Cameras kept by two famous people have come to our attention. Sir Edmund Hillary still had the Retina that he'd taken to the top of Mt. Everest, where he captured Sherpa Tensing holding his ice axe aloft. And excitingly we now hold in our collection Truby King's camera and examples of his work.
From the Collection of the New Zealand Centre for Photography
There have only been two instances when we at the New Zealand Centre for Photography have come up against celebrity photographers in the course of acquiring cameras and images for our collection. In both instances it was with knights of the realm!
The first was a few years ago when I discovered Sir Edmund Hillary still had the Retina that he'd taken to the top of Mt. Everest, where he captured Sherpa Tensing holding his ice axe aloft with miniature flags attached. The second was when I was informed that the Plunket Society had some photographic gear that once belonged to Sir Truby King. After negotiations that took a year or so to settle, the Centre took delivery of a couple of boxes that contained an assortment of things which were accessioned into our collection.
 |
A Truby King Photograph
|
Looking through this equipment which consisted of a couple of cameras and boxes of magic lantern slides, I was able to get a pretty good picture of Sir Truby's skills as a photographer. Previously I had heard through Dunedin sources that he was a competent pictorialist. Sadly once I had examined the contents of the donation, I was unable to find any of his works that fitted this category with the exception of one or two images. The bulk of the images we acquired were all mainly to do with promotional work in the form of slides to illustrate lectures we would have given during his lifetime. For instance charts revealing facts and figures over child development with pictures of bouncing babies etc.
As well there was an extensive series of slides he'd made after a trip to France in the 1920s. These had been made with a MIDG quarter plate camera which was made between 1900 and 1910. The MIDG held a dozen glass plates in metal sheaths in a spring loaded rack. When the shutter was released, a lever action deposited the exposed plate face down in a light proof chamber in the base of the camera, where it awaited removal for development. This camera has a well worn appearance and is in direct contrast to the show room condition of a Graflex which also came from his estate.
 |
A Truby King photograph of an unknown
Plunket Room opening.
Anyone know the whereabouts?
|
The illustrations I have chosen to run with this article are typical of the slides we have in our collection. We are curious to find out where the Plunket Rooms with all the bunting flying is situated. If any one knows the building in question, which was opened some time in the 1920s, please drop us a line.
Please note that articles by Bill Main introducing these cameras (and more) have been published by The Photographer's Mail, Auckland, New Zealand.
© Copyright by Bill Main
©1998 by the New Zealand Centre for Photography, Wellington, New Zealand