Carte de visite photograph, circa 1883

Dating these old photographs usually takes some detective work.  In this case it was easy.  On the back of this carte de visite was the name of the photographer's studio:

FROM THE STUDIO OF
Lamartiniere & Kerry
Artists
Photographers
306 George Street
SYDNEY

Lamartiniere took Kerry into partnership in 1883, absconding shortly afterwards and taking all of Kerry's capital with him.  (Kerry, however, was left with the business, which he expanded from a small portrait studio to a large photography business specialising in news pictures and landscapes.)  This picture can safely be dated between 1883, when Lamartiniere and Kerry became partners, to 1884 when Lamartiniere took off.

I'm inclined to give it the earlier date because the sitter's clothes, though smart, are slightly old-fashioned even for 1883.  Her hair is worn down which indicates she was still an adolescent when this picture was taken—not an adult who would have worn her hair up.  Perhaps her clothes were hand-me-downs from an older sister?

"La Mode", Décembre 1912

Though La Mode was aimed at middle-class housewives and printed on cheap paper, the woman and girl on the cover of this issue are undeniably chic.  What's more, they're drawn in the newly trendy Art Deco style.  This issue originally contained paper patterns for a woman's dressing gown and a young girl's coat.