item details
NameMajor von Tempsky
ProductionBenjamin Peyman; photographer; 1866-1868; Whanganui
Classificationcartes-de-visite, photographic prints, albumen prints, studio portraits, vintage prints
Materialssilver, albumen, printing-out paper, mounting board
Materials Summarycarte-de-visite, albumen silver print
Techniquesalbumen process, photography
DimensionsImage: 59mm (width), 92mm (height)
Registration NumberO.005368
Credit lineGift of Mrs E.W. Gibbs, 1933
Overview
Carte de visite - studio portrait image of the Major sitting at a table, he is looking away from the camera.
This extract originally appeared in New Zealand Photography Collected: 175 Years of Photography in Aotearoa (Te Papa Press, 2025).
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... Images of the dashing Major Gustavus von Tempsky, well known for his exploits in the New Zealand Wars, were popular, judging by the number of times his portrait appears in collections.