A Plethora of Publishers (1907-1912)
In 1905 and 1906 several local and national firms had
published postcards depicting Tauranga scenes, including a series of
black-and-white and colour collotype cards depicting scenes photographed by
Mary Humphreys. They were printed in Germany, published by local stationer T.S.
Duncanson in early 1907 and appear to have sold well.
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“Post Office, Tauranga”, postmarked 20 December 1907
Black-and-white collotype print, photographed by Mary Humphreys, unidentified
publisher
Collection of Brian Ducker |
Another
series of Tauranga scenic postcards, this time printed in Berlin by monochrome
collotype, were published in late 1907, of
which two views are known – although there may be others as yet unidentified.
We can be sure that at least one of them – a new view of the second Tauranga
Post Office – was taken by Mary Humphreys, since she later published it as a
real photo postcard under her own name.
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Back of Berlin Series postcard by Mary Humphreys, published c. 1907
Image courtesy of Brian Ducker |
Although
the publisher is not identified, it is possible that they were published and
sold by Duncanson’s competitor T.E. Wayte. An advertisement which Mary
Humphreys inserted in October 1909 showing her readiness to execute orders for
the Christmas season clearly indicated that she had business relationships with
both stationers.[i]
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“Strand, Tauranga”, c. 1906-1907
Black-and-white collotype print, attributed to Mary Humphreys, unidentified
publisher
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-246 |
The other
was a view of The Strand looking north, the pavements in front of the shops and
the balconies above full of people, and unusually there is not a horse or
wheeled vehicle in sight.
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“The Basin at Mount, Tauranga,” c. 1907, attributed to Mary Humphreys
Black-and-white collotype print, published by T.S. Duncanson, November 1908
Collection of Brian Ducker |
In November
1908 Duncanson announced the arrival of yet another series of eight new
Tauranga views.[ii]
These were printed using the collotype process in black-and-white in England
rather than Germany, probably as a result of British political pressure
discouraging trade with Germany at around this time. “Harbour” was a reissue of
number 103 in the A.G. Series, while the views of “First Avenue” and “The Spit
& Mount” were also issued by Mary Humphreys as real photo postcards and
exist as prints mounted in albums. It can probably be assumed that Mary took
the photographs for all eight views.
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Back of English Series postcard by Mary Humphreys, published November 1908 by
T.S. Duncanson
Image courtesy of Justine Neal |
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English Series of postcards published by T.S. Duncanson, Tauranga, November 1908 |
The craze
in postcards had by then gripped New Zealanders – the reduction in postage for
a postcard from a penny to a half-penny in December 1907 helped to fuel the
rising demand.[iii]
That month the Sydney general post office was forced to suspend delivery of
postcards due to the sheer volume received – half a million cards weighing
almost two tonnes.[iv]
In New Zealand a peak was reached in 1909 with over eight million cards sent
through the post.[v]
Throughout the country it was an opportunity which photographers and postcard
publishers were keen to exploit, and Tauranga was no exception.
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Souvenir of Tauranga, view of Tauranga waterfront from the Redoubt
Multi-view fold-out postcard “booklet” published by T.S. Duncanson, c. 1912
Collection of Justine Neal |
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Ten views of Tauranga on multi-view fold-out, black-and-white collotype
printing |
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Back of “Souvenir of Tauranga” postcard, phototyped in Saxony (Germany) |
Some
local postcards were still being printed in Germany as late as 1912. Although we have
no posted or dated examples to indicate when it was used, this fold-out
collotype-printed multi-view issued by Thomas Duncanson could not have been
produced prior to 1912, when the Coronation Fire Brigade Station was built. In
December 1912 Duncanson announced, “a new series of post cards, picturesque
Tauranga views.” It includes at least
one view – “Harbour South Tauranga” – published as a real photo postcard on
Kodak Austral cardstock with Mary Humphreys’ characteristic lettering used for
the title “Tauranga N.Z.” on the front (below). Another view – “Wharf and
Strand” was published around the same time in FGR’s “Humphries Series” (see
below), and was also likely her photograph. Some or all of the others may also
have been taken by her, but definite attributions have yet to be made.
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Women seated on foreshore, The Strand, Tauranga, c. 1910-1912
Photograph attributed to Mary Humphreys, printed on Kodak Austral cardstock
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-574 |
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Tauranga, photographed by Mary Humphreys, c. 1908-1914
Real photo postcard, published by F.G. Radcliffe as “Humphries Series” No 7
Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0112/09 |
Sometime
around 1911 to 1914 several of Humphreys’ photographs were released as real
photo postcards under the “F.G.R.” imprint of prolific publisher F.G. Radcliffe,
who operated from premises in Auckland between 1909 and 1923. Radcliffe used a
number of photographers around the country, and often titled a series with the photographer’s
name.[vi]
In Mary’s case he made a mistake in the spelling of her name, resulting in the “Humphries
Series”, numbered from 1 to 13 (although only four of these have so far been
found).
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Wairoa River and Bridge, photographed by Mary Humphreys, before October 1901
Real photo postcard, published by F.G. Radcliffe as “Humphries Series” No 13
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 03-048 |
No 13 in
the series is her view of the Wairoa River and bridge previously published in
the Weekly Press (1901) and as a collotype postcard by Duncanson (1907).
Mention has already been made of No 4, while No 7 was a south-easterly view
over downtown Tauranga, also published by Humphreys herself as one of a
four-part panorama.
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Back of “Humphries Series” No 13, published by F.G. Radcliffe, c. 1911-1914 |
Collotype printed postcards from abroad and
half-tone local printings were well suited to general scenic views, but more
topical subjects with perhaps more limited demand were better served by real
photo postcards, which had better definition and quick turnaround times. Photographs could be taken of events, for
example, and small numbers of prints produced from them and be ready for sale on
shop counters within a matter of days. In the next article we will see how
Humphreys ventured into that market on her own account.
References
[i] Mary Humphreys,
“Photographic Christmas Cards. Advertisement,” Bay of Plenty Times,
October 11, 1909, Volume 38 Issue 5420 edition.
[ii] Thomas Sanderson
Duncanson, “The Novelty Depot. ’Xmas Season, 1908. Advertisement,” Bay of
Plenty Times, November 20, 1908, Volume 37 Issue 5285 edition.
[iii] “Untitled
[Half-Penny Post Cards],” Bay of Plenty Times, December 16, 1907, Volume
36 Issue 5145 edition.
[iv] “Australian News.
Sydney, Dec 28,” Bay of Plenty Times, December 30, 1907, Volume 36 Issue
5148 edition.
[v] Alan Jackson, “Early
History of the Picture Postcard in New Zealand,” in Post Marks: The Way We
Were - Early New Zealand Postcards, 1897-1922 (Auckland, New Zealand:
Kowhai Media Ltd, 2015), pp15-21.
[vi] William Main and
Alan Jackson, “Wish You Were Here”: The Story of New Zealand Postcards
(New Zealand Postcard Society, 2005).