This is a magnificent historical photo of James Ferguson and five of the Ferguson & Urie employees circa 1890. I would guess this photo may have been taken at the rear of the Curzon street workshops North Melbourne which was their first workshops when they started business in 1853. They advertised from the site as early as 1853 but the workshop building wasn’t erected until after 1858 as indicated in the diaries of stained glass artist David Relph Drape. The building still exists as at 2012 but the interior has been converted to individual apartments and only the shell and facade remain as it appeared in the Ferguson & Urie employee photos of June 1887.
The only two positively identified men in the photo are, James Urie Jnr, James Ferguson Snr and James Ferguson Jnr. The other identifications are based on a likeness from the 1887 employees photos that were taken for the company dinner held on the 22nd January 1887.
1.D. Morris, 2. unknown, 3. James Urie Jnr (1870-1896), 4. James Ferguson Snr (1818-1894), 5. J. M. Gilligan, 6. James Ferguson Jnr (1861-1945). Photo kindly contributed by my 3rd cousin Errol Vincent from New Zealand 2010.
The Curzon Street workshop building as it appeared in June 1887 and photo taken 2012.
When the building was being converted to apartments in 2012 the sales brochures indicated that the building had been “remodeled circa 1875 to become the North Melbourne Masonic Lodge”. This incorrect. Ferguson & Urie retained the building as their workshops until the company demise in 1899.
In May 1899 an advertisement was placed in the Melbourne Age advertising the auction of their stained glass workshops at 42 Curzon Street would occur at 3p.m. on the 9th of May 1899.
The first tabloid article indicating the building had become the North Melbourne Masonic Lodge appeared in the North Melbourne Courier & West Melbourne Advertiser in September 1902 and it remained in their possession until 2008 when it was put up for auction and sold for $1.3m.
Related posts:
1887 Ferguson & Urie Company Dinner
Short link to this page: https://wp.me/p28nLD-1aP
Ferguson and Urie 
Its great that the building is still standing.(Curzon St)
It’s magnificent how all this comes together to reveal a remarkable history!
Ray