| Accession No |
1802.3939
|
| Name/Title |
PHOTOGRAPH, CARTE DE VISITE; Mr Frank Rufus Huff
|
| Brief Description |
This sepia-toned carte de visite photograph of Frank Rufus Huff was taken by himself while working at Tyree & Huff. The head-and-shoulders portrait shows a man with short cropped hair and a long waxed moustache, wearing a polka-dot neck cravat. The image is mounted in an oval mat and glued to a backing card.
Frank Rufus Huff was born in America and came to New Zealand to ply his trade as a photographer. He arrived in Invercargill in March 1875 and worked for T T Mussen at the London Photographic Rooms. He took that business over after Mussen's death a few months later, but applied for liquidation of his assets in March 1876.
Huff arrived in the North Island in 1878 where he worked in conjunction with other photographers; Tyree & Huff, then changing to Huff & Collinson, before eventually setting up the American Photographic Rooms in Whanganui where he worked from 1879-1886.
In his personal life, Frank Huff was a brother of the Ancient Order of Foresters and often sang at their gatherings, being reported as having a fine voice. He was a member of the Fire Police and was also involved in the Wanganui Trotting Association.
Despite a seemingly successful trade, Huff applied for bankruptcy through the courts on 20 February 1886 and his assets were auctioned to pay his debts. The Evening Post records F R and Nina Huff leaving for London aboard the Arawa on 25 July 1886, and there is a record of him later working as a photographer in Bethel Township, New York, in 1900. In 1887, Whanganui photographer John Kirkwood advertised that he was taking over Huff’s premises and negatives.
|
| Classification |
Carte-De-Visite/Documentary Artifact/Communication Artifacts/Nomenclature
|
| Primary Maker |
Tyree & Huff (estab. 1878, closed 1879)
|
| Primary Prod Date |
1878-1879
|
| Primary Prod Period |
Late 19th century/19th century
|
| Primary Prod Place |
Manawatū/Aotearoa/New Zealand
|
| Measurement Reading |
10.2 x 6.4cm
|
| Signature/Marks |
Yours truly / F.R. Huff.
TYLEE & HUFF / PHOPTOGRAPHER [largely abraded]
Photography / 1874
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