New Zealand, Millie (?) in wedding gown

The batch number of this Imperial Special Rapid plates is 9611B. The box is labelled New Zealand, Millie in wedding gown. The name is not very clear.

The bridal portrait is no doubt the work of a professional photographer. It is a classic example of "the technique of bygone days". Hugo van Wadenoyen, a brilliant British photographer and author, wrote the following about the early photographic processes in his book Photographing People: Ways to New Portraiture published in 1948:

Standing figures had to be steadied with some kind of prop, either visible or concealed. The visible prop, as was inevitable in that period, became highly ornate or pseudo-classical - a pillar or elaborate piece of furniture, and quite naturally this led to further elaborations, such as palms, draperies (complete with much fringe) and the pained scenic background.

Here we see both the elaborate piece of furniture and the painted background, but they are unobtrusive and do not distract from the main subject of the photograph.

The plate has unusually high contrast. It is possible that this is a reproduction from the original glass plate or even a contact copy from a print. Presumably, professional photographers of the time used studio cameras of larger formats, full-plate (6½ × 8½ inch) or bigger.

The photograph of the cliff with the lighthouse was most likely taken from a ship near Taiaroa Head (Otago Peninsula). This historical photograph published by Otago Daily Times helped in identifying the lighthouse. The shed with "a sort of jib or crane some 20ft high" as described by The Evening Star is an old fog station. Initially, it used dynamite cartridges to generate acoustic signals to warn ships in heavy fog conditions. A new electric-powered fog station was build in late 1930s and remained operational until the end of 1987. The same article in Otago Daily Times mentions that the fog signal was controlled from "the signal station at the top of the hill". It could be located in the house we see on the photograph which no longer exists.

The truss bridge on the third plate was not identified. There were a number of historical bridges of similar design in New Zealand, most were destroyed by floods, demolished and replaced by modern steel and concrete constructions.