Selling the Dream The Art of Early New Zealand Tourism

This book is dedicated to the artistic pioneers who designed and created the inspiring images ahead, pioneers who deserve to be better recognised and admired for their contribution to New Zealand’s art history and pivotal role in shaping New Zealand’s national identity.

Selling the Dream The Art of Early New Zealand Tourism

Peter Alsop Gary Stewart Dave Bamford Foreword by Fran Walsh

These posters are more than just advertising. They make people dream. Albert Dery, quoted in ‘Wishing Vous Were Here’, Forbes magazine, 23 April 2007

First published in 2012 Craig Potton Publishing 98 Vickerman Street PO Box 555 Nelson New Zealand www.craigpotton.co.nz © Craig Potton Publishing © Peter Alsop, Gary Stewart, Dave Bamford © Individual authors for their research essays Design and production by The Gas Project ISBN 978-1-877517-77-8 Printed in China by Midas Printing International Attributions All efforts have been made to correctly reference images in this book in a page-referenced format in the appendices at the back (along with further detail about our approach to referencing). We acknowledge that there are gaps and, given the age of the images, likely to be some errors. Any queries or corrections regarding attributions should be directed to Peter Alsop ([email protected]).

Copyright We are grateful for the permissions and/or copyright clearance granted by a wide range of organisations and individuals to reproduce images in this book. These permissions have reflected positively on the wide degree of support for our research project and intent to present associated imagery in a professional, faithful and respectful way. We have made genuine efforts to locate potential rights holders. Inevitably, with such a large collection of images, there has been some uncertainty over permissions for some images, including difficulty establishing whether copyright applies, uncertainty regarding definitions, and challenges identifying who current copyright holders may be (especially given changes in organisation names and ownership arrangements). To the extent any rights have not been fully respected (while accepting there may be different views on this), we welcome contact to discuss these matters. We also consider that context is important. In particular, the fundamental intent of the images in this book, when originally produced, was for wide public display and admiration. This intent is consistent with public celebration of the images through this research project, including with appropriate respect for image quality and authenticity. Please direct any queries regarding image rights and/or copyright to Peter Alsop ([email protected]).

Foreword

Vintage New Zealand travel posters are part of my earliest memories. They are as familiar and comforting to me as the view out my window. The rich colours speak of a bygone age, and the spectacular imagery evokes the romance of travel. But beyond the nostalgia they conjure, I have come to appreciate these graphic illustrations for what they are – unique, beautifully crafted works of art. Miramar has been home to filmmakers and film studios long before the sound stages at Stone Street were built, or Weta Workshop or Park Road Post took up residence in Wellington’s eastern suburbs. Filmcraft Ltd, a private company that built the Miramar Film Studios in the late 1920s, primarily made scenic short films for the government’s Tourist Department. They also became involved in the creation of some of the earliest examples of handprinted, silk-screen posters to advertise ‘the wonders’ of New Zealand to the world. As this comprehensive collection shows, these early tourism posters represent a formative part of this country’s search for its own identity. They speak to what we, as New Zealanders, love most – from snowcovered Alpine slopes to bubbling thermal mud pools, from towering native trees to our unique plant and bird life. This is still what draws people to New Zealand today – a life lived out of doors, full of natural beauty.

6

Back in the pioneering poster days, it was no mean feat to lure people to the bottom of the world; it took the best part of six weeks travel by sea to reach these shores. But such was the power of these images that people did indeed come – they came as tourists, as immigrants and in some cases as refugees from the gathering storm clouds of war in Europe. These images of a green, unspoilt and youthful country, far away from the conflicts of the old world, represented the promise of a new life. I also think of the many Kiwis who would have happened upon these images whilst overseas – posters which were perhaps hanging in some travel agent’s office in London, or on an ocean liner sailing the Atlantic. Looking at these posters, I can imagine they would have felt that same gentle pull of the familiar that I still feel, that sense of belonging to a place that will forever be ‘Home’. I am so glad this art has been brought together in this beautiful book. I know a lot of people will get enormous pleasure from rediscovering how the world saw us and how we saw ourselves.

Fran Walsh Writer Miramar, Wellington

7

Contents

10 Introduction 12 Essays 98 Scenic Playground 190 Thermal Wonderland 202 Unique Maoriland 240 Sportsman’s Paradise 292 Planes, Trains and Automobiles (and Ships) 350 Celebrations and Exhibitions 364 Pastoral Paradise 382 Essay Endnotes 390 Image References 404 Acknowledgements

8

9

Introduction This book is brought to you by three people seduced by the publicity used to promote New Zealand until about 1960 – what we’ve called the art of early New Zealand tourism. This was a pivotal period in the history of New Zealand publicity, creating not only a tourism marketing proposition but a sense of national identity as well. Beyond this time, with television and colour photography becoming advertising realities, the print-based publicity landscape would never be the same again. Our key goal is to celebrate a diverse body of tourism publicity and its associated artwork. We have also, with the help of a number of talented authors, sought to complete a collection of essays to increase the body of tourism publicity research. Tourism publicity is generally regarded as ‘ephemera’, an unsatisfactory word for published material other than books. It conveys impermanence – the ephemeral – and speaks of things generally produced for a reason external to their own existence (to advertise or sell something) and implied to lack literary or artistic value. For this reason, the survival of ephemera reflects serendipity or someone’s exceptional foresight in being seduced by its visual impact or message. Survival of material for this book – over 50 to 125 years, through wars, Depression and much more – is even more remarkable. To create enticing images in an age before colour photography and automated large-scale printing the work needed to be beautiful, carefully crafted and clever. Ground-breaking artists – like Leonard Mitchell and Marcus King – simply, it seems, had an eye for it: an eye for the effective use of colour and composition to create timeless representations of the best of New Zealand. As with most successes, however, the environment was also ripe. While posters and other publicity were becoming more widespread in the 1900s, the ‘art of the street’ would have surely impressed. There was a marked shift in style from typography to eye-catching graphic work. Transportation, including international travel, was also on the rise – itself leading to reciprocal display arrangements abroad. Outdoor advertising was heralded as beautifying railways stations and the increasingly hoarding-laden landscape. New Zealanders, an enthusiastic marketing force, also

10

addressed envelopes to friends and distant relatives with decorative ‘Cinderella’ poster stamps. Publicising New Zealand was ‘in’. Out of such developments came myriad stories, such as President Roosevelt gifting 10 elk to enhance ‘The Sportsman’s Paradise’ in 1905, alongside the Tourist Department’s own possum importation. Ironically, by 1953 the Tourist Department’s Publicity Division, then providing services across government, was designing posters encouraging the possum’s destruction. You will also read of a savvy publicity workforce impressively focused on value-for-money and innovative ways to sell the dream. This includes the Tourist Department first mentioning ‘poster’ in 1915, at about the same time the Railways Department established a standalone Advertising Branch, having not previously discussed publicity in its reports. Amongst these and other stories are landmark events in New Zealand’s art, design and social history. Let’s come back to the fact that these artworks, with lasting historical significance, were designed only for momentary appreciation. The imagery never possessed high art’s aspiration to outlive its own time, yet it does, often with wider public appeal than high art itself. Having looked time and time again at the representations – many stripped back to a small number of colours and lines – we still marvel at how warm, intense feelings can emerge from such simplicity. If you think it looks easy, give it a try. In this denuded technique, it is easy to see the conception of pop art (coming decades later) and many facets of modern advertising. We also love the textures of the papers and inks, and the high craft embodied in the images, many produced using artisan techniques now endangered such as stone lithography and silk-screen printing. The contrast between the work of contemporary graphic designers and that of the pioneers is immense. Our tap of a key meant, for them, the creation of a font, an original painting (perhaps the third iteration), a hand-cut stencil or a careful drawing with greasy ink on a lithographic stone. Thanks for paying your tribute to the art of early tourism, a body of work pivotal in developing New Zealand’s tourism industry and national identity. We hope you enjoy this book as much as we’ve loved creating it.

11

essayS

12

13

Editor’s Note Peter Alsop This book contains a remarkable collection of art – the art of early tourism – that has not until now been fully recognised. It is a body of work that articulated a national identity to promote locally and internationally, breaking away from painted styles imported during colonisation. As was the case internationally, poster art also blazed the trail for various art movements and artistic production techniques. Even today – decades after many New Zealanders were introduced to art through posters in the ‘gallery of the street’ – the images still arrest and impress.

Margaret McClure, a public historian well known for The Wonder Country, a definitive history of New Zealand tourism;

The question of how to do literary justice to the imagery in this book was one that occupied my mind for a couple of years. That gestation included two attempts to write a single super-essay – one by myself and another by Greg Watson – though neither of us could get it convincingly across the finish line. Those two attempts, however, paved the way to the essay collection ahead.

Mark Derby, who works at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and has a deep knowledge of Māori history, including a research interest in the interface between the arts and Māori culture;

Like many good ideas, in retrospect a collection seems the obvious choice, allowing writers to dissect a broad topic, share the load and deepen understanding through specialisation, not to mention a team being greater than the sum of individual parts. Yet it only came as an idea, while dog walking, about six months before the book’s completion (two years after starting the book). The subsequent tight timeframe imposed on the authors, on top of day jobs and other projects, is a cipher for the extent of appreciation owed to them. Fortunately, like so much about this book, the authorship team was a dream. Whether from cold calls, tip-offs or coming forward off the research grapevine, a stunning group of people have worked seamlessly to produce a fascinating body of work. They have given generously of their time and experience to broaden research on a very deserving topic, and done this in an accessible and engaging way. As a first-time editor with a great team, I feel a bit like Mark Knopfler introducing Dire Straits or, perhaps more pertinently, Alan Collins (former Art Director and Manager at the National Publicity Studio) introducing his rock stars to a visiting dignitary, like poster artists Marcus King and Howard Mallitte, and pioneer silkscreener Eric de Lacy. The essay team, to whom I am greatly indebted and proud to introduce, is as follows:

16

Richard Wolfe, an accomplished art historian and prodigious writer on New Zealand’s social history, including most recently In the Post, a history of New Zealand stamps; David Pollack, a highly regarded American vintage poster dealer (www.dpvintageposters.com) and past President of the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association;

Lee Davidson, a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington with a specialist focus on tourism, leisure and cultural heritage, particularly the significance of mountains; Gail Ross, an art historian who focuses on 20th-century New Zealand printmakers and ephemera, and the interface between the commercial and fine arts; Warren Feeney, a widely respected art historian and current Head of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington; Barry Hancox, a collector and historian of 19th-century New Zealand photography, editor of The NZ Ephemerist magazine and owner of Christchurch’s long-established Smith’s Bookshop; and Nicholas D. Lowry, President and Director of the Vintage Poster Department of New York’s Swann Auction Galleries, a 70-year-old auction house specialising in works on paper. The genesis of the book goes back many years. At its most fundamental level, the impetus for it reflects a deep love of New Zealand and its scenic splendour. The more specific story, though, starts in Paris in 1996 when I bought a Roy Lichtenstein coffee-table book. I remember it well, thinking $200 was a ridiculous price for a book but following my intuition nonetheless (my dog chewing the spine is similarly memorable). About two years later I stood before some large Lichtenstein paintings in Cologne, awed by their scale, cleanness and impact, notwithstanding their simplistic comic appearance. It was then I was badly bitten by a pop art bug.

Back in New Zealand these wider experiences percolated away. In 2002 I produced a series of paintings, Icons of NZ ID, as my celebration of some iconic New Zealand features and brands. Immersed in old black and white photos used as backgrounds, I revelled in the glory of our past and fantasised about walking the streets in a time before my own, particularly in the Art Deco and mid-century periods. From here it was only a small step to tourism posters – further fuelled by Hamish Thompson’s wonderful Paste Up poster book (2003) – and a further small step to my current addiction to collecting tourism publicity. With an obsession like this inevitably come some heroes. Yet within this body of work are people hardly known, people who pioneered important artistic developments, and people who made a significant contribution to New Zealand’s identity and economic development. While blinkered by my own adoration, it was nevertheless clear that an appropriate degree of recognition for these heroes was missing and deserved. And so the labour of love called Selling the Dream was born. Gary Stewart, a highly talented graphic and book designer, was first to come on board, thanks to a chance chat in the wings of a local Miramar project. Dave Bamford, an experienced tourism consultant and fellow collector, came along much later, and played much harder to get. Once on board, however, he loved telling the tale of how others besides spiders and silverfish could now enjoy his collection. Together we have been a terrific team. Against this backdrop of passion and hard work, you may appreciate the excitement, a few weeks out from completing the book, of spending time with Alan Collins and one of Marcus King’s silk-screeners, Gerald Phillips from the National Publicity Studio. These are guys who worked daily with my heroes and shook their hands. To give them their own credit, they also played critical roles in bringing the designs of poster artists to life. Alan, for example, brought back to New Zealand a number of progressive techniques from his London design experience, surprising boss George Bridgman with his innovation and efficiency. Both Alan and Gerald relayed charming stories of the Studio as a progressive, innovative, fun and inspiring place to work. Their stories included Howard Mallitte’s ‘jump to it’ naval affinity, thanks to his having worked on a minesweeper (making the splendour of his ‘Coastal Shipping’ poster, p. 374–375, better understood); Marcus King’s diverse artistic

talent and propensity to enjoy his own cup of tea away from the tearoom (he was a ‘charming, short, old-fashioned, very significant man’); and accounts of Marcus’s friend Eric de Lacy who trained Gerald and, amongst other achievements, impressed Marcus with his very first painting, signed as an ‘after Marcus King’ copy. These connections all started to feel a bit uncanny when I’ve long adored an Eric de Lacy painting in my lounge without knowing his poster production pedigree. Amongst these and other stories about life at the Studio, I was left in no doubt that behind every great artist was a great craftsman who brought a poster to life. Eugene Collett’s flower poster (p. 129) required Gerald to hand-cut 19 intricate stencils – what he described as his crowning glory that resulted in a small pay rise, as well as a merit award in a South American international poster exhibition. More impressive, this was a poster design (pre-production) that sat around the Studio for a couple of years, in the too-hard basket according to Eric de Lacy and the Government Print Office who were also offered the job. I can only imagine similarly fascinating stories from lithographers who laid earlier poster production foundations. There are many other people deserving of thanks for supporting this book, such as through gifting images, sharing ideas, providing leads or commenting on drafts (please see the acknowledgements at the back). The support is greatly appreciated. I am particularly grateful to Barbara Lyon at the Alexander Turnbull Library for providing valuable input throughout the project. I am also grateful to Richard Wolfe for polishing the short introductions to each chapter, and to Jane Parkin for her final editing finesse. Like many research projects, however, the work is never really complete. Histories of both the National Publicity Studio and Railways Studios would be national assets and need to be properly captured (and soon, given aging memories). The stories of the people behind the images also wait to be better told through deeper biographical work. We look forward to encouraging and supporting the people who might further research these areas. Collectively, I hope the written material of this book – in one sense the substance – brings you as much enjoyment as the richness of incredible imagery alongside it. I am confident you will be left in no doubt that the art of early tourism was highly significant in New Zealand’s history and deeply important to who we are as New Zealanders today.

17

110

111

144

145

166

167

212

213

264

265