Historical information

The Rose Stereograph Co. was established in the year 1880. The firm's founder, George Rose Clune, began developing photographs from his father's shoe shop located in Prahran, Victoria. George would travel to the Dandenong foothills to sell his photographs to picnic parties, thus creating a connection to Emerald and surrounding districts.

The Rose Stereograph Co. first began producing stereographs. After this medium lost popularity, George switched to postcards — referred to as the 'P' series, such as this example — in 1913. The firm continued to print postcards until 1967, after which they switched to machine-manufactured coloured postcards provided by an external supplier. The photographs on the postcards were original works by George, who has become reputed as one of the best photographers in Australia during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Significance

The record holds very strong historic significance as it speaks to the transformation of the Dandenong foothills into a popular tourist destination in Victoria. Particularly, the Emerald House was an early tourist enterprise in region which had previously been dominated by industries of timber, gold and horticulture. The record is particularly significant for how it documents this important metamorphosis of Emerald into a key location for tourism. Furthermore, the postcard offers some research potential into the commercialisation of housing and its wider socioeconomic impacts on the local community, particularly in our current climate of short-term holiday rentals like AirBnB and Stayz.

Physical description

Black and white rectangular postcard printed on card. Depicted is a guest lodge known as Emerald House. There is a stationary vehicle parked in front of the house in the right hand side of the image. The guest lodge is made from weatherboard panels, with a corrugated iron or steel roof, and a brick chimney. Surrounding the house are various trees, plants and shrubs. In the far left hand side of the postcard, there is a sign denoting the accommodation is Emerald House. In the background of the image, there is a round elevated corrugated silo; this is possibly a water tank.

Inscriptions & markings

Obverse:
'EMERALD /
HOUSE'. /
ACCOMMODATION /
Afternoon Dinners /
(?) /
THE ROSE SERIES P. 3337 " EMERALD HOUSE," EMERALD, VIC. /
COPYRIGHT /

Reverse:
PD00228b. /
Copy /
POST CARD /
The "Rose" Series A Real Photograph /
De Luxe Produced in Australia /
Published by the Rose Stereograph Co. /
Armadale, Victoria. /
VEMUP0965 /