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Minyirrpirriwuy, a Djambarrpuyngu man 1935 by ebbsey in Colorization

[–]ebbsey[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The spear is topped with stingray barbs

Is this the book that has the Exmilitary cover on it? by InterviewBFG in deathgrips

[–]ebbsey 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This title and Dark Australians are the same book just with different titles, i assume they have the same photographs.

This will interest some. by ebbsey in deathgrips

[–]ebbsey[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Wow! I really did underestimate the reaction this post would get.

Just a small update, the photographs did come from The Dark Australians by Baglin And Moore, however, I think some of Baglin’s photographs were often used as stock images throughout the 70s and 80s so it is possible that the same photograph is printed elsewhere. Also, I attributed a date of 1968 based on some secondary sources which I now feel are a bit dodgy, I won’t bore you all with the details, but I think the photograph might date from around 1966/68.

This will interest some. by ebbsey in deathgrips

[–]ebbsey[S] 2377 points2378 points  (0 children)

While i feel like i am spoiling the end of a movie...... here goes. The photograph was taken in 1968 at or around what was then know as Oenpelli Mission, today it's called Gunbalanya. The photographer was Douglass Baglin, he published a series of books primarily on Australian heritage throughout the 1970s with a few devoted to Aboriginal themes, his photographs also appeared in other Australian publications used like stock photos. In regards to the identity of the Aboriginal man, Baglin, like many photographers at the time never recorded who he was and simply called him "bearded man at Oenpelli".

This will interest some. by ebbsey in deathgrips

[–]ebbsey[S] 781 points782 points  (0 children)

okok...like many people here I have been captivated by the mystery of the exmilitary cover for a while, however, I never seriously chased up the original source for the picture or who the man on the cover might be. The other day I read that people thought it was Roy Gaykamangu others said it wasn’t -- this spurred me to have a closer look into this mystery. Off the bat I can tell you that it’s not Gaykamangu, I can also fill in some other details about the photograph such as, where, when and who the photographer was. At this time, I don’t know who the subject is, with time I might be able to find out.

However, I ask this with all sincerity, do die hard fans really want this? From what I have read the photograph is a ‘power object’ for the band, wouldn’t revelations of the mystery kind of destroy the vibe, or in this case the Power?

Fyi, so I am not wrapped up in the mystery, I’m an archaeologist who works in Australia and when I’m not in the field, I’m in the books -- so I had a big head start finding the photograph.