About Series : Series G
This was Walch’s third series of full colour cards, coming after Series G-1906. It consisted of 14 cards reprinted from Series G-1906 and 10 new cards.
 
Series Contents: There were 24 cards in the series. The numbers are the printer's numbers.
 
Cards reprinted from Series G-1906
92145  Hobart Waterworks
92146  Cape Raoul
92147  Russell Falls
92148  Hobart Harbour
92149  Falls Hut, Cascades
92150  Franklin Square, Hobart
92151  Fern Tree Bower, Hobart
92152  Eaglehawk Neck
92153  Shot Tower, Brown’s River Road
92154  Salmon Ponds, New Norfolk
92155  River Derwent, near New Norfolk
92156  Mt. Wellington, from Huon Road
92157  Rocking Stone, Mt. Wellington
92158  The Post Office, Hobart
 
New colour cards
92566  Mountain Lake Huon Road
92159  Huon Bridge.
92160  Port Arthur.
92161  Brown’s River Road.
92162  Government House, Hobart.
92163  Hobart from the Harbour.
92164  The Pavement, Eagle Hawk Neck.
92165  The Bend, Huon Road.
92166  Port Arthur.
92167  Native Tiger
 
Date Published: The proofs were approved in London on July 14, 1906. No shipping date is available. They were advertised in Walch’s Literary Intelligencer of December 1906.
 
Printing: The series was printed by C.G. Röder, Leipzig, Germany, by photolithography. Röder printed the coloured image and the caption on the front of the cards (unlike the previous two series where the caption was printed by Walch’s in Hobart) and the green printer’s number on the back. Walch’s in Hobart printed everything else on the back. The cards were shipped from Germany in sheets and cut up into individual cards in Hobart to avoid duty. There were 3,000 of each of the 24 cards printed.
 
Number in Series: 24
 
Identification: The cards are identified on the back with ‘Walch & Sons, Wellington Bridge, Hobart – Series G’.
 
   
 
 
History of the Series
 
Although not directly related to the Series G order, the letter sent from Herbert Bishop to Walch’s in Hobart on 7 April 1906 gives useful background on how the cards were printed.
 
I am sending you Röders new samples of various printed post cards and I enclose his new & revised price list & you will see his prices have been reduced. You will please note how many cards he prints on a sheet for each process and that the prices in red ink are for complete sheets of views say 30, 32, or 36 on a sheet. The prices for say 1000 2000 or 3000 each of 12 or 24 cards are in black ink.
 
Röders collotype and “Bromide Imitation” are very good & you may be quite able to order 30 or more different views?
 
Röders printed coloured cards in several different qualities. This mainly involved the number of separate coloured printing plates that were used; three (red, yellow, blue) as a minimum, more for more subtle colour. Other variables were the quality of card used and whether or not a lacquer was applied.
 
Herbert Bishop wrote to Roeder in Leipzig on 21 May 1906 to order this set of cards:
 
We now order 3,000 of 24 post cards in your very best Autochrome Substitute Process. 15 will be reprints as follows:
(1) Hobart Waterworks
(2) Cape Raoul
(3) Russell Falls
(4) Hobart Harbour
(5) Falls Hut, Cascades
(6) Franklin Square, Hobart
(7) Fern Tree Bower, Hobart
(8) Eaglehawk Neck
(9) Shot Tower, Brown’s River Road
(10) Salmon Ponds, New Norfolk
(11) River Derwent, near New Norfolk
(12) Mt. Wellington, from Huon Road
(13) Rocking Stone, Mt. Wellington
(14) The Post Office, Hobart
(15) The Post Office, Hobart
 
You will please note that we order a double number of the last view – “The Post Office”. This view should be the same size as all the other cards and it is only a matter of cutting up and trimming we think?
 
We are posting you the 14 Autosubstitute cards you printed for us and 9 original photographs which please get mounted so that you may handle them better.
 
(16) Huon Bridge . Note. This is a wooden bridge with the upper part painted white. The Hotel is of wood with galvanised iron roof.
(17) Port Arthur.
(18) Brown’s River Road
(19) Government House, Hobart. Note. This is built of light brown freestone.
(20) Hobart from the Harbour
(21) The Pavement, Eagle Hawk Neck
(22) The Bend, Huon Road
(23) Port Arthur Note. The tower in the centre is of brown stone.
(24) Native Tiger. Note. This card will not require a title in letterpress. Please take out the Latin words on the tablet and sketch in the word “Tasmania” so as to read as we have written the title. We enclose a coloured post card of the tiger to guide you as to colouring.
 
The copies for numbers 16 & 17 you will notice are collotype unmounted and they may not be good for reproduction and therefore we send you also real Photographs mounted of similar Views of ‘Huon Bridge’ and ‘Port Arthur’ and you can use whichever is best.
 
Please let the Views cover the whole of the Cards as per sample Card we enclose of ‘The Gleaners’ - that is the names of the Views can be printed in small type on the blue skies where possible right hand or left, or somewhere on the foot of the views, if the view will allow of it. Please note that we do not want the Cards cut up, but delivered in sheets – no printing wanted on the address side.
 
Please let us have proofs of the Coloured Printing which we would return immediately.
 
We hope we have made everything quite clear.
 
Notice that he asked for two copies (of 3,000 each) of the Post Office - it must have been a hot seller at the time.   On 28 May, 1906 Bishop had apparently received some queries from the Printer, because he wrote:
 
Your favour of 26th inst. To hand with the 2 Half-Tone Prints you return.
 
In reply to your query we do not want the numbers 1 to 24 printed on the Views or on the address side. We want the names of the Views only printed on the Views.
 
On the address side no printing whatever no imprint wanted at all.
 
By having the cards so printed and delivered in sheets, we hope to land them in Tasmania duty free as “Coloured Views” & will you please invoice them as such – 3,000 sheets of “Coloured Views”.
 
We note you want a Photograph of “The Post Office, Hobart.” in order to make another negative. We believe you have the one we sent you on 7th June, 1905. If you refer you will find the Photograph gave the Post Office without a clock and we asked you to draw one in, and also to take out the flagstaff.
 
There was another Photograph you did not return to us, namely “Tasmanian Apples” from the same order of June 7th 1905.
 
In the event of you not finding the original Photograph of “The Post Office Hobart” we shall only be able to have a reprint of 3,000 making an order of 23 Views only on the sheet. 
 
We would send you a good Photograph of another view to make up 24 if this would suit you better.
 
We understand the additional 3,000 “Post Office” would be charged as an original edition.
 
Note about the “Post Office Hobart”. The Building is of light brown sandstone & the roof is slate – no flagstaff wanted. The clock-face to be drawn in. The “cupola” surmounting the tower is covered with lead.
 
Apparently the printer could not do the second copy of the Post Office and asked for another photo of it.  But Bishop could not supply it, and sent a replacement photo - 'Mountain Lake, Huon Road'. He wrote again on June 2 1906:
 
Your letters to hand of May 29th & 31st also 14 original photos & painting. We note you cannot print all the cards to cover all the cards. In place of the second 3000 “Post Office” we send you a photograph View of “Mountain Lake Huon Road” and please make up the set of 24 with this and oblige.
 
 
It took a while for the proofs to arrive, because it was not until July 14, 1906 that Bishop wrote to the printer to acknowledge receipt.
 
We have received the ten original photos with the ten colour proofs and they appear to be all right but please let the titles be at the foot of the views close to the edge when possible. The titles in red ink should show up on any of the views at foot don’t you think? The View The Bend Huon Road which is lettered in white ink does very well.
 
Mountain Lake Huon Road could this not be lettered in the left hand bottom corner?
Government House  could this not be lettered in the roadway on the left hand side?
The Pavement Eaglehawk Neck could this not be lettered on the pavement at the bottom right or left hand?
Brown’s River Road Would not the lettering show if printed in the left hand bottom corner?
Port Arthur with the Church. The bottom of this view is dark but you might see if lettering would show up on it.
Port ArthurTower view. The lettering could be in bottom left hand corner.
Hobart from the Harbour. The lettering might be in bottom left hand corner.
HuonBridge. The lettering would do well in bottom left hand corner.
The Bend Huon Road in bottom left hand side
 
We of course don’t want any lettering on the skies without absolutely necessary.
 
We return you the 10 proofs.
 
These detailed instructions on where to print the captions are in contrast to the two earlier series of coloured cards, for which the printers were specifically instructed to print nothing on the front.   Apparently a front caption would still allow the cards in uncut sheets to be imported as coloured pictures without duty.
 
There is no information on the shipping date of this series, but they are listed for sale in the December 1906 issue of Walch’s Literary Intelligencer.