Portrait of Madame Sibley, photograph by James E Bray

P1/2373

fonds

approximately 1871

Graphic Materials, Photographs

9666025

1 photographic print - albumen, on card mount - mount 10 x 6.1 cm (carte de visite)

Marie Sibley was a mesmerist and phrenologist. Purporting to have been born in France, she performed in cities and towns throughout Australia from the late 1860s to the mid-1880s. She then ran a store at Drake, near Tenterfield, where she died in 1894.

References:
Bishop, Catherine. Minding her own business: Colonial businesswomen in Sydney. Sydney: New South Publishing, 2015.

'Madame Sibley, phrenologist and mesmerist'. National Portrait Gallery. Accessed 28 November 2022. https://www.portrait.gov.au

Studio portrait showing Madame Sibley standing by a side table with three skulls laid upon it. Her fingers are touching one of the skulls to indicate her expertise in phrenology.

Out of copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Title devised by cataloguer

Ink inscriptions on the reverse, 'Madame Sibley' and 'Jas E Bray'.
Printed on the reverse, 'Portrait and landscape photographer, Beechworth Victoria'