Abstract
Abstract Composite portraiture has a long history which is not, of course, confined to this country, but it flourished here to a significant and, perhaps, astonishing degree during the 19th century. The purpose of the composites was usually commercial. Members of a congress might be so portrayed in collective fashion, or else a professional portrait photographer might take advantage of his accumulated files and issue a composite as his firm's advertisement. In this fashion the Burton Brothers of New Zealand made a fascinating composition between 1867 and 1877, which has already been published in another context1 , but is here reproduced for easy reference (Figure 1). The firm's shop-front is shown in the centre with the two photographers on either side. Above the shop-front are portraits of Captain Cook, Captain Cargill (the leader of the Otago settlement), Queen Victoria (the royal patron of the firm), and julius Vogel (the Premier of New Zealand in 1873), together with local administrators and other dig...
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
