Burton Brothers (fl. 1868-1898) (photographers)
Dates
- Existence: fl. 1868 - 1898
Biography
Alfred Henry Burton was born in England in 1834. In circa 1868 he joined his brother Walter Burton in Dunedin, New Zealand, where Walter had established a photographic business (Turner 1996, p.282). Walter advertised as being 'of the firm of John Burton and Sons, of Leicester, Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, and Burton-upon-Trent, England, Artist and Photographer' in Mackay's Almanac for 1867 (Knight 1971, p.46). Trading under the name 'Burton Brothers', Alfred and Walter remained in business together until 1876, when their partnership was dissolved (Turner 1996, p.282). Initially the company seems to have been primarily involved in selling fancy goods, engraving and hiring out masonic regalia. They later became successful publishers of photographic views, employing photographers to take topographical views and photographs of special events and expeditions (Knight 1971, p.47). Walter died in 1880. However, Alfred continued to trade under the name 'Burton Bros' until 1898, apparently appointing Thomas M.B. Muir to take over the portrait work ( Knight 1971, p.51). In 1898 Alfred sold his remaining interests to Muir and Moodie. Alfred was most famous for his trip up the Wanganui River in April and May 1885. His photographs from this trip form one of the most important records of Maori life. He spent his last years teaching elocution at Knox College. Alfred died in 1914 (Turner 1996, p.282; Knight 1971, pp.46-52).
Publications:
Burton Brothers (1884), 'The Camera in the Coral Islands'.
Burton Brothers (1884), 'New Zealand through the Camera'.
Burton Brothers (1886), 'The Maori at home: a catalogue of a series of photographs illustrative of the scenery and of native life in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand', Dunedin: Burton Bros.
Burton Brothers (1889), 'Wintering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri'.
Sources:
Turner, Jane ed. (1996), 'The dictionary of art'. Volume 5. New York: Grove.
Knight, Hardwicke (1971), 'Photography in New Zealand. A social and technical history'. Dunedin: John McIndoe.
Found in 102 Collections and/or Records:
Mt. Earnslaw, Head of Lake Wakatipu, 1885
190 x 139 mm. A view looking north from the head of Lake Wakatipu, with the mountain rising in the background to a height of 9250 ft.
Near R.C. [Roman Catholic] Mission, Apia, Samoa, 1899
192 x 146 mm. A view showing three Samoans in rough country in a creek, with two in a rowing boat and one standing in the water.
New Zealand and the Pacific Islands
Normal School, Christchurch, 1885
194 x 139 mm. A view of the school, with children playing outside. The foundation stone for this ornate building, which was designed by S.C. Farr, was laid in 1873.
Ohinemutu, 1880
199 x 147 mm. A view looking down on the old Maori village which lies on the shore of Lake Rotorua, with a cultivated garden in the foreground and scattered Maori huts around the lakeside.
On Pigeon Island, Lake Wanaka, 1880
181 x 144 mm. A view showing a small curved beach on the island with trees reaching to the water’s edge.
On the Avon, Christchurch, 1885
193 x 137 mm. A view looking along the tree-lined river, with school or church buildings beyond the trees.
Otira Gorge: W. Coast Road, 1885
190 x 138 mm. A view looking down on to the river which flows through the steep wooded gorge, with mountains in the distance. Otira lies in the Southern Alps near Arthur’s Pass.
Papaseea Falls, 1899
146 x 198 mm. A view of the rock and waterfall, with a party of men at the top of the falls, and two men in the water below.
Papiloa falls, Samoa, 1899
145 x 198 mm. A view of the waterfall also known as the 'sliding rock.'
Passage Point Cove, Dusky Sound, 1885
195 x 140 mm. A view looking along a small stream, with trees on either side.
Pembroke, Lake Wanaka, 1880
204 x 145 mm. A view looking down from a small settlement and across the lake, with mountains in the distance. In the foreground stand a few farm buildings and some cleared land.
Pink Terrace-destroyed by Great Earthquake, 1886 - 1889
Pink Terrace [Rotomahana], 1880
186 x 148 mm. A view looking from the lake towards the terraces, with steam rising from the geyser behind.
Port Chalmers, 1880
198 x 147 mm. A view looking down on Port Chalmers, with Otago Harbour in the background. The picture gives a good view of the layout of this as yet small settlement, with streets running off outwards from the curving beach. Port Chalmers lies 9 miles north-east of Dunedin.
Preservation Inlet [West Coast Sounds], 1885
194 x 144 mm. A view looking across the inlet, with a mountain visible in the distance beyond the far shore. Preservation Inlet lies at the extreme south western tip of the South Island and is now part of the Fiordland National Park.
Reception on arrival, 1899
175 x 140 mm. A view looking down on Samoan boats and canoes drawn up alongside a steamer in Pago-Pago harbour (Tutuila Island). Copyright registered 28 Aug. 1899.
Rotomahana, 1880
206 x 140 mm. A view along the lakeside looking towards the geysers and mineral terraces from which steam is rising. For other pictures and for contemporary descriptions of these phenomena, which were largely destroyed in the eruption of 1886, see Y308B/99-104, New Zealand postcards 100-111 and Y308A/131.
Rotomahana Boiling Mud Hill, 1880
187 x 148 mm. A view looking across one of the boiling pools of mud in the Rotomahana district, with hills in the background.
Russell, Bay of Islands, 1880
191 x 143 mm. A view looking down on to the town, with houses built right down to the beach. A steamer is moored to a jetty in the harbour. The original town of Russell (named after Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for the Colonies) was destroyed by fire in 1842 and never rebuilt, and the use of the name Russell here applies to Kororareka, an older nearby settlement and port.
Sealey Gorge: W. Coast Road, 1885
193 x 139 mm. A view looking down on the road through the gorge, with a small wooden bridge in the foreground. The snow-capped mountain in the background is possibly Mt. Sealey.
Sealey River, N. Branch, W. Coast Road, 1885
194 x 138 mm. A view looking along the river with steep, wooded hillsides reaching down to the water and a snow-clad mountain in the distance. Exact location unknown.
Self-Acting Tramway, Waoirongomai, 1880
142 x 205 mm. A view showing the steep hill which the line ascends (the machinery and freight trucks at the top of the incline can be seen in Y3089E/26). The operating procedure is unclear.
Suva, 1899
197 x 146 mm. A view looking down on a street in Suva, the Fijian capital, and showing wooden shop premises with verandahs running along the street.
Suva, Fiji, 1899
198 x 145 mm. A view looking down on Suva harbour with steam and sailing ships at their moorings. Copyright registered 21 Aug. 1899.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 101
- Collection 1
- Subject
- Oceania (continent) 101
- New Zealand (nation) 83
- Auckland (inhabited place) 12
- Samoa (nation) 11
- Tonga (nation) 6
- Christchurch (inhabited place) 5
- Fiji (nation) 4
- Vava'u (district (national)) 4
- Milford Sound (inhabited place) 3
- Te Aroha (inhabited place) 3
- Wellington (inhabited place) 3
- Cook, Mount (mountain) 2
- Suva (inhabited place) 2
- Akaroa (inhabited place) 1
- American Samoa (dependent state) 1
- Apia (inhabited place) 1
- Asia (continent) 1
- Dunedin (inhabited place) 1
- Europe (continent) 1
- France (nation) 1
- Grahamstown (inhabited place) 1
- Invercargill (inhabited place) 1
- Islands, Bay of (bay) 1
- Makarewa River (stream) 1
- Milford Sound (sound) 1
- Moke Lake (lake) 1
- New Caledonia (dependent state) 1
- North and Central America (continent) 1
- Pago Pago Harbor (harbor) 1
- Port Chalmers (inhabited place) 1
- Samoa Islands (island group) 1
- Stewart Island (island) 1
- United States (nation) 1
- Vanuatu (nation) 1
- Wakatipu, Lake (lake) 1 + ∧ less