<a href=George Bell, Sydney Morning Herald photographer, 1910″>
George Bell, Sydney Morning Herald photographer, New South Wales, 1910. Photograph: Fairfax Photo archive exhibition/National Library of australia

for decades, a photograph of George Bell, a stern-looking man on horseback wiht a camera strapped to his chest, silently observed the bustling Fairfax media empire. Fairfax, the publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, the Australian Financial Review, the Canberra Times, and other publications, displayed the 1910 image prominently.

The photograph accompanied Fairfax through its various relocations, from Jones Street in Sydney in the 1990s to Sussex Street, and later to Pyrmont in 2007. Though, its current whereabouts remain unknown as Nine acquired Fairfax six years ago.

Mike Bowers, who dedicated a meaningful portion of his career to Fairfax and later to another publication, found the image of George Bell to be a constant source of inspiration. He said the photograph captured the challenges of his profession’s forbears.

The “Fit to Print” exhibition at the National Library of Australia in canberra, which opened this week, uses George Bell’s image as a starting point to explore the evolution of photojournalism.Bowers explained his captivation with Bell’s work: I always wondered how he did it, getting around town on horseback, and I meen, look at the size of that camera.

Early photographers like Bell faced numerous logistical challenges. They relied on glass plates for each image, fragile and heavy objects coated in an emulsion of gelatin, potassium bromide, and silver nitrate. These plates, measuring at least 8cm x 11cm, required photographers to carry multiple sheets for each assignment.

In 2012, Fairfax donated 18,000 glass-plate negatives, spanning from 1890 to 1948, to the National Library archives. While reviewing the collection, Bowers discovered the original negative of the George Bell image. The familiar photograph had been cropped, revealing two horses attached to a cart in the background, highlighting the support teams that early press photographers relied on.

Photographers ready to photograph the Prince of Wales,Sydney,1920
Line of photographers ready to photograph the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII),at Government house,Sydney,1920.Photograph: Herbert Henry Fishwick/Fairfax Photo archive exhibition/National Library of Australia

Manny images in the “Fit to Print” exhibition have remained unseen for over a century, and most are displayed in their full, uncropped format for the first time. The original prints, frequently enough 16×20 or 16×24 inches, were intended for display on walls, not confined to the pages of a newspaper.

The exhibition also sheds light on the early forms of paparazzi, frequently enough achieved with the cooperation of the celebrities themselves. before commercial aviation, ships were the primary mode of transportation to Australia, with Sydney’s North Head serving as the gateway. Newspapers would charter boats to meet incoming ships, capturing the first images of royals, artists, scientists, athletes, politicians, and international stars like Anna Pavlova and Harry Houdini.

Anna Pavlova outside Government House, Sydney, 1926
Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova outside Government House, Sydney, March 1926. Photograph: unknown photographer. Fairfax Photo Archive exhibition/National Library of Australia

These visiting dignitaries would pose on deck, dressed in their finest attire, ready for the cameras. The photojournalists of the era, frequently enough trained in portrait studios, brought a formal style to their media work.Subjects were carefully positioned and instructed to hold their poses.

With cameras limited to holding a single negative at a time and photographers constrained by the number of glass plates they could carry, each shot was meticulously planned to convey the story’s message.

It was a pretty stilted approach to photography, says Bowers. It had to be fully set up, so a lot of these pictures look almost mannequin-like.

A wounded soldier farewelling a recruit, New South Wales, c. 1915
A newly enlisted man is farewelled by a wounded soldier, New South Wales, c.1915. Photograph: Herbert henry Fishwick/Fairfax Photo Archive exhibition/National Library of Australia

bowers highlights an image of a railway platform scene, depicting a wounded soldier bidding farewell to a recruit. While a modern viewer might perceive it as a spontaneous patriotic moment, the scene was deliberately staged for propaganda purposes.

Another image shows Australian soldiers in World War I creeping through a jungle, weapons at the ready. The photograph was taken during training, with the soldiers posing in a studio habitat.

The “Fit to Print” exhibition offers a rare prospect to witness the evolution of photojournalism through the lens of the Fairfax Photo Archive. From the challenges faced by pioneers like George Bell to the carefully orchestrated scenes of early paparazzi and wartime propaganda, the exhibition provides a engaging glimpse into Australia’s past.