IMAGE
Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
- Date
- 1924-ca1980
- By
- Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984
- Reference
- PAColl-0639
- Description
Most of the black and white photographs date from the late 1920s to ca 1950. Of these there are quite a large number of early prints from the late 1920s to the mid 1930s. Most of these have not been "pictorialised" in the soft focus style Searle used for his later finished work. They are small snapshot sized and sharp and clear in detail. The general range of their subject matter sums up Searle's range of interests, photographically speaking, throughout his life.
This general subject range is as follows - Railways, family friends and weddings (women and children predominate), Wellington city, Ships, Wellington Botanic Garden, Wellington Zoo (mainly animal studies), ANZAC Days, Some sports, aircraft, some other New Zealand towns, military training Second World War, some overseas trips of which those to New Caledonia during the Second World War and later were the most significant, and landscape studies. This last category makes up the largest group of photographs in the collection, especially in the later "pictorial" prints. Though the majority are unlabeled, most have at least one with identification written on the back - though to find these would require looking through some thousands of prints.
Most of the pictorialised photographs have been printed on a pale creamy - brown paper which gives them an antique and arty appearence. Most have been manipulated to soften the focus, at times creating a painterly effect or the effect of some lithographs of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. A few have been treated to look like pencil drawings. Though most are landscapes there are also a fair number of architectural shots and flower studies, and some Māori subjects and portraits. Landscapes are predominantly attempts to emulate the sublime and classical/romantic traditions. Mountains and glaciers, humanised landscapes, with or without sheep, reminiscent of the creations of the 18th century English landscape designers, are most common. A fair number of the latter have been taken in some of our larger public parks and gardens. Humans very seldom feature in them. There are several essays of the Pinnacles at Palliser Bay. Many of the same images have been used over and over again.
Arrangement: Negatives housed at 1/4-096421 to 096718 and 098069 to 099110; 1/2-178222 to 178231
Quantity: 7320 b&w original photographic print(s). 5 album(s). 214 b&w original negative(s) of which 204 are 35mm strips comprising 632 images. 162 colour original photographic print(s). 3100 colour original transparency/ies. 33 colour photo-mechanical print(s).
- Access restrictions
- No access restrictions
- Format
- 7320 b&w original photographic print(s), 5 album(s), 214 b&w original negative(s) of which 204 are 35mm strips comprising 632 images, 162 colour original photographic print(s), 3100 colour original transparency/ies, 33 colour photo-mechanical print(s), Photographs, Landscape photographs
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Copyright
Unknown
Album of views of Wellington
Date: [ca 1929-1933]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PA1-q-593
Description: Wellington City (panoramic views), the new Cenotaph, the demolition of the Alexandra Barracks (Mount Cook Prison), Admiral Byrd on his way to the Antarctic (second expedition-1933/1934), Wellington College rebuilt, Rongotai airport, National Bank of New Zealand Building, and the Diomede at Clyde Quay Wharf Quantity: 1 album(s) Album(s). Transfers: 38 loose prints moved to Library reference PAColl-0639-56..
Searle, R J :Album of the SS Britain bringing troops back to New Zealand via Panama
Date: 1919
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
By: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984
Reference: PA1-o-794
Description: Tilbury, the SS Britain, troops, passengers, deck life, Panama, Panama Canal, and some shots of New Zealand Quantity: 1 album(s) Album(s).
Searle, R J :Album of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925/26
Date: 1925-1926
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
By: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984
Reference: PA1-o-793
Description: Snap shots of the exterior and layout of the buildings of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, Dunedin Quantity: 1 album(s) Album(s).
Album of train journey from Wellington, north up the West Coast
Date: ca1928
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PA1-q-591
Description: Quantity: 1 album(s) Album(s).
Wellington. Theatre. Buildings and monuments. Ships.
Date: [ca 1920 to 1955]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-12
Description: Includes photographs showing Wellington decorated for the Royal visit, 1953-54, railways, Wellington Botanic Garden, the National Museum and Carillon, Māori and Pakeha buildings and monuments, theatre and theatrical productions, and ships. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 168 b&w original photographic print(s).
South Islands landscape (3): Glaciers, mountains and forest
Date: [ca 1920 to 1950]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-09
Description: Includes photographs showing Franz Joseph glacier. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 52 b&w original photographic print(s).
South Islands landscape (2): Glaciers, mountains and forest
Date: [ca 1920 to 1950]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-08
Description: Includes photographs showing West Coast bush scenes. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 60 b&w original photographic print(s).
Ships
Date: [ca 1920 to 1950]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-01
Description: Includes photographs showing ships at Wellington port and images from the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 69 b&w original photographic print(s).
Early photographs, various subjects, 1920s-1930s
Date: [ca 1920 to 1930]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-55
Description: Subjects include buildings damaged from the Napier earthquake, Wellington city and Botanical Gardens, early ANZAC days, sports and leisure activities, aircraft, ships, railways, and landscapes. Also has a small group of photos of First Nations people in Wellington, and a trip to England via the Suez Canal. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 494 b&w original photographic print(s).
Early photographs, various subjects, 1920s-1930s
Date: [ca 1920 to 1930]
From: Searle, Roland James, 1904-1984: Slides, negatives, photographs, letters and printed material
Reference: PAColl-0639-54
Description: Subjects include buildings damaged from the Napier earthquake, Wellington city and Botanical Gardens, early ANZAC days, sports and leisure activities, aircraft, ships, railways, and landscapes. Also has a small group of photos of First Nations people in Wellington, and a trip to England via the Suez Canal. Title supplied by Library. Quantity: 153 b&w original photographic print(s).