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250 Postcard snapshots from NZ

Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:15 pm
by Alan SHARP
Greetings.

The January MOTAT newsletter has this report from the library about a book with 250 postcard snapshots from some 100 years ago. It's a pitty there are no credits for many of them, because most are of/from kinfolk.

QUOTE:
Personalized fragments of our society.

Facing an era : postcard portraits from a century ago offers a collection of more than 250 postcards from the first half of the 20th century that show New Zealanders from all walks of life.

Nearly all the people are unknown. They posed because they wanted to send postcards to their family and friends. Most were created in a photographic studio but some were created by amateur photographers.

At the turn of the century New Zealanders were sending and receiving over one and a half million postcards a year (from the New Zealand Official Year Book for 1899). With a reduction in postage to a flat rate of one penny and a significant reduction in the cost of production of photographs and prints around the same time may have influenced the choice to send a pictorial message.

Whatever the reason the people and places in these postcards are the visual image of how society viewed itself.

The author offers an introduction at the beginning of each section to set the scene. The photographs are uncaptioned and left to speak for themselves.

Sadly as unnamed postcards become part of deceased estates they tend to be destroyed or sold and the information on where they came from is lost.

END OF QUOTE

http://www.motat.org.nz/collections/LIB ... ibrary.htm

Alan SHARP.

Re: 250 Postcard snapshots from NZ

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:23 am
by trish1
Hi Alan

I have quite a collection of these from my grandmother - taken c 1900-1920 - fortunately she wrote who was who on the back of most - the family were extremely poor - especially after her father died in 1905 - I've always been amazed how they could afford to get the photos taken - perhaps your reference answers this in relation to the cost.

Alternatively, we have an album from the previous generation (brought out from England) with not one photo (the smaller style) indicating who it may be. Very sad.

Trish

Re: 250 Postcard snapshots from NZ

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:46 am
by Alan SHARP
Hi Trish.

It is sad, when we take our knowledge with us, to our grave. This is why I have posted some of the Glasgow Studio photos, in the hope of once again being able to put names to faces, and why I now date and name my digital photos, kept for archival purposes. Some of our albums have foot notes, in various hands, which because of inter-marriage and second marriages, makes positive identification difficult also.

For those in the UK, with kinfolk in NZ c1900, these post cards will give an illustrative snapshot of the period. A lot easier, than what I would like to acquire, for the environs of Glasgow c 1820's.

Alan SHARP.