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Overview
Dressed for a carnival on skates
Mr A. Mason competed in Petone's inaugural Skating Carnival on 17 August 1910, dressed in this costume. Organised by The Palace Theatre Company, the carnival's event programme included musical chairs, an egg and spoon race, and a fancy dress competition. Mr Mason won the prize for best gentlemen's 'poster costume'. His costume is decorated with paper advertising for the Empire Tea Company's popular Crescent brand.
Miss A. Smith won the ladies section with her costume advertising Petone Blankets. There were also prizes for most original costume and most humorous.
Poster Balls
Fancy dress events were a popular form of fundraising in the early part of the 20th century. Poster Balls and competitions were introduced to New Zealand from Australia in late 1900. While one reporter described it as a new ‘species of fancy dress’, another called it ‘a new phase of advertising’. It was a novel combination both. As the name ‘Poster Ball’ infers, ball-goers were required to wear costumes that represented ‘poster advertisements of well-known goods, or the goods themselves’. For the privilege of advertising their wares, companies paid an entry fee and provided printed material for the models' costume.
Hailed as a ‘decided improvement on the ordinary fancy ball’, Poster Balls remained a popular entertainment throughout the first half of the 20th century both as fund-raisers and general entertainment. They were organised by a wide array of groups, from patriotic and benevolent societies to sports clubs and skating rinks owners.