Earlier this year, the Art Gallery of New South Wales showcased a private photography collection with a difference. Instead of buying gorgeously arty photographs by big-name photographers, the collector Robert Dein had turned to the colloquial end of the spectrum. Dein collected found snapshots dating between the 1860s and ’70s that showed everyday people doing everyday things. Many of the photographs betrayed a quirkiness that engaged Dein’s imagination and set him to ponder on who the people were, and what happened to them.

To read more of this item and others, subscribe now or simply order Issue 18 of aAR by clicking here.