Every single photo coloured by hand? Using cotton wool? Yes, such was the era of hand-coloured photography - a painting and photograph in one - the way you got a high-quality colour photo before colour photography became mainstream. Some of New Zealand's best hand-coloured photos were produced by Whites Aviation from 1945. For over 40 years, the glorious scenic vistas were a sensation, adorning offices and lounges around the land; patriotic statements within New Zealand's emerging visual arts. Now, despite massive changes in society and photography, the stunning scenes and subtle tones still enchant, as coveted collectibles; decorations on screen; and as respected pieces of photographic art. But, until now, the inspirational story has not been told; nor have the full stories of Leo White (company founder); Clyde Stewart (chief photographer and head of colouring); and the mission-critical 'colouring girls'. Hand-Coloured New Zealand presents New Zealand's first published collection of hand-coloured photography and reveals the full Whites Aviation story for the first time. Nothing, it seems, can change the appeal of an alluring hand-made craft.

'You can put your hand on this book and swear by it, because it's the bible. Every bird of town, bush, swamp, island, beach, river and the sea is here - accurately, intricately, and beautifully observed.

This book was inspired by nature and traditional art of New Zealand- the land of unique plants and birds, splendid marine life and the finest scenery on the planet. If you always wanted to paint or create something colourful but don't have much confidence in your drawing skills, this book is a perfect solution. All designs in the book are ink drawings made with colouring in mind: they are rather detailed and challenging enough to keep you engaged, but at the same time clear and simple enough so that you feel relaxed and creative. You can use coloured pencils, felt pens, crayons, pastels. The picture on the front cover is a drawing similar to the ones in the book, it is coloured by the author to demonstrate one of the colouring techniques: coloured pencils slightly enhanced with watercolour paints. For better results it's recommended to trace the image on good quality art paper rather then colouring inside the book. -34 hand-drawn designs -1 design per page -8.5' x 11' size

Adult colouring book with hand coloured photographs by Whites Aviation pared with the same photographs in black and white.