio photographer during 1950. Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums

    Ikon Studio

    During the public call out for our Street Photography exhibition an extraordinarily rare collection of street photography negatives came to light.

    Although many street photography companies advertised that they kept their negatives indefinitely, very few negatives have survived. The enormous volume of rolls processed made it unlikely that negatives were kept for more than a few years, and when firms went out of business what remained was probably discarded. Remarkably, 127 rolls of film taken by Ikon Studio photographers have survived. Ikon Studio operated from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, selling prints from Her Majesty’s Arcade on Market Street. Each strip of 35mm film is a complete sequence of images taken, not just those purchased by the public.  They offer us a unique insight into how the street photographers worked as they repositioned themselves in response to the flow of pedestrians and reveal the public’s varying response to being photographed. 

    All of the 5000 photos were taken between May and December 1950 in Martin Place, Sydney but the photographer and subjects are as yet unknown. See below for a selection of these images.

    Over the coming months we will be sharing more of these extraordinary images with you.

    Related exhibition

    Now Showing

    Street Photography

    1930s - 1950s

    Saturday 8 December 2018 - Sunday 21 July 2019
    Museum of Sydney
    Exhibitions
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.
    • Black and white photograph taken in street setting.

    About the author

    Head and shoulders portrait of woman set against brick wall.

    Anna Cossu

    Curator

    Inspired by wonderful and slightly eccentric history teachers and after her own foray as a teacher, Anna found herself drawn to the world of museums.

    More Street Photography stories

    Black and white photograph of two adults and three children walking in a line holding hands in urban setting. This view is up Martin Place toward Macquarie Street, Sydney.

    Ikon Studio

    During the public call out for our Street Photography exhibition an extraordinarily rare collection of street photography negatives came to light.

    Sepia toned black and white photo of group in street.

    Signs of the times

    In the background of many street photos are glimpses of Sydney’s architecture, from still-recognisable locations to popular landmarks of the day. Many photos also show signs advertising businesses now long gone, including popular cafes like Repin’s and Sargents.

    Snapped! The street photographer at work

    A remarkable acquisition of 5000 street snaps provides a lively and revealing record of one Sydney street in 1950 and offers a rare glimpse through the street photographer’s lens.

    Cropped photo of family group.

    The street snapshot craze

    A new exhibition opening at the Museum of Sydney in December explores the heyday of this once popular but now forgotten genre of photography.
    Close crop of two children's faces.

    ‘Unidentified’ no longer

    The names and stories behind street photographs are often lost with the passing of time, and we were unable to identify many of the people whose images are featured in the Street Photography exhibition. However, we’ve since learnt the moving story behind one image, of two curly-haired children.