Mary Humphreys, Photographer: Part 5

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.

“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.

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]

“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.

“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.

Back of English Series postcard by Mary Humphreys, published November 1908 by T.S. Duncanson
Image courtesy of Justine Neal

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.

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

Ten views of Tauranga on multi-view fold-out, black-and-white collotype printing

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.

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

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).

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.

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 (Part 6) we will see how Humphreys ventured into that market on her own account.

References

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[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).