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            [id] => 8315
            [idSort] => 8315
            [name] => New Zealand Government Publicity Glass Lantern Slides
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                    [custom5] => 8cm x 8cm glass lantern slides, black and white and hand-coloured.
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            [authenticityNote] => Bibliography

Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHRs), annual reports (section H2)

Lantern Slides:  History and Manufacture (American Memory, Library of Congress website):  

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/mhsdhtml/lanternhistory.html

Knight, Hardwicke New Zealand Photographers:  A Selection (Dunedin:  Allied Press Ltd.), 1981

Knight, Hardwick Burton Brothers, Photographers (Dunedin:  John McIndoe Ltd.), 1980

Main, William and Turner, John B New Zealand Photography from the 1840s to the Present (Auckland:  PhotoForum Inc.), 1993
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            [history] => Series dates 

These have been based on the earliest identifiable dates of the slides (some are copyrighted 1903), and the fact that the popularity and use of glass lantern slides declined in the 1950s. This followed the introduction of smaller 2 x 2 transparencies and, finally, the discovery of the Kodachrome three-colour process which made 35mm slides, such as used in modern projectors, less expensive to produce than lantern slides. 

Background 

Series 8315, a small collection of glass lantern slides originally held by the Sydney branch of the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, was loaned to a Mr Bowen on 24 January 1929 "for so long as good use shall be made of them". Mr Bowen kept the slides, and they were then passed on to Albion Bruce (Bruce) Jones of the Australian company Jones and Bowen at an unknown date, possibly following Mr Bowen's death. In 1967 Bruce Jones gave the slides to his employee, Harry Greet, who subsequently deposited them with Archives New Zealand during a trip to New Zealand in 2001. The slides were accompanied by the original issue list presented to Mr Bowen, stating the reference number and title of each. A total of 81 slides are listed; 4 of these were not included in the collection finally deposited with Archives New Zealand. 

Series 8315 comprises 77 slides ranging from 5 to 5835 (non-consecutive). It is an incomplete set. 

Format 

The glass lantern slides are an 8 x 8 format. They include black and white and also some hand-coloured images. Many are labelled 'New Zealand Government Publicity'. A number have a small copyright insignia on the image itself, depicting a lion and a unicorn (the early New Zealand coat of arms) and including the following note: 'New Zealand Government Tourist Department, copyright 7.1.03'. Some also have the copyright note 'Burton Bros., Dunedin' (Burton Brothers) on the image (numbers 4831, 5552), and some have a photographer's name included (e.g. slides 607 and 1007). Such notations have been recorded with the slide titles in the record list. 

In most cases the slide number is noted on the frame of the slide. However in some cases, one also appears in the actual image itself e.g. slide 4831. In one instance, slide 1007 (Hinemoa's Bath, Mokaia Island, Lake Rotorua), a different number (614) is recorded on the actual image. 

Origins of images 

This collection of images appears to have been compiled for the purpose of the promotion and marketing of New Zealand in Australia. It focuses primarily upon publicity shots of scenery, places and Maori. The images seem to have come from a variety of sources, including New Zealand government collections (see 'Related Series', below), individual photographers such as Josiah Martin (slide 607) and a Mr Cleave (slide 1007) and the famous Burton Brothers firm, whose photographs did much to publicise New Zealand and its attractions. 

The latter images may have been obtained from either the original firm or that of Muir and Moody which the Burton Brothers merged into in 1898, continuing Dunedin's domination of the photographic trade until 1916. Muir and Moody photographs appeared on printed postcards, a profitable international trade, and were also widely reproduced in the popular press, including the illustrated Christmas issues of newspapers such as the Free Lance and the Otago Witness and Daily Times. 

Note: The bulk of Muir and Moodie's glass plate negatives were purchased by the Dominion Museum (now Te Papa), Wellington, along with those of the Burton Bros, in the 1940s. This was at the urging of Dr John T. Salmon, a prominent botanist, conservationist and amateur photographer. 

Annual reports for the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts (1901-1909) also give some insight into the origins of such images. Considered "...one of the best means of advertising the colony's scenery, wonders, and agricultural and pastoral and industrial life" (Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1902, H2 page 3), the expense of obtaining copies of photographs from professional photographic studios lead the department to compile its own collection, beginning with "...a series of views to be taken in the North, Middle and Stewart Islands" (AJHR 1902, H2 page 3) to be used in the illustration of guide books and the making of lantern slides. By 1904 photographic trips were being made around the country, principal destinations being the Taupo, Waikato and Auckland districts "...where numerous pictures were made of lake, bush, and mountain scenery, Maori life, pastoral and agricultural scenes" (AJHR 1906, H2 page 4) by the department's photographer. Photographs were also taken in Auckland city, of country industries such as flax-milling and dairy work, and a journey was made from Westland to Greymouth, returning via the east coast to also secure numerous pictures in and around Dunedin and Christchurch. 

Glass lantern slide collections were supplied to overseas offices of the department, including Sydney, for use in illustrated lectures and loaning to travel agencies and other organisations for general publicity purposes. For further information, see the departmental histories for the following agency documents: 

AABO Department of Tourist and Health Resorts ?1903-1906 
ACGE Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. Sydney Office. 1906-1909 
ACGF Commerce and Tourists Division. Department of Agriculture, Commerce and Tourists. Sydney Office. 1909-1912 
ACGG Tourist and Health Resorts Department. Sydney Office 1912-1929 
ACGH Department of Industries and Commerce, Tourist and Health Resorts and Publicity. Sydney Office 1930-1946 
ACGI Department of Tourist and Health Resorts/Tourist and Publicity Department. Sydney Office 1946-1991 

Examples of the images taken by the New Zealand Head Offices of some of the earlier agencies listed above can be found reproduced alongside their annual reports in the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHRs), copies of which are held by Archives New Zealand. The reproductions are good quality, black and white images printed on glossy paper. 

Related series 

Series 6493 - 'HC' Lantern Slides 

This series contains slides of the same format and labelling system ('New Zealand Government Publicity') as those in Series 8315. As with Series 8315, only an incomplete set is held. The 'HC' prefix appears on the index cards which accompany the slides in Series 6493, but the prefix does not actually appear on the slides themselves. There is some overlapping of slide numbers in the two series, but the images on these slides are different. 

It has been assumed that the two sets of slides comprise separate but related series, one intended for use in New Zealand (Series 6493), and one for use in Australia (Series 8315). 

Series 6403 ('1/1' Black and White Negatives and Prints) 

A second related series is Series 6403 ('1/1' Black and White Negatives and Prints). This is the earliest of the three largest sequences of prints and negatives compiled by the National Publicity Studios and its predecessor government departments, held by Archives New Zealand: 

AAQT 6403: 1/1 (whole plate) black and white negatives and prints, c 1913-1940s 

AAQT 6401: "A" prefix black and white negatives and prints, c 1907-1972. Note: a small number of images from the beginning of this collection date from 1907-1912. 

AAQT 6421: "B" prefix black and white negatives and prints, 1972-1987 

Cross-checking of the glass lantern slide numbers and images (Series 8315) against those numbers and descriptions recorded in the negative registers and card indexes which control Series 6403 has been undertaken. This has shown that a considerable proportion of the slides match the numbers and descriptions of images from Series 6403. It is likely that the publicity collection assembled for use in Australia drew on images included in Series 6403, or that the two series shared use of images photographed for the various incarnations of the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Health Resorts from the early 1900s to the 1940s. 

Note: The black and white photographs from Series 6403 are held in the Public Reading Room for research use.
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            [seriesRestrictionReason] => Physical access to the lantern slides is only through Preservation Services, as they are held in special storage conditions in secure areas without public access.



Permission to publish/reproduce



Written permission to reproduce photographic images must be obtained from the following:



Chief Executive and Chief Archivist

Archives New Zealand

PO Box 12050

Wellington



When reproducing images obtained from this collection, acknowledgements must include the following, together with the appropriate Archives reference:



Archives New Zealand/Te Whare Tohu Tuhituhinga O Aotearoa, Head Office, Wellington:

National Publicity Studios Photographic Collection.
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