A most collectable postcard series is the “Coloured Shell Series” otherwise known as photochrome* featuring views throughout Queensland. Gympie was one of the towns featured in few of these postcards released.

This postcard series was produced from 1905 to about 1915. The photographers of the original images are not mentioned however Queensland Government photographer, from the Tourism Department, Henry Mobsby is known to be one of them.

The postcard series was produced for almost a decade. It was the outbreak of World War I that prevented access to German printing firms.  It is estimated around 300 different coloured photo postcards were printed.

You can view the collection of the Queensland Views, Coloured Shell Series over at the Aussie Mobs Flickr Album

*Photochrome was a process for producing colourised images from black and white photo negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography (colour lithography).