RIHA Journal 0196 | 20 July 2018 The Romanticized Māori – Māori Portraits on Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Postcards and Photo ra!hs Hilke Thode-$rora $%stract In New Zealand, daguerrotypes sin e t!e 1850s and later on wet#plate p!otograp!y already !ad $%ori portraiture as an i&portant &oti'( )!e 1860s saw a dra&ati rise in artes de *isite, and sin e t!e late nineteent! and early twentiet! entury, p!otos and post ards representing $%ori &en, wo&en and !ildren +oo&ed( $ainly produ ed +y ,%-e!% ./uropean settler0 p!otograp!ers 'or a ,%-e!% audien e, t!ese portraits depi ted $%ori in a stereotypi al way whi ! also !ara terised p!otograp!y on t!e ,a i1 Islands o' t!e ti&e2 o'ten propped wit! e&+le&ati weapons or 3ewellery, &en were staged as 1er e warriors, wo&en eit!er as inno ent +elles or, li-e &en, as *ery old, o'ten wit! t!e allusion o' a 4dying ra e5( New Zealand touris&, espe ially in t!e Rotorua area wit! its t!er&al attra tions, was t!riving +y t!e 1890s and +roug!t along a souvenir produ tion whi ! already proved so large and lu rative t!at it was partly outsour ed to o&panies in 6er&any( 7artes de visite and post ards were sent overseas in large nu&+ers, eviden e 'or 1909 s!ows a pea- o' nine &illion ards posted 'ro& New Zealand( )!eir i&pa t as a 'or& o' popular &edia &ust !ave +een i&&ense, reating and perpetuating stereotyped i&ages o' $%ori people in Aotearoa .t!e $%ori na&e 'or New Zealand0 and all over t!e 8estern world( Howe*er, t!e 1890s +roug!t an in reasing a eptan e and appropriation o' p!otograp!s +y $%ori people t!e&selves( /spe ially in t!e tangi &ourning ere&onies, p!otos o' t!e de eased too- a pro&inent part( 9urt!er&ore, t!e p!otos o' i&portant an estors were gi*en t!eir pla e in t!e whare wha-airo &eeting houses( Contents Introdu tion ,ost ards $anu'a turing a M%ori Past ,!otograp!y, Post ards and Gott'ried Lindauer $%ori and Portraiture Interpretations RIHA Journal 0196 | 20 July 2018 Introdu tion ;1< $any o' 6ott'ried :indauer’s paintings o' $%ori individuals an +e tra ed +a - to p!otograp!i portraits whi ! !e used, a&ong ot!er t!ings, as &e&ory aids and in pla e o' preparatory drawings( :indauer was also well#-nown 'or !is post!u&ous portraiture, and indeed =uite a nu&+er o' $%ori indi*iduals painted +y !i& were already de eased +e'ore !e even set 'oot on New Zealand soil( )!e p!otograp!i portraits !e relied on !ad +een ta-en +y p!otograp!ers spe ialising in t!is genre> &any o' t!ese portraits were widely sold and were also turned into post ard &oti's( :indauer’s idealised portraiture o' $%ori people was t!us part o' a trend invol*ing t!e depi tion o' $%ori indi*iduals and t!e disse&ination o' t!ese pi tures t!roug!out New Zealand and many parts o' t!e world( ,ostcards ;2< In nineteent!# entury /urope, t!e in*ention and su ess o' t!e post ard was losely lin-ed wit! industrialisation and de&o ratisation and, t!us, wit! &odernity( :etter writing was a 'or&al a?air whi ! re=uired alligrap!i e?ort, @awlessness and t!e reation o' an overall aest!eti textual i&age on paper( 9urt!er&ore, !ierar !i al di?eren es +etween writer and re ipient B !ildren and parents, e&ployers and e&ployees, writers 'ro& di?erent so ial strata B !ad to +e &irrored +y style2 o&&uni ating down &eant +eing +rie' while o&&uni ating up alled 'or r!etori al ela+orateness and polite 'or&ulas o' de'eren e( Hen e, letter writing was an elitist 'or& o' o&&uni ation and i&plied ti&e and e?ort2 considera+le t!oug!t was put into it and dra'ts were o'ten written 1rst( ;C< Dy ontrast, post ards as developed and standardiEed in Austria, 6er&any, Dritain, 9ran e and t!e Fnited Gtates in t!e 1870s were intended 'or 'ast, in'or&al and !eap o&&uni ation at a ti&e when postal servi es delivered &ail twi e or t!ree ti&es a day, so t!at t!e answer to a post ard sent in t!e &orning ould +e expe ted in t!e a'ternoon( )!ey were a &ediu& intended 'or and eagerly used in +usiness o&&uni ation, and also +e a&e part o' soldiers5 -napsa - e=uip&ent in t!e 9ran o#,russian war o' 1870/1871, t!us popularising t!e& 'urt!er( Advan ed print te !nology 'a ilitated t!e e&ergen e o' t!e pi ture post ard, while international postal contra ts ena+led cards to be sent a+road> by t!e 1880s, post ard o&&uni ation !ad gained onsidera+le &o&entu&, rea !ing its pea- +etween t!e 1890s and 88I( In an era when ti&e was in reasingly +e o&ing a s ar e resour e and an issue in daily li'e, post ards o?ered an opportunity 'or i&&ediate and spontaneous o&&uni ation and response when eA !anged wit!in t!e sa&e lo ality; t!ey were also a &eans o' 'ostering relations!ips wit! people 'ar away( Jeveloping into a so ial onvention, t!e sending o' post ards +e a&e part o' t!e tourist eAperien e, and t!is was to +e o' onsidera+le relevan e in t!e New Zealand ontext( At t!e sa&e ti&e, t!e i&ages on post ards B i' not pi -ed rando&ly B were o'ten part o' t!e &essage onveyed by a co&+ination o' written text and pi ture moti'. As part o' a canon o' so ial respe ta+ility and striving 'or upward &o+ility (in luding sel'#edu ation), RIHA Journal 0196 | 20 July 2018 pi ture post ards wit! t!eir &oti's ould also +e o&e olle tors5 ite&s t!at were 1led in al+u&s and displayed to visitors(1 ;K< 9irst issued in Je e&+er 1897,2 New Zealand pi ture post ards i&&ediately +e a&e widespread, t!eir produ tion and use pea-ing in t!e 1910s2 as KingC points out, t!e 'a&ous p!oto studio o' t!e Durton Drot!ers in Junedin, rena&ed $uir M $oodie in t!e 1890sK, later advertised itsel' as t!e 46reat ,ost ard /&poriu&5( Apart 'ro& +eing availa+le in +oo- and stationery s!ops, vending &a !ines 'or pi ture post ards were put up in several pla es(" 9urt!er&ore, in “1909 alone nine &illion6 ards passed t!roug! t!e New Zealand postal syste&, and t!is at a ti&e w!en t!e total population o' t!e ountry !ad only 3ust rea !ed one millionO( Manu'a turing a $%ori ,ast ;"] T!e de ades prior to t!is had broug!t tre&endous c!ange for M%ori. European and A&eri an whaling stations esta+lis!ed on New Zealand s!ores sin e t!e late eigt!eent! entury, t!e )reaty o' 8aitangi in 1840, wars wit! t!e New Zealand govern&ent a'ter t!e 1840s, t!e gold rus! o' t!e 1860s and 1870s as well as rising i&&igration all +roug!t a steady in@uA o' ,%-e!% to t!e ountry( )!is led not only to trau&atiEing events and !anges +ut also to new li'estyles, +ot! en'or ed and voluntarily adopted( A ording to King, it was only in t!e 1850s t!at t!e ter& 4$%ori5 a&e into use as a olle tive as ription applied +y +ot! ,%-e!% and $%ori to &e&+ers o' ulturally and regionally very di?erent iwi (tri+es0 and !apP (su+tri+es or extended -in groups0(H )!is usage served to stress t!e ,%-e!% perspe ti*e o' ot!ering $%ori as a group di?erent 'ro& /uropeans, and yet it also illu&inated t!e $%ori perspe tive o' ountera ting ,%-e!% in@uen es t!roug! on erted e?orts( Dy 1860, t!e New Zealand population onsisted o' &ore ,%-e!% t!an $%ori( $o-o (tattooing0 was no longer pra tised( $%ori dress !ad 1 Anett HolE!eid, N/in'a ! &odern( Zur Deschleunigung der Lo&&uni-ations-ultur per ,ost-arteO, in2 6e+urt der $assen-ultur( DeitrQge der )agung des 86:# 9orschungspro3ekts 48ege in die $oderne( 8eltausstellungen, $edien und $usi- i& 19( Ja!r!undert5 i& 6er&anischen National&useu&, 8(-10( No*e&+er 2012, ed( Roland ,rRgel, NRrn+erg 201K, 81-91> and 8illia& $ain, Gend $e a ,ostcard( New Zealand ,ostcards and t!e Gtories )!ey )ell, Nelson 200H, H( 2 HolE!eid, N/in'a ! &odern( Zur Deschleunigung der Lo&&uni-ations-ultur per ,ost-arteO, H( C $i !ael Ling, $%ori( A ,!otograp!ic and Gocial History, Auckland 198C, 2( K $uir M $oodie, one o' New Zealand5s largest co&panies dealing in picture post ards, opened in 1898, taking o*er 'ro& Al'red Durton upon !is retire&ent( )!o&as D( $uir and 6eorge $oodie !ad +een Durton5s e&ployees( $uir M $oodie !ad to close in 191", apparently due to de reasing de&and> see $ain, Gend $e a ,ostcard, 8, 11C( " $ain, Gend $e a ,ostcard, 8( 6 Ling, $%ori( A ,!otograp!i and Gocial History, 2( According to $ain, Gend $e a ,ostcard, 8, it were H," &illion plus &any &ore sent in en*elopes.