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Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Why Abstract Art Is Ideal to Hang in The Home | New Zealand Fine Prints
Buying Art for Your First Home | New Zealand Fine Prints
Buying Art for Your First Home? Here’s How to Start!
Determine a few key elements
The first thing that’s good to do when buying art for your first home is to have a few design elements in mind that can be used as a starting point. There are lots of things you can learn about your own art taste (even if you thought you didn’t have any!) throughout the process of moving into your home—and you can use that when buying art! For example, look at the furniture you’ve already bought, are there any similar features between each piece? Do they all look somewhat bohemian, or are they bold and geometric? Did you lean towards a colour scheme? Even though you don’t want to feel bound to a style or colour palette when choosing art, knowing these elements that are already in your home can help you determine if you are a statement person, or whether you need an element of calm in your home. It can also help establish what’s missing, and what may be necessary to bring balance to your space in any capacity.Do some research into artists
Art is always much easier to look at and understand when you know a bit of background about the artist, and on the flip side, you’ll find art more enjoyable if it’s by an artist you’ve researched and know a bit about. Do a google search of local artists from your area, or even just New Zealand Artists in general, and you may find a few artists that resonate with you, and whose art you connect with more as a result.Buy art that makes you feel something
Art doesn’t always have to make you happy, doesn’t always have to fit in with the room décor, and doesn’t have to be exactly what you were searching for! These are all important things to remember, to help you browse art with a clear head, and focus more on the way you react to each piece—whether positive or negative. You might find a piece of art that feels challenging gives you a stronger feeling than one that simply ticks all the boxes. You may find that you keep coming back to a piece of art, or thinking about it long after you’ve gone home. If this is the case and you can identify that connection, chances are you are going to have a much more interesting time looking at that piece of art every day. Choose the piece of art that really makes you think.Start with Art Prints and Photographs
If it's your first home, chances are you’re going to have a lot of time to build your collection of expensive art. For the time being, you’re just going to want to have a home that’s full of exciting elements and accessories. A house with art always feels more like a home, but you don’t have to rush into buying original pieces of art right from the get-go, and it may not fit well with your budget either. A great solution is to buy a good selection of quality photography or art prints. You can buy art prints from almost any New Zealand or international artist, and if you investigate photography, you’ll find a whole other world of art altogether. There’s no way this option is going to limit your selection in the slightest. Instead, art prints give you the freedom to choose your art at a more affordable level. The unique paper and framing methods used in a good quality art print also mean you don’t need to compromise on quality. You can even decide on Limited-Edition Art Prints for your own unique piece.Quality Art from New Zealand Fine Prints
For good quality art prints at affordable prices, look no further New Zealand Fine Prints. We offer a huge range of local and international art prints perfect for any New Zealand home. Plus, we offer a range of framing options, and we can ship our framed prints NZ-wide. Browse our collection and find your perfect prints today!Xmas Mailing Dates NZ 2019
Christmas day in 2019 falls on a Wednesday. This is pretty much ideal for delivering last minute Xmas gifts as online retailers like New Zealand Fine Prints can overnight orders made over that last weekend before Xmas day and they will still be delivered to NZ addresses on time.
So this year New Zealand Fine Prints' cut off date for NZ wide delivery by Xmas day is Monday 23rd December, for delivery to a rural address (RD) please order by Friday 20 Dec.
Official mailing dates are below, these apply to our standard delivery service. There may be other delivery options available outside of our standard service/pricing so if you think you are running out of time please call us on 0800 800 278 in the lead up to Xmas, we should be able to work something out for you.
We need to have your orders for prints being delivered as gifts for Xmas by 3pm Friday 20th December 2019
Deadline for next day courier delivery via CourierPost with guaranteed delivery for Xmas day is 3pm Monday 23rd December 2019
Framed Prints - please order 10 working days before these mailing dates to ensure we can deliver by Christmas.
NZ Prints also deliver gift vouchers by mail to NZ addresses if ordered by 23rd December - and email gift vouchers are even being purchased on Xmas day itself and delivered instantly around the world. Now that is last second Christmas shopping!
As we get closer to Xmas we will update any delays or known issues with Xmas delivery on our shipping & delivery page.
So this year New Zealand Fine Prints' cut off date for NZ wide delivery by Xmas day is Monday 23rd December, for delivery to a rural address (RD) please order by Friday 20 Dec.
Official mailing dates are below, these apply to our standard delivery service. There may be other delivery options available outside of our standard service/pricing so if you think you are running out of time please call us on 0800 800 278 in the lead up to Xmas, we should be able to work something out for you.
NZ Fine Prints Christmas Mailing Dates for 2019 are as follows:
Delivery worldwide at our standard rate of just $NZ15 (for any number of prints):Australia
Please order your gifts by Wednesday 4th December 2019
UK & Europe, East Asia, North America & South Pacific
Please order your gifts by Monday 2 December 2019Rest of World
Order gifts for Xmas delivery by Friday 27th November 2019Xmas Delivery to NZ Addresses
Standard Delivery for $NZ6 (for any number of prints)We need to have your orders for prints being delivered as gifts for Xmas by 3pm Friday 20th December 2019
Deadline for next day courier delivery via CourierPost with guaranteed delivery for Xmas day is 3pm Monday 23rd December 2019
Framed Prints - please order 10 working days before these mailing dates to ensure we can deliver by Christmas.
Gift Vouchers
NZ Prints also deliver gift vouchers by mail to NZ addresses if ordered by 23rd December - and email gift vouchers are even being purchased on Xmas day itself and delivered instantly around the world. Now that is last second Christmas shopping!
Shipping & Delivery Updates
As we get closer to Xmas we will update any delays or known issues with Xmas delivery on our shipping & delivery page.
Vintage Map Series - "Tourist Map of NZ" in stock today
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| Vintage Tourist Map of NZ |
Re-published today is the splendid mid-century "Tourist Map of New Zealand" with a scale of 34 miles to an inch.
Truly delightful as the cities and towns are not shown in sizes relative to their commercial importance but from the traveller's interest! So much detail to discover, with insets covering "Rotorua Tourist Routes", "The Taupo Fisheries", "Lake Wanaka and Vicinity" and "Alpine Regions in the vicinity of Mt Cook".
Arranged and drawn at the Headquarters of the Lands & Survey Department, Wellington New Zealand - for the NZ Government Tourism Department, CWM Royel delt 1946 [drawn by CWM Royel].
Particularly lovely are the four different kowhaiwhai borders, a kowhai Ngutukaka pattern along the bottom (the Pointed Flower of the Red Kowhai), on the left hand side "A well known East Coast and Rotorua Design - a conventionalised Patiki or Flat-Fish". At the top is the "Ngaru Moana portraying the Rolling Waves of the Sea" and on the right hand side the "Arawa version of the Mangopare (Hammerhead Shark).
Printed directly onto canvas with quality wooden hangers at top and bottom, vintage NZ wall art that is ready to hang out of the box in the classic wall chart style. Available now, $NZ 119.95 - delivered NZ wide for $NZ6, around the world for $NZ15.
Posters from 1980s NZ
Posters were important when I was growing up. I hope they still are for today's kids. We are gradually building up a good collection of educational (eg science) posters over in our kids collection. There wasn't the large supply of commercial artwork promoting brands like today, but there were other rich sources for cheap posters for kids in pre-Rogernomics NZ.
Talented kiwi designers found themselves a niche churning out resources for the government departments that ran so many parts of the economy back in those days.
In Nelson we had the entomology division of the DSIR (the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) based at the Cawthron Insitute and both they and the Forest Service had many posters available for education use. You would just go to the front counter and ask what they had.
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Conservation New Zealand (Organization). Hall, Ken,
fl 1980s :Conservation Week;
Nature's place in town, 1-9 August 1981
Ref: Eph-D-ENVIRONMENT-1981-02. Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22874794
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In Nelson we had the entomology division of the DSIR (the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) based at the Cawthron Insitute and both they and the Forest Service had many posters available for education use. You would just go to the front counter and ask what they had.
There were posters for Conservation Week each year, including the classic 1981 "Nature's Place in Town" pictured at left.
There were also updates to 1930s era vintage posters for the photographic age that show the enduring themes from how NZ was marketed abroad. See the Maurice Poulton design "New Zealand: For the World's Best Sport" modernised to the photographically based "New Zealand: The Angler's Paradise" but retaining the same message and content.
Posters for women's lib (Girls can do Anything!) adorned the classroom, but not this blog as Crown copyright holds sway over the image still!
There were also updates to 1930s era vintage posters for the photographic age that show the enduring themes from how NZ was marketed abroad. See the Maurice Poulton design "New Zealand: For the World's Best Sport" modernised to the photographically based "New Zealand: The Angler's Paradise" but retaining the same message and content.
| Pictorial Publications Ltd :New Zealand, "the angler's paradise". Ref: Eph-E-TOURISM-1960s-02. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23088078 |
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| 1930s Vintage NZ Tourism Poster |
For older teens the arthouse cinema at the Bishop Suter Art Gallery was a happy hunting ground for movie posters, and we haunted the local record shops for music posters. These were reproductions of touring posters and posters promoting the band.
New Zealand Illustrated by E. Wakefield
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| Cover of New Zealand Illustrated |
New Zealand Illustrated was issued in 1890, though the title page is dated 1889, and was thus the second major chromolithographic book to be printed in New Zealand (the first was Featon's Art Album of New Zealand Flora, 1889). The edition size is not known, though the book was sold at only one guinea a copy, which would seem to indicate a large printing: the book is today very scarce in its complete form. It was published by the well-known and important firm of A . D. Willis, Wanganui, which had been established by a printer who later extended his business by buying out the bookselling and stationery business of W. Hutchison.
Archibald Duddington Willis was born in England in 1842 and arrived in New Zealand in 1857. Trained as a commercial printer, his first business venture in New Zealand was the founding of the Hawkes Bay Herald immediately after his arrival. After the discovery of gold, he left to try his luck on the diggings, but had little success. He moved to Wanganui in 1867, where, in partnership with the Hon. J. Ballance he managed the Wanganui Herald.
In public life, A. D. Willis became a member of the Borough Council, some-time Chairman of the Harbour Board, and was Member for Wanganui in the House of Representatives from 1893-1896.
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| Potts, William, 1859-1947. Potts, William 1859-1947 : City of Wellington, N.Z. 1885. W. Potts, del. Wanganui; A.D. Willis [1885].. Ref: C-060-005. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23224811 |
The firm of A. D. Willis specialised in chromolithographic printing, particularly Christmas cards, booklets, and programmes, though it also had the distinction of being the only manufacturer of playing cards in the Southern Hemisphere. At the 1885 Wellington Industrial Exhibition A. D. Willis received the first prize and Silver Medal for chromolithographic printing. Dr T. M. Hocken, visiting Wanganui in April 1889 in connection with the organising of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, made a point of calling to see the printery, and "expressed himself both surprised and pleased . . . at the perfection of Mr Willis' plant and apparatus for lithographic printing." This may have been at the time New Zealand Illustrated was in production.
The man whose name is always associated with Willis, William Potts, was an English lithographer whom Willis brought to New Zealand about 1881, and who remained in his employ for almost twenty years. Known to his fellow workers as "Billy" Potts, he was a quiet and reserved bachelor who lived in a succession of lodgings, and took no part in community affairs. Some of the lithographic stones on which Potts worked for New Zealand Illustrated eventually became paving stones in his employer's garden. Potts lithographed one painting and the photographs of several artists for the views in New Zealand Illustrated, and brief biographical notes on these artists are given below.
The large folding plate of the Tarawera Eruption was taken from a painting by Charles Blomfield, who was a friend of A. D . Willis. Blomfield (1848-1926) had arrived in New Zealand in 1863. A self-taught artist, he painted directly from nature, but frequently made copies of his own work, and maintained himself as a professional painter by selling his works to tourists as souvenirs. Blomfield exhibited frequently throughout New Zealand, and also overseas: at the 1887 Indian and Colonial Exhibition in London he had the distinction of having every picture he entered sold.
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| Potts, William, 1859-1947. Willis, Archibald Duddington (Firm) :White Terrace, Rotomahana, N.Z. W. Potts lith; C. Spencer, photo. Wanganui; A.D. Willis [1889]. Ref: B-080-015-a. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23197732 |
Samuel Carnell, b.1832, trained as a mechanic in a lace factory, but turned his attention to photography. He came to Auckland in 1862, and worked for Crombie and Webster, photographers. Tempted by the goldfields, he set up small photographic businesses in Hokitika and in Nelson, where he remained only six months before returning to Auckland, which he left for Napier in 1869. His business there prospered, and he settled and became active in community affairs until his retirement in 1905. He was the Member for Napier in the House of Representatives from 1893-1896, and was Mayor of Napier in 1904.
Wrigglesworth and Binns was begun in 1863 by J. D. Wrigglesworth, who took in F. C. Binns as partner in 1874. Their photographic business specialised in portraiture, and they patented their own method of photo finishing. Two First Awards for Photography were won by the firm in 1879 at the Sydney Exhibition and 1881 in Melbourne, and at the 1885 New Zealand Exhibition in Wellington they won the only award made for portraiture.
William Andrews Collis was born in Suva in 1853, and was brought as an infant to Auckland. Educated at the Wesley College, he moved with his family to New Plymouth in 1872, and three years later set up in business as a photographer. Within seven years he had built his own studios, which specialised in portraiture and landscape photography.
William Tyree was also a photographer, who established his business in Nelson in 1878. His photographic collection which is a most valuable record of the development of Nelson city and province, is now in the Alexander Turnbull Library.
James Ring, a Londoner, had trained as an artist and had spent some time in Boston before coming to New Zealand in 1879. He had hoped to settle in Wellington, but ill-health drove him to Greymouth, where he established a successful photographic business in 1880.
John Robert Hanna was an Irish photographer who arrived in New Zealand in 1867. He began in the employ of R. H. Bartlett of Auckland, but soon established the firm of Hemus and Hanna, of which he was manager. This partnership was dissolved in 1885, and Hanna took over the business of Crombie. He won several prizes for photography in Wellington and London.
New Zealand Illustrated was reproduced in facsimile in an edition of 1000 copies by the Salem Publishing Company, Wellington, in 1967 and several plates were also reproduced by Avon Fine Prints during the 1970s so it can sometimes be hard to tell if a second hand print at auction is a genuine antique print from 1890 or a later reproduction.
Artist Submissions
Please note this article is regarding artists submitting reproduction prints of their paintings to NZ Fine Prints, not multiple originals (editions) which are not copies of another artwork. We generally accept submissions of original prints by New Zealand artists as a matter of course. Stocking every NZ print available had been our raison d'être since 1966.
One of the best and worst parts of my job is dealing with artist submissions. The thrill of new work that is exactly the kind of prints that our customers are looking for, or prints that we believe should be available to buy even if they may not have the greatest level of sales tempered by the need to gently turn down artists whose work may not work for us. This is really hard to do but unless we started charging to list prints for sale we have to be sure that a print is economically viable for us to catalogue and promote a new title for sale.
I have written before about how "you should make prints of your paintings" from a studio visitor turning down the opportunity to buy one of your paintings does not validate the notion that there is a market for your work, your visitor may just be being polite!
The advent of digital (or giclee) printing means that a small print run is commercially viable, however the high unit cost means the retail price has to be relatively high for what is still a reproduction of another artwork rather than an original print. This means artists envision selling their prints as "limited edition", signing and numbering each print partly to justify the high purchase price. However this limits the appeal of the print unless it is very high quality, in a small edition size and in general a big print. We've discussed the different kinds of limited editions and our views on this in an earlier post here
Giclee does not have to mean a price over $NZ100. Many commercial art print publishers print nearly all of their open edition reproductions this way, reserving offset printing only for the top selling images from the most popular artists. These are the prints we sell for $NZ49.95 - $NZ79.95, up to 600 x 800mm image sizes, they use lightfast inks and acid free paper. They can do this because they are paying the artists (or galleries, artist estates, museums etc) a royalty on each print rather than the artist taking the full wholesale price. A royalty payment is a bit less than an artist will receive if they are taking the risk on themselves by self-publishing (printing and distributing their own prints to retailers like New Zealand Fine Prints directly). However with the cost of digital printers continuing to fall we have recently listed for sale the prints of artist Sarah Molloy, her Wellington scenes are printed digitally and she receives the full wholesale price for her work rather than a royalty but her prints can still retail at a very saleable $59.95 price point.
Subject wise we are looking for recognisably New Zealand content. Prints of places people care about, observations of kiwi life that resonate with us, that reinforce the multifaceted but interlocking identities of modern NZ society. Kiwiana is morphing into something beyond just a celebration of the icons of Pakeha consumerism to a broader categorisation of unpretentious, accessible decoration with a kiwi flavour. For instance this new print from Greg Straight, it's a slice of contemporary kiwi life more than a nostalgic view of a less culturally inclusive past.
Obviously well-known artists are good bets as well, we still believe in our role in making good quality prints available at reasonable prices of New Zealander's favourite paintings, prints for people who like the art or artist but are not considering purchasing the original artwork for it may be locked away in a gallery or requiring an investment level of money to acquire it.
One of the best and worst parts of my job is dealing with artist submissions. The thrill of new work that is exactly the kind of prints that our customers are looking for, or prints that we believe should be available to buy even if they may not have the greatest level of sales tempered by the need to gently turn down artists whose work may not work for us. This is really hard to do but unless we started charging to list prints for sale we have to be sure that a print is economically viable for us to catalogue and promote a new title for sale.
I have written before about how "you should make prints of your paintings" from a studio visitor turning down the opportunity to buy one of your paintings does not validate the notion that there is a market for your work, your visitor may just be being polite!
Type of print (printing method) is an important consideration
Before I touch on the content or theme of your artworks there is the issue of what sort of prints you are planning to publish.The advent of digital (or giclee) printing means that a small print run is commercially viable, however the high unit cost means the retail price has to be relatively high for what is still a reproduction of another artwork rather than an original print. This means artists envision selling their prints as "limited edition", signing and numbering each print partly to justify the high purchase price. However this limits the appeal of the print unless it is very high quality, in a small edition size and in general a big print. We've discussed the different kinds of limited editions and our views on this in an earlier post here
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| Frederick St Cafe by Wellington artist Sarah Molloy |
Subjects & Themes
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| Tiki Tour Takeaways by Greg Straight |
Obviously well-known artists are good bets as well, we still believe in our role in making good quality prints available at reasonable prices of New Zealander's favourite paintings, prints for people who like the art or artist but are not considering purchasing the original artwork for it may be locked away in a gallery or requiring an investment level of money to acquire it.
2018 NZ Fine Prints Catalogue coming out this week
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| Glimpse of NZ Fine Prints 2018 catalogue - (artists "A"...) |
We already have to print enough catalogues to last a couple of years (we send them out to both our very large mailing list (mail order is still a great channel for us) and include one with every purchase).
Deciding which artworks to include is a huge exercise.
Our paper catalogues don't have to be the sourcebook for every print, poster and limited edition print available from a NZ artist these days - this is the job of our online catalogue at prints.co.nz. However a physical catalogue is a great showcase to let you all know about new prints and artists who have published/created prints recently as well as an easy way to show what we do for customers who are hearing about us for the first time.
Putting together a new catalogue is not easy production wise, we have to get all the details of every print right as well as to try not to include too many editions that will sell out while the catalogue is current. That's before we wrangle hundreds of images into order without mixing them up, or, in one memorable case - printing a Doris Lusk painting upside down without noticing!
It also seems that as soon as the catalogues come back from the printers our catalogue manager gets a tonne of wondrous submissions of new work that we wished we could have included!
Our catalogue is now signed off and should be printed by the end of this week, it's a heady mix of fresh ink in the office when the pile of boxes are delivered and so exciting for us when the first sales of never before seen prints start coming in.
You can download your own (7mb) final draft of the NZ Fine Prints 2018 catalogue here - and look out for the paper version in a letterbox near you soon!
We worried NZ might run out of prints to publish (back in 1977!!)
To mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of NZ Fine Prints we have been delving into our company archive throughout 2016. We unearthed this gem of an article where one of the founders of our gallery (then trading as Avon Fine Prints) was found to be musing on the imminent demise of the business - because we would soon run out of suitable New Zealand prints to publish! Forty years later we are still managing to find new prints for our customers to buy, and the trend to a greater choice seems to be accelerating with more prints being published each succeeding year than ever before! Don was great at generating publicity and the notion that success was spelling the end of a business should perhaps be seen in this light...
A twinge of regret now, but… Success spells the end of a business
Christchurch Star, November 19 1977, p16
A business which folds after a decade might not represent success to some. But when Don Ellis set up Avon Fine Prints Ltd in Christchurch he knew it was only a matter of time until the business destroyed itself.
So the demise comes as no surprise, but it still brings a twinge of regret.
In its wake lie at least 200 different limited editions of prints of some of the finest historical paintings in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. More than 20 of these editions have sold out, some with spectacular increase in value. Another 60 or 70 editions have only between 10 and 200 prints to sell. (An edition usually comprises between 750 and 1000 prints.)
Once they’re gone, so virtually is Avon Fine Prints.
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| Print publisher Don Ellis in 1977 |
“Avon prints are not being completely phased out. New issues will possibly be made at the rate of one or two a year, and for a short time the paper prints will be made available to collectors,” says Mr Ellis. “It is also likely that another limited edition book or two will appear over the Avon imprint - but most of the Avon group’s activities these days are centred in the Capper Press, with its reprint books and New Zealand art prints; in Avon Picture Mouldings; in the educational division with its imported educational prints; and in Campbell Grant, best known for The Silver Shop.”
Most of the paintings printed by Avon Prints have been out of copyright - the work of very early New Zealand and Pacific artists. If copyright is still functioning, it is usually negotiable, or royalty arrangements can be reached.
At present Mr Ellis is trying to negotiate with a group of New Zealand artists whose work embraces the 1920s and 1930s. Largely, Mr Ellis is guided by his own preference for paintings, although there is no foolproof way of knowing which works will win public approval as prints.
Some are much more popular than others - for no apparent reason, he says. “All the publisher can do is to feel for his market, have a good idea what he thinks should be done, ask other artists, critics, gallery directors for their opinions, distill all the information and come to a decision.”
Now that the early print business has come to an end, Mr Ellis looks forward to spending more time working with Capper Press, a business which specialises in the reprinting of old books - particularly those which are extremely specialised. Among reprints to date are Freda du Faur’s book Conquest of Mt Cook, W.S. Green’s The High Alps of New Zealand, Sir Henry Brett’s White Wings, T.H. Pott’s Out in the Open, and numerous others. All these have a limited demand, but are fascinating in their own right, Says Mr Ellis. Among those he has personally found most entertaining and interesting are a couple on herbalists and doctors, and one called Colonists’ Guide: an Encyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, a book which includes advice on how to cook, how to grow vegetables, and generally, how to stay alive.
Many of the books which are reprinted are chanced upon or brought to light by members of the public; others are selected by the firm. Without a reprint many of them would either disintegrate through old age, or else perhaps be lost in archives.
Begun as a hobby, Avon Fine Prints is the only company of its kind in the world devoted wholly to the publication of historical maps, prints and charts in limited editions. Until this month the prints were available unframed, but now sales of framed prints only will be made.
Why the change? Says Mr Ellis: “The selection and publication of limited edition prints is an intensely personal choice; there are very few historical paintings left to do, and the prints done cannot, of course, be reprinted, so that this side of the business is coming to a natural close.” The balance of the limited edition print stocks are to be transferred to the wholesale and retail framing division of the Avon group of companies, the Picture Shop, in Hereford Street.
When Mr Ellis began the business, people generally had no idea what a print was, he says. Nor did they possess much knowledge or appreciation of New Zealand’s early works of art “People certainly wouldn’t entertain New Zealand prints at that time so we had to have a sales aid, and that in our case was the limited edition print. “We came in on a rise of historical interest in New Zealand - and it has been this which has sustained the interest in the prints. “People suddenly became interested in their town or environment and bought a print of their area. The set of four views Auckland 1852 by P.J. Hogan is one of the best known groups. “The prints helped people to become interested in their own indigenous New Zealand art, and we would like to think that what we’ve done has helped to further stimulate their interest.”
People buying the early limited editions did so in the knowledge that once the edition was sold out, there were no more available. It was a sought-after commodity. “The problem which occurs, however, is that at some time you must run out of suitable paintings from which to take prints.” And with this prospect looming, Mr Ellis started Capper Press about five years ago.
Mr Ellis’s interest in art stems from his childhood. As a young man he built up quite a collection of early New Zealand paintings and eventually decided to start his own business in prints. The Auckland series was one of the first printed and “it went like a rocket”, says Mr Ellis.
Consequently, the business was soon on a firm footing, and today can claim credit for the publication of at least 200 different prints.
Maps as art in your home - the full interview
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| Maps as art in your home feature in "Weekend" |
Below is the full transcript of the interview which has bit more detail than the edited version that appeared in the magazine. We have also illustrated this interview with a couple of the maps Antony mentions and of course linked to the actual maps that are for sale in our online catalogue.
SD How long has your business been going for? Can you give me a brief history....
AE NZ Fine Prints have been NZ's specialist art print retailer since 1966, it's our 50th birthday this year! Back in the 1960s New Zealanders were becoming much more aware of our unique visual culture and naturally began looking to our own artists to decorate their homes and offices. In 1969 it was the bicentenary of Cook's rediscovery of New Zealand, we published a large folio focussed on Cook's artists in the Pacific so we were publishing historical maps and charts almost right from the beginning.
Until the earthquakes NZ Fine Prints were in characterful 1880s era double brick warehouses in Hereford St in central Christchurch, we spent over $100k trying to keep our much loved buildings together after the first quakes but this was a hopeless task after February. Our gallery was behind the cordon and under the tilting Grand Chancellor hotel so it was a couple of months before we were given just six hours to load all our prints into trucks and shipping containers. After a mammoth job of sorting everything we then transferred all our prints to our new stockroom in Cashmere. We would have gone straight back into the CBD but the government confiscated our land for the green frame and we now probably won't ever return to the central city as the internet is much more important than foot traffic for a nationally focussed business like ours and post-quakes Cashmere has become a very lively and convivial part of town to work in!
SD What percentage of your business is online/remote sales vs instore sales?
AE Because we'd always used mail order catalogues to reach customers outside of Christchurch the shift to online retail back in 1999 was an easy step, we now have hundreds of visitors to prints.co.nz each week and pretty much only see thrifty Christchurch customers who would like to save $6 on delivery in store. With 80,000 prints on shelves or framed in boxes for shipping it is not a very exciting retail experience if someone just wants to browse!
Our largest markets are Auckland and Wellington followed by kiwis living overseas with a significant growth in Christchurch due to the rebuild - but only in the last 18 months as people nearly always leave buying new artworks til absolutely everything else in the home or office is finished.
SD What proportion of your print sales are maps? Has this changed over the years?
AE Maps are what's known as an "evergreen" product, consistently making up around 5% of the NZ print market year in year out with periodic spikes in interest. Before the most recent upsurge in maps' popularity sales last peaked during the America's Cup when it was held in NZ which created an interest in all things nautical. We always have a uptick in sales around Christmas but the big secret for map retailers is the phenomenal sales coming up to Father's Day each year, it's amazing how common your Dad's unique interest in old maps is!
SD What are your top selling maps? Has this changed ?
AE A large clear wall poster of New Zealand is a completely practical purchase in an office or school
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| NZ Map (Large Poster Version) |
Maps are the super dependable gift, we have customers buying maps for the work leaving gifts nearly every day, for instance someone heading overseas after a stint at the NZ branch office. Also as soon as you get a lease on the flat in London Mum & Dad send a NZ map to remind you of home!
The great thing from a business point of view is that guys who aren't "into art" at all are ok with maps. Maps are sometimes the only decoration a traditional kiwi guy feels comfortable getting enthusiastic about when it comes to choosing interior decoration!
Sometimes we like to suggest having a map in the mix of prints for a house because they are a grounded counterpoint to fluffier frills and fripperies. A map will help balance interiors if all the other decoration choices are being made by the female half of a traditional household which still seems a surprisingly common practice.
A map creates a sense of place, a context, and design wise a map or two sits happily with every style of interior decoration, if you look around every NZ home or office will have a place that's perfect for a map!
SD Maps are turning up in all sorts of decorative incarnations (lampshades/ desk coverings etc). Do you sell maps to people for craft projects?
AE Incredibly versatile printing technology is amazingly widespread in NZ and the capacity to produce far outstrips the demand for traditional printed products. There are printers making really creative products by printing on fabric, steel and wood, personally I'd be tempted by a rug that's a topographical map of the South Island, that would be pretty cool to look at and educational for the kids to boot. Although we sell maps designed to go on the wall we happily sell maps for use behind splashbacks or to be displayed under glass on a coffee table, other people cut old maps up to embed into decorative jewellery like brooches.
SD Anything else interesting or diverting to tell me?
AE There are several different versions (by different cartographers) of the classic Cook's chart of New Zealand showing Banks Peninsula as an island and Stewart Island attached to the mainland. The
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| Classic Captain Cook Map of NZ |
We recommend having a map framed with a warm white mat board and a natural colour timber frame, a wedge shape frame is traditional, or go for a square white frame with a white mat if you have a contemporary interior design. Either way a map will give you decades of enjoyment in a multiplicity of settings as you move house or office over they years which means they are ridiculously great value.
Maps are a very social artwork - they give people something to look at together and chat about for a few minutes! An art work that can help break the ice between people who don't each other well because location and history will either be something they have in common or a starter for ten about where they come from.
Aside from decoration maps are a uniquely functional artwork, you can put a map in a specific space to serve a practical purpose. A detailed map absorbs people's attention for a few minutes while they wait at reception, or by the bar or in the loo!
SD I think this is everything I need! Many many thanks Antony. Will call later if I think of anything else.
NZ Artists celebrate rugby, our national sport
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| "Rise Up" print by Barry Ross Smith |
One of our favourite pieces of NZ sporting art is "Rise Up" by Barry Ross Smith. He's not a dispassionate observer of the game like British born but NZ resident artist David John with his now venerable "changing room" series, Smith is a passionate supporter of rugby. His painting depicts the haka as performed by bull like rugby players, simultaneously referencing Greek legend, our most famous team and NZ's farming heritage that features so strongly in his work.
Now just about sold out - so I won't add a link to the print on our website - is a nice historical print of NZ's first game of rugby, between this writer's old school - Nelson College and a team of non-school players from Nelson in Paul Wilding's "The College vs Town".
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| NZ's First Game of Rugby - Artist Paul Wilding |
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| Old Rugby Boots - Dick Frizzell Limited Edition Print |
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| Haka Actions (Kia Kaha Kid) |
Vintage Maps of NZ - new ranges of prints
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| New Zealand by Captain James Cook |
Maps have been framed as wall art for hundreds of years, although the original maps are very expensive due to their rarity and age superb quality reproduction prints can be re-printed where the original maps are in good condition.
The decision of whether to clean up the wear and tear of the antique maps is one that each publisher wrestles with, our view is that reproducing the fold lines on an original map does not detract from its decorative appeal on the wall - the patina of age does in fact add interest and authenticity (without pretending to be an actual original antique map of course!).
The new print in stock from Thorndon Fine Prints of the highly decorative chart of NZ drawn by Cassini (shown here) is a great example of an exact replica/facsimile that reproduces folds, foxing and of course the unique hand colouring of the original map.
Vintage Wall Chart Style Maps on Canvas
The wall chart style vintage maps that have been printed on canvas are an interesting new product. |
| Vintage NZ Map, Wall Chart Style |
However as with all new products our catalogue manager's enthusiasm for the category may not be matched by actual sales (this writer is looking at all those vintage letterpress posters). We have sold a couple of dozen of the wall chart style vintage maps in the past couple of weeks so we are hopeful that this is a good start that will build as more people see the maps in real life hanging on the walls of homes and offices.
Our complete collection of vintage maps, prints of antique maps and of course a modern day NZ map poster that we have for sale can be viewed here in our map collection.
Image Vault News
"Dear All,
As most of you will already know, from July 1st Image Vault will be under new ownership.
Due to an unfortunate glitch in our system, we were unaware that this formal notification had not been made, so we apologise profusely if this news had not already reached you!
The new owners are Nicola and Carl Church - and they are so excited to be embarking upon this new adventure! They bring fresh energy and ideas, and are hoping to meet with you at the Auckland Gift Fair in August.
Many of you have been our loyal customers for many years, even dating back to our start in the top floor of Windsor Gallery! We want to acknowledge and express our gratitude for your support - it is your encouragement and feedback that allowed Image Vault to grow into the company it is today. Jane and Nathan will continue their association with IV by advising on product development and design, and Hamish will be on hand to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.
Again, a huge thank you to you all.
Nathan Secker, Jane Secker, Hamish Bayly"
NZ Fine Prints was the customer they referred to in the email, this writer used to walk around to their High St gallery
from our building in Hereford St to collect the first bundles of prints. Image Vault had a great run with prints by artists such as Grahame Sydney and Diana Adams, riding the kiwiana art boom with prints like the Sweet As series by Jason Kelly whilst making the transition from offset printing to print on demand.
We wish the new owners the best of luck and look forward to promoting all the new artists and artworks they will publish in the future.
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| Early Image Vault print - Coastal Breeze by Diana Adams |
We wish the new owners the best of luck and look forward to promoting all the new artists and artworks they will publish in the future.
Reproducing Gordon Walters artworks as prints (continued...)
Publishing prints of Gordon Walters artworks - a recap
Back many years ago now our family's publishing company "The Capper Press" published a good quality photo-lithographic (off-set) colour reproduction print of a Gordon Walters koru series painting "Kahukura" - pictured here. Prints of other Gordon Walters' artworks had also been made by other publishers and posters from exhibitions featuring good sized reproductions of his paintings and original prints were also on sale from time to time.
The print of Kahukura was about to sell out in 2007. In accordance with the publishing agreement we had with the artist - quote "In the event of an edition becoming out of print, the Publisher may reprint at his [sic] discretion" we went to re-print this popular print. However an unexpected problem arose in what is usually a very straightforward process when we wanted to make sure we could do the best quality print possible. This meant rather than re-using an old transparency we would use a fresh crisp digital image from Victoria University of Wellington in whose collection the original painting of "Kahukura" hangs. When they asked us to confirm clearance with the copyright holder (no longer Gordon Walters himself as he had died in 1995) we were stopped in our tracks by the Gordon Walters Foundation which now controlled his estate.
The reason the Gordon Walters Foundation gave for refusing permission for Victoria University to give us a new image to re-print was based on a legal opinion they had obtained regarding the original memorandum of understanding between our family's publishing company and Gordon Walters that we had forwarded to them - a narrow legalistic response that ignored the clear intent of the artist freely given while he was alive to allow reproduction prints to made of this painting.
Although this opinion was not persuasive we chose not to take it further for two reasons. Firstly out of respect for the wishes of the trustees of the Estate (they had presumably resorted to legal nitpicking because they didn't want prints being published, their reasons for this were never made clear but obviously this was the effect they wanted). Secondly over the longer term we knew to try and win a narrow legal argument over the miniature of a yellowing agreement concerning just "Kahukura" meant we'd lose the goodwill of the Foundation's trustees when it came to us (or any other publisher) requesting copyright clearance to publish prints of other artworks by Gordon Walters in the future.
Previous more detailed discussion on this issue goes back to 2008
New Print Available - First Gordon Walters Print for a decade!
However the reason for re-visiting this issue is because, somewhat surprisingly given what is described above, we can announce that for the first time in a decade there is a new Gordon Walters print available for sale!
It is relatively expensive for an open edition reproduction print at $109.95 for a 510 x 670mm sized image. This is because they are being printed using the "one print at a time" giclee method rather than off-set and we are paying TWO separate commission amounts (neither amount goes to the Gordon Walters Foundation because the copyright for this painting was sold to the national museum along with the actual painting, it's Te Papa and their partner giclee printing company in Auckland who are getting the publishing royalties from Makaro). The irony is that the Foundation have effectively given a monopoly to the only publisher that ensures they will receive no financial benefit from any sales!
If this print does (as we certainly expect it will) become one of NZ's top selling prints I hope that the trustees of the Gordon Walters Foundation will revisit the issue of refusing to allow prints to be sold of the work of Gordon Walters. Making the artwork of significant New Zealand artists accessible to the thousands of people who appreciate their work but can't afford an original whilst raising ongoing revenue to promote the aims of the artists' Foundation via publishing royalties is recognised as making sense in the case of estates of similar artists Colin McCahon and Rita Angus - it's pretty conventional practice that shouldn't raise any concerns for the Gordon Walters Foundation trustees.
Lets hope this new print will not be the only one for print buyers to choose from until Gordon Walters' artwork leaves copyright in 2045!
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| The print of Gordon Walters' painting "Kahukura" (published by the Capper Press) |
Back many years ago now our family's publishing company "The Capper Press" published a good quality photo-lithographic (off-set) colour reproduction print of a Gordon Walters koru series painting "Kahukura" - pictured here. Prints of other Gordon Walters' artworks had also been made by other publishers and posters from exhibitions featuring good sized reproductions of his paintings and original prints were also on sale from time to time.
The print of Kahukura was about to sell out in 2007. In accordance with the publishing agreement we had with the artist - quote "In the event of an edition becoming out of print, the Publisher may reprint at his [sic] discretion" we went to re-print this popular print. However an unexpected problem arose in what is usually a very straightforward process when we wanted to make sure we could do the best quality print possible. This meant rather than re-using an old transparency we would use a fresh crisp digital image from Victoria University of Wellington in whose collection the original painting of "Kahukura" hangs. When they asked us to confirm clearance with the copyright holder (no longer Gordon Walters himself as he had died in 1995) we were stopped in our tracks by the Gordon Walters Foundation which now controlled his estate.
The reason the Gordon Walters Foundation gave for refusing permission for Victoria University to give us a new image to re-print was based on a legal opinion they had obtained regarding the original memorandum of understanding between our family's publishing company and Gordon Walters that we had forwarded to them - a narrow legalistic response that ignored the clear intent of the artist freely given while he was alive to allow reproduction prints to made of this painting.
Although this opinion was not persuasive we chose not to take it further for two reasons. Firstly out of respect for the wishes of the trustees of the Estate (they had presumably resorted to legal nitpicking because they didn't want prints being published, their reasons for this were never made clear but obviously this was the effect they wanted). Secondly over the longer term we knew to try and win a narrow legal argument over the miniature of a yellowing agreement concerning just "Kahukura" meant we'd lose the goodwill of the Foundation's trustees when it came to us (or any other publisher) requesting copyright clearance to publish prints of other artworks by Gordon Walters in the future.
Previous more detailed discussion on this issue goes back to 2008
New Print Available - First Gordon Walters Print for a decade!
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| Print of "Makaro" - Painting by Gordon Walters from Te Papa Collection Ref: 1970-0021-1 |
It is relatively expensive for an open edition reproduction print at $109.95 for a 510 x 670mm sized image. This is because they are being printed using the "one print at a time" giclee method rather than off-set and we are paying TWO separate commission amounts (neither amount goes to the Gordon Walters Foundation because the copyright for this painting was sold to the national museum along with the actual painting, it's Te Papa and their partner giclee printing company in Auckland who are getting the publishing royalties from Makaro). The irony is that the Foundation have effectively given a monopoly to the only publisher that ensures they will receive no financial benefit from any sales!
If this print does (as we certainly expect it will) become one of NZ's top selling prints I hope that the trustees of the Gordon Walters Foundation will revisit the issue of refusing to allow prints to be sold of the work of Gordon Walters. Making the artwork of significant New Zealand artists accessible to the thousands of people who appreciate their work but can't afford an original whilst raising ongoing revenue to promote the aims of the artists' Foundation via publishing royalties is recognised as making sense in the case of estates of similar artists Colin McCahon and Rita Angus - it's pretty conventional practice that shouldn't raise any concerns for the Gordon Walters Foundation trustees.
Lets hope this new print will not be the only one for print buyers to choose from until Gordon Walters' artwork leaves copyright in 2045!
Future of Printmaking in NZ
On July 26th there was a panel discussion in Auckland at the Gus Fisher Gallery timed to co-incide with the opening of “Printmaking: Beyond the Frame”. Billed as “The Future of Printmaking in NZ” the discussion was led by the former Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland (and practising printmaker since 1975) Dr Carole Shepheard and Steve Lovett of the Manakau Institute of Technology Diploma of Visual Arts programme.
I was intrigued to read the useful summary of the discussion by Delwyn Archer, I was unable to hear the discussion first hand so I am grateful for her comprehensive notes.
What caught my attention was what seemed to be missing from the discussion - one obvious way to continue to strengthen printmaking in NZ is simply to grow the number of collectors.
Professional development and support are important issues, collaboration and comparison spur progress, but these are internally focussed within the printmaking community. I could only find one reference that wasn’t inwardly focused, when Dr Shepheard says printmakers should be making “amazing work that cannot be ignored”.
I think the printmaking community in NZ should have a much greater focus on the print collector and propose the modest goal of increasing the number of serious print buyers in NZ by 100 each year - a relatively small number which is surely achievable. After a decade that is an extra 1000 people purchasing say 10 prints a year, at $200 per print that's an extra $2m going to support printmakers.
The place to start on the path to achieving this goal is working through the media to educate the NZ public about the delights of collecting original prints.
NZ Fine Prints would be happy to financially support a campaign for greater awareness of original printmaking as a collectable artform to help achieve this goal of 100 new serious collectors in NZ each year. In return we need original printmakers to support our goal to offer a wider range of original prints to our customers (the first step is get in touch with me, I manage our catalogue of prints).
Encouraging more collectors of original prints will be a key factor in the future of printmaking in NZ looking back from 2024 and we are here to help.
NZ Fine Prints have a proven sales channel in place to support artists financially so they can get on with their practice. The internet has changed the way art is sold and NZ Fine Prints uniquely has nearly 50 years of print selling expertise in addition to 15 years experience of online selling. We are not shy about the commercial opportunities we can see for prints and printmaking and think it is ok to mention the financial benefits of print collecting - and we are print collectors ourselves.
I was intrigued to read the useful summary of the discussion by Delwyn Archer, I was unable to hear the discussion first hand so I am grateful for her comprehensive notes.
What caught my attention was what seemed to be missing from the discussion - one obvious way to continue to strengthen printmaking in NZ is simply to grow the number of collectors.
Professional development and support are important issues, collaboration and comparison spur progress, but these are internally focussed within the printmaking community. I could only find one reference that wasn’t inwardly focused, when Dr Shepheard says printmakers should be making “amazing work that cannot be ignored”.
I think the printmaking community in NZ should have a much greater focus on the print collector and propose the modest goal of increasing the number of serious print buyers in NZ by 100 each year - a relatively small number which is surely achievable. After a decade that is an extra 1000 people purchasing say 10 prints a year, at $200 per print that's an extra $2m going to support printmakers.
The place to start on the path to achieving this goal is working through the media to educate the NZ public about the delights of collecting original prints.
NZ Fine Prints would be happy to financially support a campaign for greater awareness of original printmaking as a collectable artform to help achieve this goal of 100 new serious collectors in NZ each year. In return we need original printmakers to support our goal to offer a wider range of original prints to our customers (the first step is get in touch with me, I manage our catalogue of prints).
Encouraging more collectors of original prints will be a key factor in the future of printmaking in NZ looking back from 2024 and we are here to help.
NZ Fine Prints have a proven sales channel in place to support artists financially so they can get on with their practice. The internet has changed the way art is sold and NZ Fine Prints uniquely has nearly 50 years of print selling expertise in addition to 15 years experience of online selling. We are not shy about the commercial opportunities we can see for prints and printmaking and think it is ok to mention the financial benefits of print collecting - and we are print collectors ourselves.
Slow Death of Kiwiana?
In this article we talk to NZ designer Shann Whitaker of Tantrum Design who has recently declared he thinks the popularity of Kiwiana is just another trend, and a perhaps a fad that is on the verge of dying.
Whitaker argues that Kiwiana has not just been a relabelling of what is unique to or easily identified as being from New Zealand as "Kiwiana" but a trend that has perhaps done its day. It's an interesting contribution to the debate around whether kiwiana is just another trend that has now possibly been done to death or have we just taken to calling cultural products from NZ that were always there and will always be for sale (tikis for example) with the previously kitschy term Kiwiana?
Kiwiana "Bloated and Swollen", needs "A Cleanout"
Whitaker says "Like every good idea and trend, the good times must come to an end." Although Kiwiana hasn't yet actually died "It has just become rather bloated and swollen, to a point that every shop, chemist, two dollar store or fair stall has something Kiwiana in it."
Whitaker says that the most important factor in the decline of Kiwiana is time, "it has probably been a good decade since the scene really took off". He adds "Sure, you can still find great creative NZ themed gifts but lets face it, New Zealand has a limited amount of iconic imagery, flora and fauna. There are only so many different ways you can dress up a Fantail before you start going a little crazy. I used to joke that we needed to find some kind of new bird or mammal just so we had something new to design. These same icons have been designed to death now and the regurgitating of the same material is becoming stale."
According to Whitaker Kiwiana needs a "clean out". He says the "sheer number of creatives trying to design in a small market has become over populated. Copycats, the faux designers ripping off new ideas and selling them at low low prices to cheap stores do not help the market."
Kiwi design is more important than kiwi made to Whitaker
Although he is talking about giftware and design store products more than kiwiana art specifically Whitaker makes an interesting distinction between kiwi made and kiwi designed but manufactured overseas and calls for the buying public to "embrace creatives for their ideas not just their manufacturing abilities."
"I was 100% NZ Made for six years", he says, "but as my ideas changed and I got more adventurous with my products I realised that I was restricted by price. I feel that as New Zealanders our strengths are in our ideas and creativeness. We cannot compete with the low wages and long hours that make China and India powerhouses of the manufacturing world."
In NZ Fine Prints part of the broader market for cultural products from New Zealand we still believe that the rebranding of the work of NZ artists as kiwiana art is mostly a blurring of the definition of "fine art" from New Zealand and popular or commercial art in the public's perception. However Shann's assertion that the days of derivative - or less charitably copycat - "kiwiana" style designs being sold everywhere on everything is coming to an end (even if the name still sticks to art that has nothing in common with buzzy bees and four square man beyond being created in the same country) does seem to be common sense too. What we would be concerned about would be if Kiwiana was both a trend and a blurring of definitions that had the result of quality work by NZ's best artists being dismissed in the near future as merely Kiwiana that is no longer fashionable due to the factors Shann has identified.
Is kiwiana just a trend? If so is "Kiwiana" a trend that is dying? Please leave a comment below.
Whitaker argues that Kiwiana has not just been a relabelling of what is unique to or easily identified as being from New Zealand as "Kiwiana" but a trend that has perhaps done its day. It's an interesting contribution to the debate around whether kiwiana is just another trend that has now possibly been done to death or have we just taken to calling cultural products from NZ that were always there and will always be for sale (tikis for example) with the previously kitschy term Kiwiana?
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| NZ Designer Shann Whitaker |
Whitaker says "Like every good idea and trend, the good times must come to an end." Although Kiwiana hasn't yet actually died "It has just become rather bloated and swollen, to a point that every shop, chemist, two dollar store or fair stall has something Kiwiana in it."
Whitaker says that the most important factor in the decline of Kiwiana is time, "it has probably been a good decade since the scene really took off". He adds "Sure, you can still find great creative NZ themed gifts but lets face it, New Zealand has a limited amount of iconic imagery, flora and fauna. There are only so many different ways you can dress up a Fantail before you start going a little crazy. I used to joke that we needed to find some kind of new bird or mammal just so we had something new to design. These same icons have been designed to death now and the regurgitating of the same material is becoming stale."
According to Whitaker Kiwiana needs a "clean out". He says the "sheer number of creatives trying to design in a small market has become over populated. Copycats, the faux designers ripping off new ideas and selling them at low low prices to cheap stores do not help the market."
Kiwi design is more important than kiwi made to Whitaker
Although he is talking about giftware and design store products more than kiwiana art specifically Whitaker makes an interesting distinction between kiwi made and kiwi designed but manufactured overseas and calls for the buying public to "embrace creatives for their ideas not just their manufacturing abilities."
"I was 100% NZ Made for six years", he says, "but as my ideas changed and I got more adventurous with my products I realised that I was restricted by price. I feel that as New Zealanders our strengths are in our ideas and creativeness. We cannot compete with the low wages and long hours that make China and India powerhouses of the manufacturing world."
In NZ Fine Prints part of the broader market for cultural products from New Zealand we still believe that the rebranding of the work of NZ artists as kiwiana art is mostly a blurring of the definition of "fine art" from New Zealand and popular or commercial art in the public's perception. However Shann's assertion that the days of derivative - or less charitably copycat - "kiwiana" style designs being sold everywhere on everything is coming to an end (even if the name still sticks to art that has nothing in common with buzzy bees and four square man beyond being created in the same country) does seem to be common sense too. What we would be concerned about would be if Kiwiana was both a trend and a blurring of definitions that had the result of quality work by NZ's best artists being dismissed in the near future as merely Kiwiana that is no longer fashionable due to the factors Shann has identified.
Is kiwiana just a trend? If so is "Kiwiana" a trend that is dying? Please leave a comment below.
Vintage "Fun Map of NZ" Re-printed
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| Fun Map of NZ (1950s vintage) |
Today we listed for sale a reprint of an unusual vintage NZ map, the "Fun Map of New Zealand: Wonderland of the Pacific". A New Zealand Government Tourism Department publication originally printed in the 1950s. Possibly designed by Stopford G. Wrathall, the map is credited to the Charles Haines(?) Advertising Agency Ltd, Wellington on the reverse. When researching the provenance of this new image we found a picture of what we think was printed on the reverse of the map when it was first issued [NB: this is not reproduced on the reverse of the reprint for sale from today here at NZ Fine Prints], we have just reprinted the actual map.
It has taken some deciphering but here is a transcript of the text on the map's reverse side. Presumably the map was folded into a pamphlet sized handout to be given to tourists visiting NZ. Some spellings are Americanised, perhaps this was publicity destined for tourists from the North American market.
Fun Map of New Zealand
Life without humour would be a very dull business indeed. Some lucky people such as the late Mark Twain, Crosbie Garstin and others, found humour everywhere, and left a rich legacy behind them for the world's enjoyment.
There is therefore no need to offer apologies for the appearance of the "Fun Map of New Zealand", which, while making humourous reference to many historic and notable incidents in the Dominion's history, does so without malice and in a spirit of genuine light-heartedness.
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| Original text on reverse of the Fun Map |
From the delightful representation of the "Three Kings" in the far north, all looking slightly "blue" as though feeling "just a little bit out of it", to the busy oyster-scoopers of Foveaux Strait, there is one big smile for owners of the "Fun Map".
New Zealanders should gain added enjoyment from visiting familiar places made more attractive still in the guise of humourous representation, while visitors from abroad will be enabled to invest the various localities and points of interest referred to, with an extra bright and cheerful atmosphere.
With the added attraction of humour, the wide variety of outstanding scenic and holiday resorts for which the Dominion is world famous, will be brought more directly into focus, and the world at large will be the better able to realize [sic] that New Zealand's claim to being the "Scenic Playground of the Pacific" is indeed based on solid foundations.
A world in miniature Different, Varied, Unique
New Zealand is indeed a veritable world in miniature, for every imaginable natural wonder and scenic attraction appears to have been reproduced within the length and breadth of the Dominion. Towering mountain peaks, great glaciers, luxuriant sub-tropic forests, weird thermal regions, huge volcanic cones, magic caves, beautiful lakes and rivers, and majestic fiords, may all be found here in close proximity and in striking contrast to each other. In no case more than a day's journey from the main centres necessary to reach any of these resorts.
Free Travel Service
Tours Planned… Tickets and Booking for Transport and Accommodation
One of the principal duties of the New Zealand Government Tourism Depart is to afford all possible assistance to travellers. With a thorough knowledge of the conditions, the Service will, free of charge, plan itineraries, suitable to the needs and desires of the individual or party, make reservations for trains, steamers, motors, air travel and hotel accommodation. Officers of the Department meet in the stream all incoming passenger vessels. The Department's officers, honourary representatives, and agencies overseas are available to support the work of the organization [sic] in the Dominion.
A Playground of Unique Variety
New Zealand can offer a greater variety of attraction for the sporting enthusiast than any other portion of the globe. Shooting, fishing, mountain sports of all kinds, racing, golf, tennis, bowls, form but a few of the many healthful recreations which can be enjoyed in the Dominion practically all the year round.
Bountiful sunshine without the extremes of heat or cold makes the pursuit of sport a matter of keenest enjoyment and this is further enhanced by the provision of thoroughly up-to-date accommodation at all the leading health and holiday resorts established throughout the country. Full particulars and details covering every phase of activity including bookings, reservations, etc may be obtained from the New Zealand Government Tourism Department's Bureaux and Agency Offices throughout the world.
We have the "Fun Map of New Zealand" for sale in both the map and vintage poster collections in our online gallery. The re-print (NZ$69.95) is on photographic paper, it has been printed on a high quality inkjet printer using lightfast inks.
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