Postcard
Production date
Pre 1945
Country
Australia
State/Province
Queensland
See full details
Object detail
Description
Postcard of Townsville, depicting fourteen different unfolding photographic scenes of Townsville collected during the WW2 era.
Classification
PHOTOGRAPHS Places townsville
TOURISM
CIVIC MEMENTOES Souvenirs postcard
TOURISM
CIVIC MEMENTOES Souvenirs postcard
Maker
Production date
Pre 1945
Production place
Measurements
Drop display (13 scenes extended): L 470 x W 100 mm
Signature/Marks
News: Gympie, Qld.
History and use
This postcard was originally purchased by the late Lloyd Noel Vickers during his time stationed in Townsville in the mid-1940s as a member of the Australian Armed Forces. Manufactured and distributed in the 1940s, the images of Townsville featured on the postcard depict a place very different from today.
During WW2, Townsville was monumental as the major North Queensland base for both Australian and US forces. Townsville had a total of 11 operational airstrips within the city, where Vickers would have been stationed during his time with the Air Force. The postcard was kept by Vickers as a memento of his time in Townsville.
Fold out postcards allowed people to send their loved ones multiple images at a time, rather than the single image postcards of today. The images used on this postcard depict significant locations throughout the city. Have a closer look at some of these sites, and try to spot the similarities and differences between their 1940s context, and their position in Townsville today.
The images on this postcard were produced from black and white negatives and then hand-coloured to bring life to the photographs. Hand-coloured images let manufacturers over-saturate the photographs with colour, to create a more ‘realistic’ visual experience. A range of pigments were used to create the vivid colours: oils, watercolours, dyes, crayons or pastels. The production of hand-coloured photographs generally stopped in the 1950s, when colour film became the more available and preferred method. However, many countries continued to hand-colour images because it was too expensive to obtain and produce colour film; in several places, this process was still practiced as late as the 1980s. The 1970s also saw a resurgence in the technique, with trends in collecting antiques taking hold and a market opening for these types of hand-coloured images.
Murray Views, Gympie, was the key manufacturer for souvenir postcards during this period. Fred Murray opened Murray Studios in Gympie in 1906, initially only producing products for the Gympie region and surrounding areas. In 1929, the company changed to Murray Views, and was soon creating souvenir images and postcards from as far as Cairns to Grafton, with each photograph captured by Fred and his team. Fold out poster production began at the company in the mid-1940s, when the company was taken over by Murray’s nephews.
Read more about this item here: https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2019/07/31/snapshots-in-time/
During WW2, Townsville was monumental as the major North Queensland base for both Australian and US forces. Townsville had a total of 11 operational airstrips within the city, where Vickers would have been stationed during his time with the Air Force. The postcard was kept by Vickers as a memento of his time in Townsville.
Fold out postcards allowed people to send their loved ones multiple images at a time, rather than the single image postcards of today. The images used on this postcard depict significant locations throughout the city. Have a closer look at some of these sites, and try to spot the similarities and differences between their 1940s context, and their position in Townsville today.
The images on this postcard were produced from black and white negatives and then hand-coloured to bring life to the photographs. Hand-coloured images let manufacturers over-saturate the photographs with colour, to create a more ‘realistic’ visual experience. A range of pigments were used to create the vivid colours: oils, watercolours, dyes, crayons or pastels. The production of hand-coloured photographs generally stopped in the 1950s, when colour film became the more available and preferred method. However, many countries continued to hand-colour images because it was too expensive to obtain and produce colour film; in several places, this process was still practiced as late as the 1980s. The 1970s also saw a resurgence in the technique, with trends in collecting antiques taking hold and a market opening for these types of hand-coloured images.
Murray Views, Gympie, was the key manufacturer for souvenir postcards during this period. Fred Murray opened Murray Studios in Gympie in 1906, initially only producing products for the Gympie region and surrounding areas. In 1929, the company changed to Murray Views, and was soon creating souvenir images and postcards from as far as Cairns to Grafton, with each photograph captured by Fred and his team. Fold out poster production began at the company in the mid-1940s, when the company was taken over by Murray’s nephews.
Read more about this item here: https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2019/07/31/snapshots-in-time/
Associated person
Registration number
H49824
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