Hon. Wi Tako Ngatata

item details

NameHon. Wi Tako Ngatata

ProductionJames Wrigglesworth; photography studio; 1868-1874; Wellington

Classificationcartes-de-visite, photographic prints, albumen prints, studio portraits, vintage prints

Materialssilver, albumen, printing-out paper, mounting board

Materials Summaryphotograph, carte-de-viste

Techniquesalbumen process, printing-out

DimensionsImage: 57mm (width), 90mm (height)

Registration NumberO.039520

Overview

Half length seated portrait of a middle aged Maori man, Wi Tako Ngatata. He has short wavy hair, a moko, and a moustache. He is wearing a light coloured jacket over a houndstooth waistcoat, and a small bow tie.

This edited extract originally appeared in New Zealand Photography Collected: 175 Years of Photography in Aotearoa (Te Papa Press, 2025) on page 34.

Until technology enabled photographic reproductions to appear in books, magazines and newspapers, the only way to own an image of a well-known personality was to buy a carte-de-visite from a studio.... Wiremu Tako Ngātata, commonly known as Wī Tako, was a Te Āti Awa chief who lived in the Wellington area and became a member of the government’s Legislative Council (Upper House) from 1872.