BARLOW, Edward David (1808?-1881) — Sydney
Printer, lithographer, architect, surveyor, decorator and entrepreneur. Produced Peter Lewis Bemi, Map of part of Keelogues at Illawarra the property of H. M. Attorney General [J. H. Plunkett] : for sale by Mr Polack on 23 Sept. 1839; Plan of the 24 Midway Estates to be sold by auction by Mr S. L. Lyons 1840; Plan of 34 alluvial farms at Illawarra the property of Andw. Lang Esq. to be sold by auction 1840; Plan of the Port Maitland allotments, the property of James King ca.1840; Map of sundry allotments in the town of West Maitland the property of J. Weller 1840; Plan of the extension of the town of Yass : to be sold by auction by the Australian Auction Company 1840; J. Armstrong, Plan of valuable city property called Fowler’s upper & lower pottery grounds 1844, etc. Also produced views, portraits — some lithographed by William Nicholas, caricatures, etc.
Born in London in or about 1808, Barlow was the son of Thomas Barlow of Follington Park, Hornsey, who died in 1838. He testified at the Old Bailey 27 May 1830 about a theft he had witnessed in Lisson Grove. He married (1) Maria Sarah Lyon Crawford (1815?-1870) at Christ Church, Marylebone, 12 Jan 1833. Originally a surveyor, he arrived in Sydney from London aboard the Lord Goderich 30 Aug 1836. He initially offered his services as a decorator — promising house painting, sign painting, gilding, cleaning or varnishing pictures, marbling and wood-graining. He subsequently worked briefly from the premises of Raphael Clint. Barlow then in 1837 took over the lithographic and zincographic business of John Gardner Austin, subsequently engaging in a war of words with both Austin and Clint, threatening Clint with legal action over a patent in zincography in August 1838. That same year, he announced an expansion into the shop next door and that “several first-rate workmen are expected to arrive shortly from England and are already engaged” (The Australian, 27 Apr 1838). He also announced “maps and charts; engraved, and drawn on zinc or stone, enlarged, reduced, mounted upon cloth, colored, varnished &c. Every description of engraving, zincographic, lithographic and copper-plate printing done in the first style of elegance. The engraving department under the immediate superintendence of Mr. W[illiam] Nicholas” (Commercial Journal, 5 Sep 1838). His lithographic equipment was sold to William Kellett Baker in September 1840, Barlow returning briefly to London, where he exhibited panoramic views of Sydney, Hobart, etc. William Nicholas took over Barlow’s own business. His return to Sydney was announced in October 1843, “Mr. Barlow has just returned to the colony with a most splendid assortment of drawings and engravings of different descriptions, and has re-opened his old shop in Bridge-street. He has also brought with him the necessary apparatus for carrying on lithography on an extensive scale, and as he has inspected all the recent improvements, and been in the workshops of the best lithographers in London, we are in hopes that our Sydney artists will not in future be compelled to circulate an apology with every drawing they publish, on account of the manner in which the printing is done” (Sydney Morning Herald, 16 Oct 1843). Back in Sydney, his life fell into professional and personal problems, with an action against Baker for plagiarism and not least a public lawsuit early in 1845 for increased maintenance and the recovery of her piano by his estranged wife, a music teacher. After the case had been decided in his wife’s favour, Barlow and his mistress, the “accomplished” Rosetta Myers Hartnell, “left the police yard, arm in arm, amidst the jeers of the spectators” (Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Feb 1845). A letter from Barlow appeared in the same newspaper on the following day refuting many of his wife’s claims and accusing her of “intolerable domestic behaviour”. A collection of his “English and foreign drawings” was dispersed at auction 2 Apr 1845. After a move to Maitland, Barlow subsequently returned to England, becoming a house-agent and auctioneer, and having a number of children with a second wife, Susannah Jane Cooper (1834-1918), whom he was eventually able to marry at St. Paul, Lisson Grove, 7 Apr 1870. He died in London aged seventy-three and was buried at Camden 9 May 1881.
Paddington, London — 1834
5 George Street, Sydney — 1836
3 & 4 Colonnade, Bridge Street, Sydney — 1837-1840
Theatre of Arts, Bridge Street, Sydney — 1839-1840
33a Red Lion Square, London — 1841-1842
Colonnade, Bridge Street, Sydney — 1838
9 Bridge Street, Sydney — 1844-1845
Colonnade, Bridge Street, Sydney — 1845
High Street, Maitland — 1845
Weybridge Green, Surrey — 1855
12 Colville Place, Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square — 1856
17 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, London — 1860-1862
36 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, London — 1868-1878
BBTI. BNA. Census 1841, 1861-1881. DAAO. NLA. OB. Tooley. Trove. Twyman.