Theresa Jessie Greenberg [139] 10 Jan 1884 - 16 May 1959 OCCUPATION: Photographer, Proprietor of Photographic Studio BIRTH: 10 Jan 1884, United Kingdom DEATH: 16 May 1959, Victoria, Australia BURIAL: Springvale, Melbourne, Australia Father: Samuel Greenberg Mother: Hannah Stibbe Family 1 : Louis Herbert Solomon MARRIAGE: 8 Feb 1916, East Melbourne Synagogue  Joyce Hannah Solomon  Jeffrey Samuel Solomon  Roma Miriam Solomon

Louis, Joyce and Jeffrey Solomon, and Theresa Greenberg Solomon, ca.1919. Collection of Katrina and Jenny Cowen.

                                                          _____________________
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                      |                                                        
 _Samuel Greenberg ___|
| (1841 - 1914) m 1867|
|                     |                                   _____________________
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|                     |__________________________________|
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|                                                        |_____________________
|                                                                              
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|--Theresa Jessie Greenberg 
|  (1884 - 1959)
|                                                         _Abraham Stibbe _____+
|                                                        | (1779 - 1846) m 1806
|                      _David Stibbe ____________________|
|                     | (1807 - 1890) m 1833             |
|                     |                                  |_Eva Davids Polak ___+
|                     |                                    (1781 - 1839) m 1806
|_Hannah Stibbe ______|
  (1845 - 1913) m 1867|
                      |                                   _Emanuel Abrahams ___
                      |                                  |                     
                      |_Jansje Theresa Emanuel Abrahams _|
                        (1813 - 1876) m 1833             |
                                                         |_Esther Godschalk ___
                                                                               

[139]
Theresa Greenberg Photographic Studio Proprietor, 1884 - 1959

On the 10th January 1884 Theresa Jessie Greenberg was born in Birmingham, England. She was the seventh child of Samuel Greenberg, tailor, and Hannah Stibbe. In that same year the Greenberg family immigrated to Melbourne Australia.

At present it's not sure when she purchased the photographic firm of Mendelssohn & Company, High Art Photographers. Mendelssohn's was situated in the building known as "Queens Walk"(80 Swanston Street Melbourne) and was already considered one of the oldest in Swanston Street when she purchased the Studio. The building had four storeys and the Studio occupied the top two floors. Theresa worked there until she married Louis Herbert Solomon from Adelaide on the 8th February 1916. He then became the Manager, and they amalgamated several other photographic studios, so as they were able to buy all films and other photographic materials and requirements in bulk, and could move staff around if needed.

At the time of the First World War service personnel and their families flocked to Mendelssohn's in large numbers. The Studio was filled with people wanting to be photographed, the crowd was so great that a small band was employed to play popular tunes in the top floor, which was nothing more than an attic, to help while away the time for the waiting public. Mendelssohn's began its history of photographing popular theatrical people like Sarah Bernhardt. Her photograph was on displayed at the studio, a copy of which is now in the State Library of Victoria's collection. When Anna Pavlova toured, she came armed with her own photographic plates, which were reproduced by Mendelssohn's. A full colour set of the photographs are also still in existence. The Studio was also famous for its photographs of children. The photographs were hand-touched and coloured and sketches of toys, fairies and animals added to the background.

On the 16th December 1926 Louis Herbert Solomon died. A solicitor, Mr Joseph Herman, was instructed to separate all the Studios, and so Mendelssohn again belonged solely to Theresa. Yetta Greenberg, Theresa's sister, sold her florist shop (which was situated in Glenferrie Road Malvern) and came into the Studio as a receptionist with Miss Valerie Giles.

During the depression years when the people of Melbourne were forced to cut spending on luxuries, and as studio portraits were considered as such, studio owners introduced coupons. A traveller went from house to house in many suburbs selling 2/- coupons which entitled the buyer to be photographed with one or two proofs to choose from, and then an enlargement and several smaller postcards to a certain value, for an extra amount the photograph could be supplied in sepia or extra again for the enlargement hand coloured in oils and framed.

Shortly before the commencement of World War II Theresa purchased the Talma Studio from Mr Barry. Talma was also one of Melbourne's oldest studios it was started a few years after Mendelssohn's. Talma was situated at number 79 Swanston Street, on the opposite side of the street to Mendelssohn's. This studio was renamed The New Talma. Joy Solomon worked as receptionist at Talma and when the studio operator Mr Dick Payne died, she replaced him as the photographer. By the time of the Second World War business at the Studios was really booming and the staff was enlarged in every area. Staff worked weekdays, Friday nights and Saturday afternoon.

Weddings played a major part of the photography business in all of the four studios (with another Mendelssohn Studio at 29 Langhorne Street, Dandenong and Warwick Studios in the city) owned by Theresa. Saturday afternoons were usually the busiest. The police on traffic and point duty in the city had to regulate the bridal cars, therefore these policemen became friends of the Studios staff and tea and coffee was always available to them. Sometimes the photographer would be asked to go to the bride's home prior to the wedding, attend the ceremony and then to attend and photograph at the reception. Prior to the Second World War the most popular wedding day was Easter Saturday, it was not uncommon for the studios to be employed to photograph between ten and twenty weddings on that day alone.

The tradition of photographing theatrical people continued and they were perhaps the most memorable to the staff employed at the studios. The Singer who gave Joy Solomon the most pleasure was the 1948 Sun Aria winner, Mary Miller. Mary from Ormond was a beautiful blonde and blue-eyed girl who was photographed by Mendelssohn's from a very young schoolgirl until her final concert. Sadly she died only one year after winning the Sun Aria, she was twenty-three years old. Luckily many of Mary Miller's photographs survive, as do the early photographs of Margaret Fitzgibbon. Described by Joy Solomon as a bright and cheery person, she commenced her career at the Tivoli Theatre and then when to London where she starred in many shows in the West End. Other stage personalities that were photographed by Joy included Muriel Howard, who sang for "Music for the People" in the Botanical Gardens and in J.C.Williamson's production of 'Gay Rosalinda'. Mendelssohn's photographed Glenda Raymond who later became Mrs. Hector Crawford, Viola Wilson, later to become Lady Tait and Joan Menzies. Well-known men that often came to the studios for new publicity photographs, included Smoky Dawson and Lou Topparno, the accordion player.

Joy Salomon's first chance to photograph on stage was for the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera "Socceror", at Her Majesty's Theatre. She was shown how to use the Studio's antique Graphlex camera; the lesson was given just five minutes before she left for the theatre. The results were all perfect. The photographs and many others from J.C Williamson productions are still in existence. In fact Joy photographed Max Oldaker, (the matinee idol) Gregory Stroud, Ivan Menzies, Peggy Shea and Elva Blair all from the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, their pictures and autographs also still exist.

In 1949 Joy Solomon married and did not continue her career. Well after the Second World War was over and the buildings that housed Mendelssohn and Talma's studios were being demolished the numerous plates and films, which filled the two attics, had to be disposed of. As the family had no storage space the material was sent to the tip. Three large trucks were filled with material; it cost Theresa three thousand pounds. Today all the films and plates would be worth many times that amount to the city, archives and media. Theresa Jessie Greenberg died on 16th May 1959, she was a trail blazer for the women's liberation movement, a successful business woman and mother, who managed to create and sustain an exceptional business that provided employment and pleasure to thousands.

Source: Adapted from an unpublished article by Katrina and Jenny Cowen.